A/N ~ Before anybody quotes my on my bad syntax in the chapter title, let me just say that there is method to my madness. The typo is not a typo, it is intentional.
Gerri; Newcomer, welcome! No need for kicking, but I have ointment if you still feel compelled to do so. Also, I apologise for ransoming you from your friends and family for the three days it took you to read this. 'Can't have one without the other; where would the fun in that be?' Mayhaps in the mental torture we can now put Pietro through? (Insert evil cackle here)
Hootild; 'Alvin, Alvin, he's our man, if he can't do it, everyone's screwed!' Bwaaaahahahahahahahahaaa! Nutshell, I love thee dearly. Thanks for that one, hootild.
Yma; Verily. Grasshopper is one of my favourites, too. Sarky so-n'-so...
The Phantom; 'When you KNOW you KNOW what's right, and NOBODY will listen to you! I hate that!' Me too. 'I've never been dragged around by a mob of clones, though.' Me neither. More's the pity. ;) You ask for Magneto? Shazam, say I! And he shall appear... I've really go to get off the Shakespeare...
Ambrosia; Aftermath, yes. The bit in between where they got off the bridge, walked/limped back to the bus etc. was just too boring for words, and so just *couldn't* be put in. 'Punkin' belongs to Yodelbean, and yes, it's Logan's accent catching on the word 'pumpkin'. Shock, horror - for once it's not my sub-par typing skills at work! 'Hard and fats'... well, that was me. Damn.
Ice Princess; 'Blood caking' is a phrase I've always used. It pertains to how partially scabbed blood encrusts a person's skin, clothing, hair etc. Yma will be pleased you like the Gingerbread bit. It's rather freaky how good she is at writing insane people, actually. And Happy Belated Turkey Day to you, too. I think. Ach, we don't celebrate Thanksgiving in England (for obvious reasons), so I have no idea when it is. So I'll wish you a Happy Belated Bonfire Night, as well.
Krazy Xanadu; So soon? *Checks chapter counter* Um... okay. Ariel is an OC who started life as a sketch by Origami Kitten. His original incarnation can be found at http://www.geocities.com/origamikitten/arieldragon.html and http://www.geocities.com/origamikitten/ariel.html Both scenes later made it into _Judgment Day_. See if you can spot where they come from.
Amarth Obstreperous; Bwa-ha-haaa, you're beloved characters are my playground! Wait, that sounded sick... um... move along, now, nothing to see here.
Kamikaze Angel 07; Glad you like Alvin. He really seems to be popular, doesn't he? Not bad for a Biblical-splurge-speaking-robe-wearing-prophecy-spouting-nutball. And if taking a shine to fics where favourite characters are mistreated makes one a sadist, well... Where'd I put that bloody whip?
Anime-catdagon; Penguins. *Shudders* 'Nuff said.
UnknownSource; 'I do like Jamie, but when they were holding back Alvin i wanted to whack the little cloner round the back of the head.' Which would rather have exacerbated the problem, don't you think? ;) And as I told The Phantom a propos Magneto and his crew; ask, and ye shall receive.
Risa; 'Yessirree...Guess the whole Wanda coming back theory just got flushed down the pooper.' *Snickersnort* Beer all around, eh? You spoil them, Risa. Todd is... an odd one to call. Waaaay back in the first chapter we saw Evan's ghost, so it could well be he's real. But then again, considering Raven's state of mind, he may just be a figment of her guilt. It's really up to you as the reader as to which way you interpret him. 'He deserved a nice reality check in the form of a five-fingered sandwich.' Hear hear! Bwee-hee-hee-hee...
S. S. Goten; Thanks for the compliments. And stand by for some nice, good old fashioned Kurt angst. ^_^
AerinBrown; Thank you. More characters dying? Well, now that you mention it... :)
*******************
Thirtieth Fragment ~ 'Whatif'
*******************
What I don't understand," Raven said mock-conversationally, as they waited for human and elf to return, "is why Logan didn't just take the jeep?" She nodded her head at Lance and Kitty's former vehicle, the rope with which it had been tethered to the rear of the bus sprawled on the ground. "That would've saved all this bother."
Rogue looked up, expression strangely blank. "No gas," she said simply. "Pietro emptied the tank into the bus a ways back so we could travel further without stopping in that town."
"Oh." What else could she say?
The shapeshifter looked about, taking in the various small, dejected members of their team, if you could call it such. Her eyes narrowed as she noticed the absence of two younger members, and craned her neck trying to spot them.
Rogue looked up again from where she was crouched next to Pietro. The speedster was thoroughly out of it, and only a faint whimper of pain as he twitched every now and again betrayed he was even still alive, since his chest moved too fast to register.
"What is it?"
"Where's Daisy? And that new boy, with the gills?"
"Ariel," Rogue supplied, and gestured down to the water's edge. "He's been there all night. Daisy went down not long ago. She don't like fights an' arguments. They remind her too much of home."
"She told you that?" Raven was surprised. Daisy wasn't renowned for her talkativeness, except to Logan, and she never mentioned her old home if she could help it.
But as she turned away, not listening properly, Raven missed her daughter's next words. They were caught by the breeze and flung into the air like a useless piece of dust.
"No, she didn't say nuthin'."
*******************
"Whatcha doin'?"
Ariel looked up at the small lizardine girl and then back at the open expanse of water. "Just... thinking," he replied.
"What about?"
"Stuff."
"What kinda stuff?"
"Just... stuff."
She frowned, scales scraping slightly as they knit together between her eyes. "Well that's just dumb," she declared, and sat down next to him with a faint plop.
Ariel blinked, drawn from his reverie by her words. "Say what?"
"You can't just think of 'stuff'. You gotta think of *somethin'*." She sniffed, folding her arms and staring out onto the river. Her eye was immediately drawn to the floating corpse, caught on the opposite bank by an old rotten tree, no doubt killed long ago by the cure to the X-Virus. She blinked, and then hastily looked away again.
Ariel looked at her, cocking his head to one side. Without warning he sat down, drawing his legs under himself Indian-style and laying his hands in his lap. The flash of gold pulled her gaze across.
"You got scales too?"
"Yeah."
"What's that funny mark fer?" She pointed to his cheek. Ariel gingerly touched the barcode.
"It means I was once a chattel."
"Cattle?" Her brow puckered again. "Don't look like no cow to me. Let's hear you moo, then. All cows go moo."
He couldn't suppress the chuckle that rose in his throat, and found himself laughing out loud at her bare-faced innocence. The girl looked shocked for a moment, and then peeked out from behind her hands.
"Why're you laughing?" she demanded.
He thought about it, and then shrugged, laughing harder. "I don't know. Sometimes it's just good to laugh."
She blinked, and let her vaguely-webbed hands drop. She regarded him for a second before saying, in a decisive voice, "You're weird." Then, "I like you."
"Thanks. I think."
"You gonna come with us to see the Goddess?"
Having already been briefed by Logan on the intent of their journey, Ariel nodded.
"Good. Robyn's... she's still real sick, an' I don't got no-one to play games with."
"Robyn? You mean that other girl?"
"Uh-huh."
There was a pause, and then, "What's playing games?"
She seemed aghast. "You don't know howda play *games*?"
He shook his head. "Nu-uh."
"I'll teach you then. Everybody's gotta know how to play *games*. S'part of *life*." She abruptly thrust her hand under his nose, evidently expecting him to shake it. "I'm Daisy."
Tentatively, he took her palm, and nearly had his arm pumped off at the shoulder. "Uh, I'm Ariel. Pleased to meet you."
"You ever heard of Stone Skimming?"
"No. What is it?"
Her lips curved upwards, and she dragged him along the bank. "Well, first, you gotta pick out the bestest, flattest stones you can..."
*******************
The bus trundled past the rows of broken down houses and gaping walls where buildings had once stood, every creak and groan magnified by the echoing spaces. There wasn't a single soul around, and Logan peered suspiciously through the windshield.
"You *sure* you been leadin' me down the right track?"
"This is Mutie Town," Jamie replied, though he too sounded a little perplexed. "The townsfolk must be in hiding with all the noise this old thing's making."
Logan grunted, shooting him a sideways glance. "You'd better not be settin' us up, kid. Or else..." Taking one hand off the wheel, he patted the back of the other where three faint grooves were just visible in his skin.
Jamie stood up and pressed his face to the glass. "Stop here," he commanded suddenly, and with such force that Logan jammed on the brakes with a screaming skid.
"What?"
"I thought I saw something. Open the door."
Logan's eyes narrowed. "Oh no you don't, short stuff. Wherever you go, I go too." He cut the engine and rose from his seat. Jamie tapped his foot impatiently.
"Well hurry up about it then. Come on, move it."
"Quiet," was the brusque response, followed by the burly man barrelling his way out of the door. He held his fists at the ready, and padded forward a few steps until Jamie disembarked beside him.
"It was over here," the boy said, pattering over to a partially crumbled wall covered in ancient graffiti. His footsteps sent up clouds of dust, and Logan coughed as he followed.
The wall gave up nothing, though they skirted around it several times. After the third encircling, Logan stopped and folded his arms.
"Ain't nuthin' here, sunshine."
"But I was *sure*..." Jamie kicked at a brick with his foot, sending it tumbling to one side. He looked up and around, expression a mix of pensive and dejected. His glorious return had been marred by the lack of people to exalt it to. "Where *is* everybody?"
"Not here," Logan replied, and turned to head back to the bus. He let out only the smallest of noises as something small and fast suddenly clipped his shoulder, making him stumble. "Hey! What was that fer?"
Jamie blinked. "What was what for?"
"You threw sumthin' at me."
"No I didn't."
Something blew past Logan's other shoulder, too fast for him to see what it was. He growled, and the claws on his left hand reflexively popped out. "Somebody's watchin' us," he said slowly, a savage undercurrent to his tone.
Jamie's face lit up. "Where?" he asked, whirling around.
The smallest of noises caused Logan to raise his head, and a snarl escaped his throat. "From the heavens, kid. Lookit."
Positioned atop the numerous buildings, rocks, stones and other weapons at the ready, were a veritable menagerie of creatures. Most looked humanoid, but some were so badly disfigured they looked little more than walking corpses. All of them watched the duo below with searching eyes, as if merely awaiting the signal to strike. Something in their collective gaze reminded Logan of a pack of wild dogs, and his other claws egressed with a faint 'snikt'.
"Well, this can't be good."
The creatures chittered and laughed amongst themselves.
Jamie was not amused. "These," he said to Logan, "are some of the inhabitants of Mutie Town. Why're you all acting like this? It's me, Jamie, and I bring a new mutant. I vouch for him!"
"Gotta be careful kid," muttered one of the assembled multitude. "Things been tough lately. The child of Magneto escaped, and she caused right damage on 'er way out. Then we 'ad a 'uman raid on the western border. Few of us died, but more 'umans died."
Jamie nodded. "Good. Now bring us Grasshopper! He needs to know of the situation. We have the second child of Magneto, Windswift! But his's badly hurt and in need of Layla's help."
Reluctantly, a slender thing covered in white silver fur, wearing nothing than a few strips of cloth, departed to find Grasshopper. She appeared to move by creating a force field about her feet, and 'skidding' it across the rocky ground. Logan was impressed.
But still very worried.
"Why're they so suspicious, kid?" he growled. "I was kinda expectin' a friendlier welcomin' party."
Jamie shrugged. "Being suspicious is part and parcel of any Mutie Towner. You'll learn to accept it after a while."
And somehow, his words struck a sudden chord of trepidation.
They didn't have long to wait before the enigmatic 'Grasshopper' arrived. A small posse of mutants approached them on the ground, watched intently by those above, but the leader was easy to pick out.
Like his namesake he was lithe and covered in a hard shell, like an exoskeleton, which ended in vaguely oval casings on his back that no doubt held gossamer wings. His joints were as though a small child had stuck him together with glue, bending in all the wrong places and seemingly about to snap at any second.
However, unlike the insect, this mutant was incredibly tall, and walked sedately on two legs with all four arms clasped behind his back. His 'skin' was a pure, unblemished white, belying the grubby conditions he lived in. Lank black hair hung greasily about his face, framing equally dark eyes and a tight, hard mouth.
These same eyes glinted shrewdly at both Logan and Jamie, and when he finally stopped he towered over them both whilst still in a slouch. Logan reckoned him to be at least eight feet, and suppressed the growl rising in the back of his throat as he was confronted by this town's equivalent of an alpha male.
"Who're you?"
Logan squared his chest, and came up just short of Grasshopper's armpit. "Wolverine," he replied, choosing to use his old codename rather than his real one for the present. No point in giving all their secrets away at once.
Grasshopper's eyes narrowed to the left, glaring at a shadow, but when Logan looked there was nobody there.
"Really? I was under the impression your name was Logan."
"Some days it is, and some days not. You're the leader 'round here, I take it?"
"I am." Grasshopper peered over his head. "Jamie, is this one with you?"
"Yes." Jamie came to stand by Logan's side, lightly touching the older man's elbow in a gesture that clearly read 'calm down, this isn't your turf.' "I won't bother filling you in on the details, since I'm sure Sneak's already done a pretty fine job already."
"Indeed."
Logan raised an eyebrow. Sneak? That sounded like a spy-name, and not a very subtle one either. So these guys had been watching them all along, then?
Jamie and Grasshopper exchanged a few words, amidst much shaking of heads and talking over Logan's own cranium. Eventually they managed to hash out what had happened, with Jamie filling in the blanks this 'Sneak' had left until his leader was satisfied.
"Windswift, you say?" Grasshopper rearranged his wing casings with a sound like twisting fenders. "How far?" He didn't seem unduly concerned with the news of Wanda's death, despite knowing her for a short while, and Logan was left to wondering what kind of an impression 'Lady Luck' had made on this place to elicit such a callous reaction to her untimely demise.
"A few clicks," Jamie answered, having already outlined Logan's idea a propos a teleporter.
Grasshopper muttered something to himself, then turned and gestured into the small crowd of mutants behind him. "Bairn," he snapped, "Come here."
The ranks parted for a small girl to pass through. She was tiny, smaller than Robyn, and thin as a rake. Bones jutted out in all the wrong places, and her cheeks were little more than husps of skin stretched taut over bone. Her clothes looked like they'd seen better days, but had been gathered in so much to accommodate her minuscule frame that it was difficult to tell what exactly they were supposed to *be*.
She made sound like brittle leaves crunching underfoot, but shaped it into no words. Her eyes were completely white save for a yellow slit of a pupil that darted around ceaselessly.
"Take Jamie back to the site he specifies and bring back those you find there. Don't take long."
She nodded, wordlessly taking Jamie's hand. A brief moment of concentration was followed by the appearance of a large black disc on the ground, which the two of them stepped into like a puddle of water. They sank without trace, and it vanished again with a faint crackle.
Logan turned back, and Grasshopper gave an ironic semblance of a bow.
"Welcome to Mutie Town."
*******************
All was still in the small gathering of mutants by the river. The only sound was that of Pietro's occasional moaning, and Robyn's pitiful cries.
{WOOOOOOOWUMPH!}
Suddenly, there was a noise that can only be described as that of the world ripping in two, and a strange black hole appeared in the ground. From its ostensibly fathomless depths, two mutants emerged, clambering out as one might do a cave or rocky ledge.
It was Jamie and a strange looking... well, presumably the tiny, skeletal like thing was a girl, but it was difficult to tell.
Logan was nowhere in sight.
"Come on," Jamie commanded. "Let's get out of here."
As they dragged themselves to their feet, Jamie went over to the battered form of Pietro. He bent to pick him up, but was stopped by Alvin.
"No! Move him, and you may reopen his wounds to more infection. Let me do some extra bandaging first."
Jamie sneered, and bent over again, ignoring Alvin's words as he had done before.
"Nein!" said Kurt. "Do as he says. Alvin's our healer. If you want Pietro to live, then listen to him."
Jamie looked like he had something to say about this, but a glare from Kurt silenced him. He reluctantly allowed Alvin to work over Pietro, and then pick the boy up himself, ready for teleportation.
When everyone had gathered together, and Ariel and Daisy had been called back from stone skimming, the little skeletal girl gestured they step into the widening black rift.
Raven carried the still form of Lance, both arms now whole and regrown, and Kitty followed silently with Hope. She'd barely said two words to anyone the whole time.
"What about Wanda?" asked Rogue, biting her lip and adjusting Robyn in her arms. "Shouldn't we..."
"Nein," Kurt replied. "We must get Pietro some help soon, and it may take a while to rescue her body from the water. Pietro's life is more important than the corpse of his sister. We can return later. Perhaps."
Rogue looked torn, but came when he tugged on her sleeve. "Perhaps..." she murmured, and then shook her head, knowing it was a lie. She stepped through the portal without another word.
Kurt was last. On his back he had strapped various implements, though nothing too large, owing to his rib. They had all taken some items from the jeep, but they would have to leave much behind. Forge's inventions especially, though Kurt hoped they could be retrieved later.
Unless scavengers stripped them in their wake, of course.
He took a final look back, surveying the wreckage, the broken, charred earth, the rushing water, the husks of burnt out cars and the abandoned form of the bus.
Then, with a soft sigh, he went through the portal, and also entered Mutie Town.
*******************
"Wake up..." came a low voice.
Peter slowly came to, wondering why he was so warm, and his face was so wet, and his clothes were not so slowly being...
"Wolfsbane!" He shot awake, knocking Wolfsbane off the small bed of his quarters in the transport. He yanked his shirt back on and glared at the girl as she got up. If it were possible, she was wearing even less than normal, he noted.
"What?" she asked too-innocently. "Didn't Spider like it? I know you want it, and I want it. What's wrong?"
"I... it..." Flustered, Peter just threw up his arms. "Don't you think it's a bit early on for this? I mean, we've only known each other a short while, and - "
He was silenced by Wolfsbane's index finger pressing against his lips. "You're strong, Spider," she said in a low, sultry voice. "Maybe as strong as me. Magneto looks on you as a son. The rest of Asteroid M looks up to you. And I want you for mine." She pressed against him, her lips hot against his, her tongue pushing possessively into his mouth and -
"No!" Peter said forcefully, breaking the kiss.
He held her shoulders at arm's length, but the rest of her still pressed painfully against him, reminding him quite suddenly that he was, despite his powers, a teenage boy, and she was a more-than-willing teenage girl.
He shook his head. "No, Wolfsbane. This isn't what I want."
She smiled, deliberately showing him just how sharp her teeth were. "Who said I was giving you an option, little Spider?" She dug her nails deep into his forearms, leaving her mark on him. "But you're right. Now's not the time."
Languidly, she rose from his prone form, and he let out the breath he'd been holding and massaged his freely bleeding forearms. She turned, giving him a nearly-unobstructed view of her body and the thin sheen of sweat that covered it.
"When the time's ready for you to become a Spider *Man*, I'll be there." She winked over her shoulder as she left his room.
Peter grabbed a towel from his small stack of supplies to clean off his wounds, and sucked in a breath when he saw exactly how deep Wolfsbane's nails had sunk in. That much damage, and she hadn't even been fully transformed...
*******************
Magneto didn't notice Wolfsbane's entrance to, or exit from Spider-Man's quarters.
But Dazzler did. She glared at the lycanthrope as she re-entered the small ship's common room.
Wolfsbane noticed the attention and suggestively sucked a drop of Peter's blood off the tip of her finger, then gave Dazzler a triumphant grin.
Magneto didn't notice. He had only eyes for the blue and green mass that was quickly coming up to meet them.
_How long has it been?_ he wondered, eyes tracing the patterns of Europe, Africa and the gigantic mass that was the Americas.
It was saddening how much of the land was brown, even from up here in space. There were a few green smudges, but they were few and far between. Much more common were the long stretches of what he knew to be bare earth, worn clean by the chemicals scientists had insisted on spraying the land with. If the X-Virus had killed the land, then the 'cure' had decimated what was left. The Earth was a poor reflection of its former glory, and inwardly he ached for what had been.
_Humans,_ he thought bitterly. _They have no right to be there on the gift nature gave them._
Yet in his heart of hearts, he knew he was hanging on to a half-truth. The mess of a world had been the product of mutant intolerance of humans, too. Charles, if nothing else, had taught him that. It was this clashing of peoples that had ruined things, and though he still preached against the flatscans, his old friend's words still echoed in Erik's head.
What if there was peace between the two? What if mutants had been introduced gradually to society, instead of the sudden exhibition that had doomed them all to fear and hatred? What if... what if... what if...
"Last night, while I lay thinking here, some Whatifs crawled inside my ear," he murmured, quoting the childish poem [1] he used to read to Wanda when she was just a little girl. She'd loved the giant poetry book he'd given her for her fifth birthday, and spent every night learning a new one by heart to recite the following day like a mantra.
Pietro had never been quite so bookish, preferring physical activity to being cooped up all the time. Yet he'd listened gamely whilst his twin read by the secretive light of a torch when they were supposed to be sleeping.
A small smile graced Erik's lips as he fondly remembered sneaking up on them, and hearing the scuffle of bed-sheets as they each buried their heads at his approach and pretended to be fast asleep in the innocent way that only children could.
A shadow fell to his left, and he turned to see Dazzler looking quizzically at him. She opened her mouth, and in the air a few bright letters wrote themselves into life.
Penny for your thoughts?
Erik shook his head, sighing. "Just... memories. That's all. Old, musty memories."
Dazzler looked at the Earth and frowned. She 'spoke' again, her 'speech' bright and glowing in the stagnant air of the transporter[2].
You shouldn't think about them if they hurt. There's trouble behind your eyes.
She gestured, and a dozen tiny white arrows flew from her fingertips to surround her own eyelids. They vanished again seconds later, but her expression remained fixed in place.
"I have to think about them," Erik replied soberly. "Otherwise they fester. I've had too many years of them festering at the back of my head. It's time to let them out - let them breathe again."
Breathe? said the iridescent letters.
Erik nodded. "It's time for lots of things. I just hope I'm not too late..."
*******************
To Be Continued...
*******************
[1] 'Whatif' by Shel Silverstein.
[2] Yup, Maggie never got around to designing those oh-so-stylish silver spheres in this reality. Instead, we have a big wokka spacecraft capable of carrying many people at a time, if at a slower pace than the canon means of transportation.
Gerri; Newcomer, welcome! No need for kicking, but I have ointment if you still feel compelled to do so. Also, I apologise for ransoming you from your friends and family for the three days it took you to read this. 'Can't have one without the other; where would the fun in that be?' Mayhaps in the mental torture we can now put Pietro through? (Insert evil cackle here)
Hootild; 'Alvin, Alvin, he's our man, if he can't do it, everyone's screwed!' Bwaaaahahahahahahahahaaa! Nutshell, I love thee dearly. Thanks for that one, hootild.
Yma; Verily. Grasshopper is one of my favourites, too. Sarky so-n'-so...
The Phantom; 'When you KNOW you KNOW what's right, and NOBODY will listen to you! I hate that!' Me too. 'I've never been dragged around by a mob of clones, though.' Me neither. More's the pity. ;) You ask for Magneto? Shazam, say I! And he shall appear... I've really go to get off the Shakespeare...
Ambrosia; Aftermath, yes. The bit in between where they got off the bridge, walked/limped back to the bus etc. was just too boring for words, and so just *couldn't* be put in. 'Punkin' belongs to Yodelbean, and yes, it's Logan's accent catching on the word 'pumpkin'. Shock, horror - for once it's not my sub-par typing skills at work! 'Hard and fats'... well, that was me. Damn.
Ice Princess; 'Blood caking' is a phrase I've always used. It pertains to how partially scabbed blood encrusts a person's skin, clothing, hair etc. Yma will be pleased you like the Gingerbread bit. It's rather freaky how good she is at writing insane people, actually. And Happy Belated Turkey Day to you, too. I think. Ach, we don't celebrate Thanksgiving in England (for obvious reasons), so I have no idea when it is. So I'll wish you a Happy Belated Bonfire Night, as well.
Krazy Xanadu; So soon? *Checks chapter counter* Um... okay. Ariel is an OC who started life as a sketch by Origami Kitten. His original incarnation can be found at http://www.geocities.com/origamikitten/arieldragon.html and http://www.geocities.com/origamikitten/ariel.html Both scenes later made it into _Judgment Day_. See if you can spot where they come from.
Amarth Obstreperous; Bwa-ha-haaa, you're beloved characters are my playground! Wait, that sounded sick... um... move along, now, nothing to see here.
Kamikaze Angel 07; Glad you like Alvin. He really seems to be popular, doesn't he? Not bad for a Biblical-splurge-speaking-robe-wearing-prophecy-spouting-nutball. And if taking a shine to fics where favourite characters are mistreated makes one a sadist, well... Where'd I put that bloody whip?
Anime-catdagon; Penguins. *Shudders* 'Nuff said.
UnknownSource; 'I do like Jamie, but when they were holding back Alvin i wanted to whack the little cloner round the back of the head.' Which would rather have exacerbated the problem, don't you think? ;) And as I told The Phantom a propos Magneto and his crew; ask, and ye shall receive.
Risa; 'Yessirree...Guess the whole Wanda coming back theory just got flushed down the pooper.' *Snickersnort* Beer all around, eh? You spoil them, Risa. Todd is... an odd one to call. Waaaay back in the first chapter we saw Evan's ghost, so it could well be he's real. But then again, considering Raven's state of mind, he may just be a figment of her guilt. It's really up to you as the reader as to which way you interpret him. 'He deserved a nice reality check in the form of a five-fingered sandwich.' Hear hear! Bwee-hee-hee-hee...
S. S. Goten; Thanks for the compliments. And stand by for some nice, good old fashioned Kurt angst. ^_^
AerinBrown; Thank you. More characters dying? Well, now that you mention it... :)
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Thirtieth Fragment ~ 'Whatif'
*******************
What I don't understand," Raven said mock-conversationally, as they waited for human and elf to return, "is why Logan didn't just take the jeep?" She nodded her head at Lance and Kitty's former vehicle, the rope with which it had been tethered to the rear of the bus sprawled on the ground. "That would've saved all this bother."
Rogue looked up, expression strangely blank. "No gas," she said simply. "Pietro emptied the tank into the bus a ways back so we could travel further without stopping in that town."
"Oh." What else could she say?
The shapeshifter looked about, taking in the various small, dejected members of their team, if you could call it such. Her eyes narrowed as she noticed the absence of two younger members, and craned her neck trying to spot them.
Rogue looked up again from where she was crouched next to Pietro. The speedster was thoroughly out of it, and only a faint whimper of pain as he twitched every now and again betrayed he was even still alive, since his chest moved too fast to register.
"What is it?"
"Where's Daisy? And that new boy, with the gills?"
"Ariel," Rogue supplied, and gestured down to the water's edge. "He's been there all night. Daisy went down not long ago. She don't like fights an' arguments. They remind her too much of home."
"She told you that?" Raven was surprised. Daisy wasn't renowned for her talkativeness, except to Logan, and she never mentioned her old home if she could help it.
But as she turned away, not listening properly, Raven missed her daughter's next words. They were caught by the breeze and flung into the air like a useless piece of dust.
"No, she didn't say nuthin'."
*******************
"Whatcha doin'?"
Ariel looked up at the small lizardine girl and then back at the open expanse of water. "Just... thinking," he replied.
"What about?"
"Stuff."
"What kinda stuff?"
"Just... stuff."
She frowned, scales scraping slightly as they knit together between her eyes. "Well that's just dumb," she declared, and sat down next to him with a faint plop.
Ariel blinked, drawn from his reverie by her words. "Say what?"
"You can't just think of 'stuff'. You gotta think of *somethin'*." She sniffed, folding her arms and staring out onto the river. Her eye was immediately drawn to the floating corpse, caught on the opposite bank by an old rotten tree, no doubt killed long ago by the cure to the X-Virus. She blinked, and then hastily looked away again.
Ariel looked at her, cocking his head to one side. Without warning he sat down, drawing his legs under himself Indian-style and laying his hands in his lap. The flash of gold pulled her gaze across.
"You got scales too?"
"Yeah."
"What's that funny mark fer?" She pointed to his cheek. Ariel gingerly touched the barcode.
"It means I was once a chattel."
"Cattle?" Her brow puckered again. "Don't look like no cow to me. Let's hear you moo, then. All cows go moo."
He couldn't suppress the chuckle that rose in his throat, and found himself laughing out loud at her bare-faced innocence. The girl looked shocked for a moment, and then peeked out from behind her hands.
"Why're you laughing?" she demanded.
He thought about it, and then shrugged, laughing harder. "I don't know. Sometimes it's just good to laugh."
She blinked, and let her vaguely-webbed hands drop. She regarded him for a second before saying, in a decisive voice, "You're weird." Then, "I like you."
"Thanks. I think."
"You gonna come with us to see the Goddess?"
Having already been briefed by Logan on the intent of their journey, Ariel nodded.
"Good. Robyn's... she's still real sick, an' I don't got no-one to play games with."
"Robyn? You mean that other girl?"
"Uh-huh."
There was a pause, and then, "What's playing games?"
She seemed aghast. "You don't know howda play *games*?"
He shook his head. "Nu-uh."
"I'll teach you then. Everybody's gotta know how to play *games*. S'part of *life*." She abruptly thrust her hand under his nose, evidently expecting him to shake it. "I'm Daisy."
Tentatively, he took her palm, and nearly had his arm pumped off at the shoulder. "Uh, I'm Ariel. Pleased to meet you."
"You ever heard of Stone Skimming?"
"No. What is it?"
Her lips curved upwards, and she dragged him along the bank. "Well, first, you gotta pick out the bestest, flattest stones you can..."
*******************
The bus trundled past the rows of broken down houses and gaping walls where buildings had once stood, every creak and groan magnified by the echoing spaces. There wasn't a single soul around, and Logan peered suspiciously through the windshield.
"You *sure* you been leadin' me down the right track?"
"This is Mutie Town," Jamie replied, though he too sounded a little perplexed. "The townsfolk must be in hiding with all the noise this old thing's making."
Logan grunted, shooting him a sideways glance. "You'd better not be settin' us up, kid. Or else..." Taking one hand off the wheel, he patted the back of the other where three faint grooves were just visible in his skin.
Jamie stood up and pressed his face to the glass. "Stop here," he commanded suddenly, and with such force that Logan jammed on the brakes with a screaming skid.
"What?"
"I thought I saw something. Open the door."
Logan's eyes narrowed. "Oh no you don't, short stuff. Wherever you go, I go too." He cut the engine and rose from his seat. Jamie tapped his foot impatiently.
"Well hurry up about it then. Come on, move it."
"Quiet," was the brusque response, followed by the burly man barrelling his way out of the door. He held his fists at the ready, and padded forward a few steps until Jamie disembarked beside him.
"It was over here," the boy said, pattering over to a partially crumbled wall covered in ancient graffiti. His footsteps sent up clouds of dust, and Logan coughed as he followed.
The wall gave up nothing, though they skirted around it several times. After the third encircling, Logan stopped and folded his arms.
"Ain't nuthin' here, sunshine."
"But I was *sure*..." Jamie kicked at a brick with his foot, sending it tumbling to one side. He looked up and around, expression a mix of pensive and dejected. His glorious return had been marred by the lack of people to exalt it to. "Where *is* everybody?"
"Not here," Logan replied, and turned to head back to the bus. He let out only the smallest of noises as something small and fast suddenly clipped his shoulder, making him stumble. "Hey! What was that fer?"
Jamie blinked. "What was what for?"
"You threw sumthin' at me."
"No I didn't."
Something blew past Logan's other shoulder, too fast for him to see what it was. He growled, and the claws on his left hand reflexively popped out. "Somebody's watchin' us," he said slowly, a savage undercurrent to his tone.
Jamie's face lit up. "Where?" he asked, whirling around.
The smallest of noises caused Logan to raise his head, and a snarl escaped his throat. "From the heavens, kid. Lookit."
Positioned atop the numerous buildings, rocks, stones and other weapons at the ready, were a veritable menagerie of creatures. Most looked humanoid, but some were so badly disfigured they looked little more than walking corpses. All of them watched the duo below with searching eyes, as if merely awaiting the signal to strike. Something in their collective gaze reminded Logan of a pack of wild dogs, and his other claws egressed with a faint 'snikt'.
"Well, this can't be good."
The creatures chittered and laughed amongst themselves.
Jamie was not amused. "These," he said to Logan, "are some of the inhabitants of Mutie Town. Why're you all acting like this? It's me, Jamie, and I bring a new mutant. I vouch for him!"
"Gotta be careful kid," muttered one of the assembled multitude. "Things been tough lately. The child of Magneto escaped, and she caused right damage on 'er way out. Then we 'ad a 'uman raid on the western border. Few of us died, but more 'umans died."
Jamie nodded. "Good. Now bring us Grasshopper! He needs to know of the situation. We have the second child of Magneto, Windswift! But his's badly hurt and in need of Layla's help."
Reluctantly, a slender thing covered in white silver fur, wearing nothing than a few strips of cloth, departed to find Grasshopper. She appeared to move by creating a force field about her feet, and 'skidding' it across the rocky ground. Logan was impressed.
But still very worried.
"Why're they so suspicious, kid?" he growled. "I was kinda expectin' a friendlier welcomin' party."
Jamie shrugged. "Being suspicious is part and parcel of any Mutie Towner. You'll learn to accept it after a while."
And somehow, his words struck a sudden chord of trepidation.
They didn't have long to wait before the enigmatic 'Grasshopper' arrived. A small posse of mutants approached them on the ground, watched intently by those above, but the leader was easy to pick out.
Like his namesake he was lithe and covered in a hard shell, like an exoskeleton, which ended in vaguely oval casings on his back that no doubt held gossamer wings. His joints were as though a small child had stuck him together with glue, bending in all the wrong places and seemingly about to snap at any second.
However, unlike the insect, this mutant was incredibly tall, and walked sedately on two legs with all four arms clasped behind his back. His 'skin' was a pure, unblemished white, belying the grubby conditions he lived in. Lank black hair hung greasily about his face, framing equally dark eyes and a tight, hard mouth.
These same eyes glinted shrewdly at both Logan and Jamie, and when he finally stopped he towered over them both whilst still in a slouch. Logan reckoned him to be at least eight feet, and suppressed the growl rising in the back of his throat as he was confronted by this town's equivalent of an alpha male.
"Who're you?"
Logan squared his chest, and came up just short of Grasshopper's armpit. "Wolverine," he replied, choosing to use his old codename rather than his real one for the present. No point in giving all their secrets away at once.
Grasshopper's eyes narrowed to the left, glaring at a shadow, but when Logan looked there was nobody there.
"Really? I was under the impression your name was Logan."
"Some days it is, and some days not. You're the leader 'round here, I take it?"
"I am." Grasshopper peered over his head. "Jamie, is this one with you?"
"Yes." Jamie came to stand by Logan's side, lightly touching the older man's elbow in a gesture that clearly read 'calm down, this isn't your turf.' "I won't bother filling you in on the details, since I'm sure Sneak's already done a pretty fine job already."
"Indeed."
Logan raised an eyebrow. Sneak? That sounded like a spy-name, and not a very subtle one either. So these guys had been watching them all along, then?
Jamie and Grasshopper exchanged a few words, amidst much shaking of heads and talking over Logan's own cranium. Eventually they managed to hash out what had happened, with Jamie filling in the blanks this 'Sneak' had left until his leader was satisfied.
"Windswift, you say?" Grasshopper rearranged his wing casings with a sound like twisting fenders. "How far?" He didn't seem unduly concerned with the news of Wanda's death, despite knowing her for a short while, and Logan was left to wondering what kind of an impression 'Lady Luck' had made on this place to elicit such a callous reaction to her untimely demise.
"A few clicks," Jamie answered, having already outlined Logan's idea a propos a teleporter.
Grasshopper muttered something to himself, then turned and gestured into the small crowd of mutants behind him. "Bairn," he snapped, "Come here."
The ranks parted for a small girl to pass through. She was tiny, smaller than Robyn, and thin as a rake. Bones jutted out in all the wrong places, and her cheeks were little more than husps of skin stretched taut over bone. Her clothes looked like they'd seen better days, but had been gathered in so much to accommodate her minuscule frame that it was difficult to tell what exactly they were supposed to *be*.
She made sound like brittle leaves crunching underfoot, but shaped it into no words. Her eyes were completely white save for a yellow slit of a pupil that darted around ceaselessly.
"Take Jamie back to the site he specifies and bring back those you find there. Don't take long."
She nodded, wordlessly taking Jamie's hand. A brief moment of concentration was followed by the appearance of a large black disc on the ground, which the two of them stepped into like a puddle of water. They sank without trace, and it vanished again with a faint crackle.
Logan turned back, and Grasshopper gave an ironic semblance of a bow.
"Welcome to Mutie Town."
*******************
All was still in the small gathering of mutants by the river. The only sound was that of Pietro's occasional moaning, and Robyn's pitiful cries.
{WOOOOOOOWUMPH!}
Suddenly, there was a noise that can only be described as that of the world ripping in two, and a strange black hole appeared in the ground. From its ostensibly fathomless depths, two mutants emerged, clambering out as one might do a cave or rocky ledge.
It was Jamie and a strange looking... well, presumably the tiny, skeletal like thing was a girl, but it was difficult to tell.
Logan was nowhere in sight.
"Come on," Jamie commanded. "Let's get out of here."
As they dragged themselves to their feet, Jamie went over to the battered form of Pietro. He bent to pick him up, but was stopped by Alvin.
"No! Move him, and you may reopen his wounds to more infection. Let me do some extra bandaging first."
Jamie sneered, and bent over again, ignoring Alvin's words as he had done before.
"Nein!" said Kurt. "Do as he says. Alvin's our healer. If you want Pietro to live, then listen to him."
Jamie looked like he had something to say about this, but a glare from Kurt silenced him. He reluctantly allowed Alvin to work over Pietro, and then pick the boy up himself, ready for teleportation.
When everyone had gathered together, and Ariel and Daisy had been called back from stone skimming, the little skeletal girl gestured they step into the widening black rift.
Raven carried the still form of Lance, both arms now whole and regrown, and Kitty followed silently with Hope. She'd barely said two words to anyone the whole time.
"What about Wanda?" asked Rogue, biting her lip and adjusting Robyn in her arms. "Shouldn't we..."
"Nein," Kurt replied. "We must get Pietro some help soon, and it may take a while to rescue her body from the water. Pietro's life is more important than the corpse of his sister. We can return later. Perhaps."
Rogue looked torn, but came when he tugged on her sleeve. "Perhaps..." she murmured, and then shook her head, knowing it was a lie. She stepped through the portal without another word.
Kurt was last. On his back he had strapped various implements, though nothing too large, owing to his rib. They had all taken some items from the jeep, but they would have to leave much behind. Forge's inventions especially, though Kurt hoped they could be retrieved later.
Unless scavengers stripped them in their wake, of course.
He took a final look back, surveying the wreckage, the broken, charred earth, the rushing water, the husks of burnt out cars and the abandoned form of the bus.
Then, with a soft sigh, he went through the portal, and also entered Mutie Town.
*******************
"Wake up..." came a low voice.
Peter slowly came to, wondering why he was so warm, and his face was so wet, and his clothes were not so slowly being...
"Wolfsbane!" He shot awake, knocking Wolfsbane off the small bed of his quarters in the transport. He yanked his shirt back on and glared at the girl as she got up. If it were possible, she was wearing even less than normal, he noted.
"What?" she asked too-innocently. "Didn't Spider like it? I know you want it, and I want it. What's wrong?"
"I... it..." Flustered, Peter just threw up his arms. "Don't you think it's a bit early on for this? I mean, we've only known each other a short while, and - "
He was silenced by Wolfsbane's index finger pressing against his lips. "You're strong, Spider," she said in a low, sultry voice. "Maybe as strong as me. Magneto looks on you as a son. The rest of Asteroid M looks up to you. And I want you for mine." She pressed against him, her lips hot against his, her tongue pushing possessively into his mouth and -
"No!" Peter said forcefully, breaking the kiss.
He held her shoulders at arm's length, but the rest of her still pressed painfully against him, reminding him quite suddenly that he was, despite his powers, a teenage boy, and she was a more-than-willing teenage girl.
He shook his head. "No, Wolfsbane. This isn't what I want."
She smiled, deliberately showing him just how sharp her teeth were. "Who said I was giving you an option, little Spider?" She dug her nails deep into his forearms, leaving her mark on him. "But you're right. Now's not the time."
Languidly, she rose from his prone form, and he let out the breath he'd been holding and massaged his freely bleeding forearms. She turned, giving him a nearly-unobstructed view of her body and the thin sheen of sweat that covered it.
"When the time's ready for you to become a Spider *Man*, I'll be there." She winked over her shoulder as she left his room.
Peter grabbed a towel from his small stack of supplies to clean off his wounds, and sucked in a breath when he saw exactly how deep Wolfsbane's nails had sunk in. That much damage, and she hadn't even been fully transformed...
*******************
Magneto didn't notice Wolfsbane's entrance to, or exit from Spider-Man's quarters.
But Dazzler did. She glared at the lycanthrope as she re-entered the small ship's common room.
Wolfsbane noticed the attention and suggestively sucked a drop of Peter's blood off the tip of her finger, then gave Dazzler a triumphant grin.
Magneto didn't notice. He had only eyes for the blue and green mass that was quickly coming up to meet them.
_How long has it been?_ he wondered, eyes tracing the patterns of Europe, Africa and the gigantic mass that was the Americas.
It was saddening how much of the land was brown, even from up here in space. There were a few green smudges, but they were few and far between. Much more common were the long stretches of what he knew to be bare earth, worn clean by the chemicals scientists had insisted on spraying the land with. If the X-Virus had killed the land, then the 'cure' had decimated what was left. The Earth was a poor reflection of its former glory, and inwardly he ached for what had been.
_Humans,_ he thought bitterly. _They have no right to be there on the gift nature gave them._
Yet in his heart of hearts, he knew he was hanging on to a half-truth. The mess of a world had been the product of mutant intolerance of humans, too. Charles, if nothing else, had taught him that. It was this clashing of peoples that had ruined things, and though he still preached against the flatscans, his old friend's words still echoed in Erik's head.
What if there was peace between the two? What if mutants had been introduced gradually to society, instead of the sudden exhibition that had doomed them all to fear and hatred? What if... what if... what if...
"Last night, while I lay thinking here, some Whatifs crawled inside my ear," he murmured, quoting the childish poem [1] he used to read to Wanda when she was just a little girl. She'd loved the giant poetry book he'd given her for her fifth birthday, and spent every night learning a new one by heart to recite the following day like a mantra.
Pietro had never been quite so bookish, preferring physical activity to being cooped up all the time. Yet he'd listened gamely whilst his twin read by the secretive light of a torch when they were supposed to be sleeping.
A small smile graced Erik's lips as he fondly remembered sneaking up on them, and hearing the scuffle of bed-sheets as they each buried their heads at his approach and pretended to be fast asleep in the innocent way that only children could.
A shadow fell to his left, and he turned to see Dazzler looking quizzically at him. She opened her mouth, and in the air a few bright letters wrote themselves into life.
Penny for your thoughts?
Erik shook his head, sighing. "Just... memories. That's all. Old, musty memories."
Dazzler looked at the Earth and frowned. She 'spoke' again, her 'speech' bright and glowing in the stagnant air of the transporter[2].
You shouldn't think about them if they hurt. There's trouble behind your eyes.
She gestured, and a dozen tiny white arrows flew from her fingertips to surround her own eyelids. They vanished again seconds later, but her expression remained fixed in place.
"I have to think about them," Erik replied soberly. "Otherwise they fester. I've had too many years of them festering at the back of my head. It's time to let them out - let them breathe again."
Breathe? said the iridescent letters.
Erik nodded. "It's time for lots of things. I just hope I'm not too late..."
*******************
To Be Continued...
*******************
[1] 'Whatif' by Shel Silverstein.
[2] Yup, Maggie never got around to designing those oh-so-stylish silver spheres in this reality. Instead, we have a big wokka spacecraft capable of carrying many people at a time, if at a slower pace than the canon means of transportation.