A/N ~ Profuse apologies concerning the length of time between the previous chapter and this one. Those technical difficulties I talked about last time came back to haunt me, and meant I've spent the last few weeks (in between writing essays, research notes and conducting Education Studies interviews) decoding what was left of my fried disk and cordoned off C-drive files. Luckily for me, my dissertation prelude wasn't affected, but the cost was the Judgment Day file. Hence, the waiting period while I painstakingly pieced things back together.
The upshot was that I got two pieces of Static Shock fanfic written and released in the interim. I'm willing to beg people to go read and review them. Please? I'll give you cookies if you do. Lovely, lovely cookies... You wants 'em. You know you does. *Smeagol laugh*.
By now, it will have come to the attention of most that X-Men: Evolution did not have its contract renewed by KidsWB and, subsequently, will not be returning for a fifth season. I suggest a six-line silence to honour the passing of a well-made, enjoyable and oft times thoughtfully mature show.
Silence over; let's get to ficcing.
Nemati ~ If that attendance of the Fates was unexpected then we've been doing our jobs properly. Merci. Unfortunately, I work with a dial-up connection that hates downloading. It scowls at me when \I consider it, and since I don't want a repeat of the exploding!computer saga, I let its have its way.
Hootild ~ Kathy Bates! Oh, wow, yes. Kathy Bates as Layla, yup. Get her agent on the phone, pronto! Gary Oldman, you say? I have a special character in mind for him. He does English Evil so well, even in Lost In Space... Not too fond of the accent in The Fifth Element, though. Hee hee, 'I speak only two languages; English and Bad English.'
Ezrajade ~ Here's your update. Sorry about the wait.
UnknownSource ~ Twisty turny wormy gurny. Hee hee, extravagance is to be expected somewhat in a fic with this kind of scope. Another battle, you say? Hmm...
Yma ~ I've heard of Oh My Goddess and had a flick through some of the manga in Borders, but I haven't actually watched any. Le sigh. No channel I know of shows it and I'm not shelling out for DVDs or videos if I can't be sure I'll like it. I don't have that kind of disposable income (*cries*).
Nessie6 ~Not quite. Destiny was a recipient of visions from the three sisters, just like Seer, Scry and other such mutants. But the Fates are Apocalypse's children, yes. Some comic characters have already appeared - Dazzler, Captain Britain, Psylocke was mentioned a while back, as well as few others. Even Skids had a cameo, if you spotted it.
SPoOkZ13412 ~ Thank you. Here it is. And you have a very difficult name to type.
Gerri ~ Disney's Hercules! Completely incorrect story, but fun nonetheless. I actually went and raided my sister's video collection after reading your review. I love Phyl. Although Danny DeVito's never been quite same for me after I realised he was King Grundle. Grundlenumph!
Tenshiamanda ~ Sneaky!Kurt. Less of him this chapter and more of Shouty!Kurt. But any kind of Kurt is good, I guess. ^_^
Cheesy Monkey ~ *Plucks Cheesy from little corner of the net* How long have you been sitting there? Eesh, have some victuals that aren't curdled dairy products or primate. Oh, and a new chapter. Sip, don't slurp.
Furygrrl ~ I doubt I've ever received a nicer review. Thank you. Thank you from me and everyone else; we appreciate it more than you could ever know. We are proud, but that pride doesn't mean anything unless people like you come along and read what we've produced. So thank you very much once again.
The Phantom ~ I guess the Fates have a face for anyone and everyone they come across. Kurt saw them as they wanted to be seen, but that's not necessarily the version Grasshopper knows. If I continue further down that path we get into the discussion on perception I had in my English tutorial last week, whereupon we decided that language is fundamentally untrustworthy because of perception, and the world as we know it may be little more than our awareness and nothing other than a mass of sensory input with no real bearing on reality as it actually is. Sounds Matrix-y, but it all comes down to (if you'll believe it) the simple argument that language stunts perception of the world. There is no innate 'pen-ness' to a pen, just words to describe it, and so how can we be sure that a pen to me is a pen to you? Similarly, there is no real acuity of the Fates, and so they can be seen as and how each individual person wishes to see them, dependant on clarity of mind, thought and discernment. ^_^ Got all that?
Ambrosia ~ I have to say I've never actually read Stephen King. Is he as good as people make out, or just solid ground for Hollywood vultures to pick at occasionally?
Ice Princess ~ Rogue and Pietro are not a romantic couple. There, that's that one nipped in the bud. They are consolation siblings - Rogue has enough of Wanda's memories and shared experiences in her to augment the time she spent living with Pietro et al in Bayville so that she perceives him as a sort-of brother. The emotion is partially hers, partially Wanda's; hence the Ro-Ro bit. Pietro needs someone to anchor him, preferably family, and Rogue is fulfilling the role Wanda can no longer realize. The fact that Magneto has essentially disowned Pietro has gone a long way to furthering this corollary reaction.
KittyKate ~ Stand by for closure in... ach, I'm not counting. A few chapters' time. I think this should all be wrapped up by the end of next month if I release a chapter a week. You like my A/N? Well, that's a first. Usually I'm commanded to shut up when I babble. Yee hee! ^_^
Archer ~ Age has no bearing on The Schoolgirl Crush. Neither does gender, actually, but I won't go into that here. See above for number of chapters left. You want the Daisy and Robyn pics? Well, I have three now, thanks to the illustrious Yodelbean (writer of much Grasshopper verbiage and driving force behind his character) so I'll send them as soon as I can get back to my scanner.
Rurouni Tyriel ~ I can honestly say I never expected to see you around this little fic. You should be writing more of Infection. Go, write, I command it. I kind of like Knitting!Lance, but that's just me. Paradoxical imagery gets my heart pumping. The Craft! Yes, you got the reference. Rahne's character pleases me, also. The fight between her and Wolverine was just too good to pass up, and hearkens back to a back-issue of an AU X-Men comic wherein they fought and she won. You go, girl!
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Thirty-sixth Fragment ~ Choice
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He had been travelling for weeks on his motorcycle, getting gasoline wherever he could, walking some, and just trying to put some distance between himself and New Orleans. His clothes and skin were filthy, only coming clean in rain. His shades were the only immaculate thing about him, and even then only because he had to see.
New Orleans. His home city. Now underwater through the combined force of Lake Ponchichrain and the Mississippi River [1]. The hurricane that occurred six months ago didn't help matters any either, as well as the sweltering humidity that occurred in southern Louisiana during the hot season. As in, any month besides February.
Remy LeBeau grimaced, feeling his hair and nearly-bearded jaw, as his red on black eyes, hidden by the shades and crossed with one graceful scar, scanned the area like a person with OCD. These days, it was vital that the locals didn't recognise you as a mutant.
His hands, sheathed in fingerless black leather gloves, were in his duster pocket, lightly touching the pack of cards he had filched several towns back. His other pocket held marbles, pebbles and other possible projectiles. He'd used up most of his ammo in a run-in with a 'roadblock' some days ago that had demanded his bike. He hated having to restock, since it usually meant raiding abandoned houses, which in turn meant finding bodies.
It wasn't so much the deaths that bothered him, nor the various stages of decay he found people in. Rather, it was his own damn soft-heartedness. Remy never felt he could just leave a corpse to the elements, and made it his business to bury any poor soul he found. That ate into his road-time, putting hours on every journey and setting his progress back something chronic.
Satisfied that the town was abandoned, he hopped onto his bike and searched for a gas station that might have fuel and a possible place to hide for a couple of days.
He couldn't remember a time that he got more than four hours of broken sleep, and even then he had been lucky.
The Colorado air was soaking through his duster and he shivered, staring at the mountains on the far-distant horizon. He needed to stock up fuel soon - and there was no telling when he would reach another station on this seemingly endless trip.
Several hours later, outside an abandoned fuel station where he'd filled his bike's tank full, he curled up into the ratty blanket kept in his small pack of belongings. His bo lay next to him, as was his protective habit, and he fell into an uneasy sleep, body so alert that even a mouse's sneeze would have sent him crashing back to wakefulness.
Remy hadn't survived so long alone on the road by being sloppy.
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Peter was excessively glad that, while the rest of his garish costume had been ripped, torn, burned and otherwise ruined, his mask had stayed intact. Something felt wrong about letting these people see his face. He found himself not wanting them to know who he really was, and so was, for the first time, also glad on Magneto's insistence they use only codenames as identification. It was Spider-Man fighting his way out of that dingy prison; Spider-Man thwacking aside mutants that were barely children, not Peter Parker. Parker was safe somewhere with MJ, not here instigating a prison riot, escaping with a man missing quite a few sandwiches from his picnic basket, and a cluster of mutants he'd been battling to the death not a few hours earlier.
He caught a flying punch some nameless citizen threw, refraining from harming the owner just for violence's sake. Instead, he twisted the arm around, flipping his assailant over his back and catapulting her into his erstwhile cell with a crash that would leave her unconscious long enough she wouldn't re-enter the fray anytime soon.
"Make for the exit," he called, not entirely sure to whom he was addressing the order.
He only did it because it felt like someone should say something. Magneto wasn't saying much of much and both Wolfsbane and Dazzler were otherwise engaged with their own problems.
Dazzler! Her lights mostly useless, she'd been backed into a corner by one of the resident Jamies in this town. Another two, including what Spider-Man assumed to be the original, stood off to one side, circling like wolves around prey. Dazzler tried her best to fight back against the Jamie, but he was obviously well-versed in fighting, and had a sword on his side to boot.
Using the momentum of a flip, Spider-Man carried himself over to the duelling pair, landing square in front of the clone. "I really hate to do this," he said, drawing back a fist and punching hard enough to send the Jamie and newly created clones flying backwards into - and then *through* - the rickety wooden wall, "but you *did* say you weren't our Jamie."
Thank you.
The words appeared in the air next to his ear, and Spider-Man gave them a precursory nod before turning and scooping Dazzler into his arms. Surprised, she opened her mouth to squeal, but all that came out was a burst of brilliant light and colour.
"New plan," he shouted above the din. "Head for *that* exit!"
And without further ado, he bounded through the makeshift opening, over the cluster of Jamies, and into the moonlit street beyond.
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It was a brawl by the time Kurt got there. Apparently, not all of the residents of Mutie Town were happy with their lot. Those that were content - or at least halfway to being so - were trying to get the rest to stay.
And in that mess, in that chaos, were his people.
Mutants everywhere. All fighting to get out, or to keep the others in.
Except one.
Magneto stood in the middle of it all, looking like a man who had lost everything and was watching the rest of the world turn into ash. He was just *waiting* for a stray shot to finish him, and his dreams, forever.
The Fates' message burning in his brain, Kurt tackled the bigger man. "Don't you *dare* try to die, Arschgesicht[2]! You could stop all this in a *moment* and we both know it!"
Magneto's eyes were despondent. "How? What can I do that won't hurt things further?"
"Lift that verdammt bus! Get the Kinder - the children on it! *NOW*!"
Maybe it was the voice of authority. Maybe it was the urgency, the need in his tone, or the wildness of his eye... but something made the Master of Magnetism obey.
The bus, stripped of its engine and anything not welded down, floated gently into the air.
Kurt fought his way through the masses, flipping over heads, vaulting fighters, and landing in front of his own.
"Kurti!" Robyn cried, launching herself at him from behind Raven's thing-with-teeth guise.
"Liebes! Quickly," Kurt said, grabbing her and gesturing to the others before they had time to question his arrival or what he'd said to the Council. "Everybody inside, *now*!"
They loaded Kitty, Hope, Ariel, Robyn and Daisy in first. Then Kurt cupped his hands around his mouth and used his best ringmaster voice.
"ATCHUNG! ANYONE WANTING THE HELL OUT OF MUTIE TOWN - GEKOMMEN SIE! I HAVE A FREE RIDE FOR ANYONE WANTING FREEDOM!" He took a breath. "COME ONE, COME ALL, AN EXPRESS TRIP TO THE GREEN LANDS OF THE GODDESS ORORO!"
Kurt had to leap clean onto a nearby wall to get clear of the influx of people.
*That* certainly got 'em...
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Rogue jolted as many bodies rushed past her and fell to her knees, only to be caught by a pair of blue arms.
"Keep your feet," Raven told her sharply, "or you won't have any left to keep."
They heard Kurt's desperate shout and were swept along in the wake of it, crushed against the side of the bus until Rogue cried out in pain. Raven tightened her grip on her daughter, but startled as Rogue slid gloved hands under her arms and *lifted* her into the air.
Raven gawked as the two of them skittered up the side of the bus, Rogue 'borrowing' Kurt's powers for a few precious seconds until they were safely atop the metal behemoth. There, they quickly found the smashed window Logan had used to taunt Wolfsbane and slipped through it.
The bus was almost completely stripped of its innards, bar the seating; and even then, one of the chairs was missing. All their belongings had either been ransacked, or else were still in the building they'd so recently left. Yet there was no time to go back for them, and instead the woman and girl ran down the stairs and grabbed their own, hoisting the children onto the second level and staving off those poor escaping Mutie Towners whose desperation was making them violent and unmindful of others.
"S'like a damn cage in here," Rogue gritted, hauling Daisy and Robyn up the steps as Ariel pattered after them.
Raven was too busy shielding Kitty and Hope to answer.
"A'right, comin' through. Move over!" a familiar gruff voice sounded out, and then there was Logan, dragging a struggling Alvin with him.
"My cart! My plants! I can't leave the green!"
Logan grunted, but didn't halt. "If I was of a disposition to let you get torn to shreds in this rush, then I'd gladly letcha go back for yer cart, God Boy. But I'm not, so shut up and get with the movin'."
"Logan," Raven called, "over here!"
The two men fought their way over and up the stairs, just as the first few trickles of mutants started heading up that way.
"One at a time, you lot," Logan snarled, depositing Alvin with the shapeshifter and setting himself up to police the stairwell. "Plenty enough room fer ev'ryone, so no shovin', or I'll shove all of ya right out the door."
He sounded serious, and the crowd began to lull, whispering to each other as they found seats and huddled onto them.
Logan nodded; guiding and directing all those who sought passage to Ororo's lands - or just plain out of Mutie Town.
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Robyn shuddered, a scared little bundle of puffed out fur in Rogue's arms. Beside her, Daisy sat likewise in the embrace of Raven, while Alvin and Ariel sat in the seat in front of them.
The zealot was weeping for his lost cart, aching loss made worse by the fact that he could understand why he couldn't go back for his beloved plants and religious texts. Ariel did his best to soothe him, laying a webbed hand on the older man's arm.
Rogue squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the sounds of other people's thoughts in such close quarters. Layla had visited her while in 'prison', and explained her theories as to her evolving mutation. Having seen what she'd seen in the last few days, Rogue was willing to believe her, too.
That didn't make it any easier to deal with.
How the hell had those telepaths up at the Xavier Institute *coped*?
In her arms, Robyn twitched. "Rogue? Rogue, where are they?"
"Where are who?" Rogue gritted through clenched teeth.
Robyn wiped at her little pink nose, whiskers quivering. Her voice sounded slightly panicked and rose an octave. "Kurti and Pie-Pie. Where are Kurti and Pie-Pie?"
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Peter hurried as he passed Wolfsbane up to Raven, hanging onto the bus side with his feet. The lupine girl took the outstretched hand, but didn't look too happy about it. They needed to get out ASAP, since many of the Mutie Towners looked... unstable.
Magneto wasn't looking much better, but at least he was willing to help.
Peter nearly fell when someone whacked his foot. Looking down, he saw the blue elf-thing, who was outside of the bus again, helping others to board undamaged.
"Here," he said, passing up a small child with silver hair and, oddly enough, canine-esque ears peeking out.
"Let me have him," Raven said, leaning out of the busted window to haul the three-year-old inside. "Kurt, we need to get out of here, and *soon*"
Kurt whirled to face the crowd that was still outside of the bus, worried. "I *know*."
Alvin had taken the child from Raven, and though still upset about his cart, he began to calm himself in order to quiet the crying child.
Raven, looking outside again after Peter clambered through the window, suddenly froze. "Where did Kurt go?"
Peter looked back down, eyes scanning for the Elf, then swore.
"I've got a bad feeling about this [3]."
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Pietro watched the screams and the disorder. It didn't bother him unduly. It was just more chaos and death. Death and chaos. It followed him wherever he went - another thing he couldn't run from.
Kurt was extremely relieved when he saw him, staring out at the pandemonium from a doorway he'd huddled himself into. He rushed towards the crouching silver figure, trying to avoid the various punches and blows thrown in his direction. Layla had done her job well, and it would be many a year before he lost the acrobatic skills he had gained in the circus.
He reached the silent speedster. "Come on!" Kurt growled, grabbing Pietro's skinny arm. "We've gotta get going!"
"Why? Where?"
"We..." He paused. Dammit, he'd forgotten about Magneto. How was he supposed to work this between disowned son and father?
Might as well be honest.
"I've gotten Magneto to raise the bus. He's going to take us to the Lands of New Hope."
"Why? How?"
"I don't know, and frankly I don't care. We'll deal with that bridge when we get to it, but right now we have to go!"
"But he hates me, I'm not his son - "
Kurt paused long enough to grip Pietro's shoulders and shake him. "Maybe not, but you're *my* brother. We're still family, Pietro, and I won't leave family behind. Not ever."
Pietro turned and looked into Kurt's wide, pleading eyes. There was something there that might pertain to violence in others, but somehow just made Kurt look even more determined.
"All right," he sighed, hauling himself to his feet. "But... but I still can't run with this ankle. The crowd - "
"Pie-Pie, I'll frikkin' *carry* you if I have to, but we have to go *now*."
Good as his word, Kurt picked Pietro up and he slung his slight form over his back, silently thanking Layla again for doing her job so well.
"Hold on tight."
Then he fell onto all fours and was running again.
A few years ago he would never have considered this; running along with someone on his back, like some donkey or other pack animal. Now, however, with bedlam breaking out all around him, Kurt knew didn't have much choice, and dutifully careened towards the masses once more.
He only stopped when a familiar pale figure stepped across their path.
"You're leaving, then." It wasn't so much a question as a statement.
Grasshopper stood tall, all four arms folded. Behind him, the pandemonium was starting to abate a little at Logan's efforts. Still, many mutants crowded towards the bus, and many more continued to hold them back, crying for order and the sanctity of Mutie Town's secrecy.
Kurt couldn't stand up properly, but stared with hard eyes. "Yes. The Fates gave me permission to take my people out of here."
Grasshopper nodded, as if he already knew, but waved a hand at the melee. "And what of the others? What of *my* people? Did they give you permission to take them too?"
Kurt made as if to snap, and then caught his tongue.
Had they? Not in so many words, but surely... the Three Ladies had seemed so understanding, surely they knew how these poor folk felt being trapped out here in this dead end of a safe-town.
Yet truth had always been something Kurt prided himself on, and so he shook his head. "No... not in so many words. I just thought... they deserved to make their own decisions. For once," he added, then wondered if he should've done, judging by the strange look in Grasshopper's coal-black eyes.
For a moment nothing was said. Around them, the sounds of fighting, shouting and cursing rang on, accompanied by in incessant hum of Magneto's power. The bus hung suspended not a foot off the ground.
Then, slowly, Grasshopper nodded, greasy hair flopping into his eyes and across his careworn face. "I just did as I was told," he said in a low voice, and Kurt respectfully kept silent. "Ever since the day... it happened; the day the humans left this place to us mutants, I did what I thought was best for the people here. Perhaps keeping residents hostage wasn't the best plan in the world, but it was the only way I could think to do as the Fates said and keep everybody safe." He raised his eyes, casting them over the ruined buildings, as if drinking in the battered sight. "Dictatorship?" he said softly, and then shook his head. "Perhaps it *is* time..."
And with that, he turned and flew swiftly to the bus, leaving Kurt in the dust to follow as best he could.
Once there, Grasshopper perched atop the giant vehicle and held up his arms, letting out a high-pitched noise so loud it could only have been due to his mutation. It was followed by a shout.
"*STOP*!"
It was like someone had pressed the great pause button of life, and everybody froze at the thunderous voice. Even Magneto looked up, though his hold over the bus didn't slip an inch.
Grasshopper looked around, taking in the faces he'd come to know over the past four years. There was Scry, standing unsteadily towards the back next to Layla. Probably been drinking with Sneak and Bairn again, the fool. Nearer the front, Bairn herself sat on a large rock, allowing the multitudes to swarm around her like an ever-flowing sea, while Bubbles stood like a bodyguard by her side. Redeye, the Jamies - even Sneak had made himself visible enough to be noticed and counted.
They all trusted him, believed in his prowess as leader. Now it was time to prove to them that what he did was for their benefit, whatever that might be.
"People, please, listen to me." His authoritative voice boomed out, consuming the air and rattling the atmosphere like shells in a tin can. "Do *not* stop those who wish to leave. The Council has decreed that everybody here today - mutant or human - should be entitled to his or her own choice. Mutie Town is not a prison, nor was it ever meant to be. If you or I stop them from leaving, we're no more than those who sought to kill us with the virus four years ago."
A murmur went through the crowd, and some looked confused. "The Council said that?" asked one.
Grasshopper nodded, allowing himself the whitest of lies. "Freedom is a birthright. We all forgot that Mutie Town was originally constructed to embody that freedom for Mutantkind. We - I," he amended, "got too caught up in safety and forgot about just plain *living*. Well, no more. If anybody wishes to stay, then they're more than welcome, but I won't stop anybody from seeking passage to the Goddess' lands."
More muttering. A ripple went through the crowd. "Will you be going, Grasshopper?" It was Scry, and Grasshopper looked down at his old friend.
"No. My place is, was, and will always be right here."
Scry shouted at the top of his lungs, words only slightly slurred. "I choose Mutie Town. All those who do likewise should stand back and let those who want to leave onto the bus."
"Right now!" Layla added, then shrugged at Scry's surprised expression. "What? You're going to need a healer here, sure enough. I'm assuming Mutie Town'll stay open for anybody wanting to join it?"
Grasshopper fluttered down to land by her side and took the greying mutant's hand in his own. For the first time in long, long while, he gave a genuine smile. "That it will, Layla. That it will."
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To Be Continued...
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[1] New Orleans, for those who don't know (and this makes pretty good useless trivia), is below sea level. That's why they all freak out when a hurricane heads that way. Also, people are buried in vaults for this reason - if N.O. went under, I *think* some of the coffins in the ground will actually float. No lie.
[2] Literally 'ass face'. Or, in more colloquial terms, 'butt-head'.
[3] A line in almost every Star Wars movie. Sorry - couldn't resist.
The upshot was that I got two pieces of Static Shock fanfic written and released in the interim. I'm willing to beg people to go read and review them. Please? I'll give you cookies if you do. Lovely, lovely cookies... You wants 'em. You know you does. *Smeagol laugh*.
By now, it will have come to the attention of most that X-Men: Evolution did not have its contract renewed by KidsWB and, subsequently, will not be returning for a fifth season. I suggest a six-line silence to honour the passing of a well-made, enjoyable and oft times thoughtfully mature show.
Silence over; let's get to ficcing.
Nemati ~ If that attendance of the Fates was unexpected then we've been doing our jobs properly. Merci. Unfortunately, I work with a dial-up connection that hates downloading. It scowls at me when \I consider it, and since I don't want a repeat of the exploding!computer saga, I let its have its way.
Hootild ~ Kathy Bates! Oh, wow, yes. Kathy Bates as Layla, yup. Get her agent on the phone, pronto! Gary Oldman, you say? I have a special character in mind for him. He does English Evil so well, even in Lost In Space... Not too fond of the accent in The Fifth Element, though. Hee hee, 'I speak only two languages; English and Bad English.'
Ezrajade ~ Here's your update. Sorry about the wait.
UnknownSource ~ Twisty turny wormy gurny. Hee hee, extravagance is to be expected somewhat in a fic with this kind of scope. Another battle, you say? Hmm...
Yma ~ I've heard of Oh My Goddess and had a flick through some of the manga in Borders, but I haven't actually watched any. Le sigh. No channel I know of shows it and I'm not shelling out for DVDs or videos if I can't be sure I'll like it. I don't have that kind of disposable income (*cries*).
Nessie6 ~Not quite. Destiny was a recipient of visions from the three sisters, just like Seer, Scry and other such mutants. But the Fates are Apocalypse's children, yes. Some comic characters have already appeared - Dazzler, Captain Britain, Psylocke was mentioned a while back, as well as few others. Even Skids had a cameo, if you spotted it.
SPoOkZ13412 ~ Thank you. Here it is. And you have a very difficult name to type.
Gerri ~ Disney's Hercules! Completely incorrect story, but fun nonetheless. I actually went and raided my sister's video collection after reading your review. I love Phyl. Although Danny DeVito's never been quite same for me after I realised he was King Grundle. Grundlenumph!
Tenshiamanda ~ Sneaky!Kurt. Less of him this chapter and more of Shouty!Kurt. But any kind of Kurt is good, I guess. ^_^
Cheesy Monkey ~ *Plucks Cheesy from little corner of the net* How long have you been sitting there? Eesh, have some victuals that aren't curdled dairy products or primate. Oh, and a new chapter. Sip, don't slurp.
Furygrrl ~ I doubt I've ever received a nicer review. Thank you. Thank you from me and everyone else; we appreciate it more than you could ever know. We are proud, but that pride doesn't mean anything unless people like you come along and read what we've produced. So thank you very much once again.
The Phantom ~ I guess the Fates have a face for anyone and everyone they come across. Kurt saw them as they wanted to be seen, but that's not necessarily the version Grasshopper knows. If I continue further down that path we get into the discussion on perception I had in my English tutorial last week, whereupon we decided that language is fundamentally untrustworthy because of perception, and the world as we know it may be little more than our awareness and nothing other than a mass of sensory input with no real bearing on reality as it actually is. Sounds Matrix-y, but it all comes down to (if you'll believe it) the simple argument that language stunts perception of the world. There is no innate 'pen-ness' to a pen, just words to describe it, and so how can we be sure that a pen to me is a pen to you? Similarly, there is no real acuity of the Fates, and so they can be seen as and how each individual person wishes to see them, dependant on clarity of mind, thought and discernment. ^_^ Got all that?
Ambrosia ~ I have to say I've never actually read Stephen King. Is he as good as people make out, or just solid ground for Hollywood vultures to pick at occasionally?
Ice Princess ~ Rogue and Pietro are not a romantic couple. There, that's that one nipped in the bud. They are consolation siblings - Rogue has enough of Wanda's memories and shared experiences in her to augment the time she spent living with Pietro et al in Bayville so that she perceives him as a sort-of brother. The emotion is partially hers, partially Wanda's; hence the Ro-Ro bit. Pietro needs someone to anchor him, preferably family, and Rogue is fulfilling the role Wanda can no longer realize. The fact that Magneto has essentially disowned Pietro has gone a long way to furthering this corollary reaction.
KittyKate ~ Stand by for closure in... ach, I'm not counting. A few chapters' time. I think this should all be wrapped up by the end of next month if I release a chapter a week. You like my A/N? Well, that's a first. Usually I'm commanded to shut up when I babble. Yee hee! ^_^
Archer ~ Age has no bearing on The Schoolgirl Crush. Neither does gender, actually, but I won't go into that here. See above for number of chapters left. You want the Daisy and Robyn pics? Well, I have three now, thanks to the illustrious Yodelbean (writer of much Grasshopper verbiage and driving force behind his character) so I'll send them as soon as I can get back to my scanner.
Rurouni Tyriel ~ I can honestly say I never expected to see you around this little fic. You should be writing more of Infection. Go, write, I command it. I kind of like Knitting!Lance, but that's just me. Paradoxical imagery gets my heart pumping. The Craft! Yes, you got the reference. Rahne's character pleases me, also. The fight between her and Wolverine was just too good to pass up, and hearkens back to a back-issue of an AU X-Men comic wherein they fought and she won. You go, girl!
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Thirty-sixth Fragment ~ Choice
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He had been travelling for weeks on his motorcycle, getting gasoline wherever he could, walking some, and just trying to put some distance between himself and New Orleans. His clothes and skin were filthy, only coming clean in rain. His shades were the only immaculate thing about him, and even then only because he had to see.
New Orleans. His home city. Now underwater through the combined force of Lake Ponchichrain and the Mississippi River [1]. The hurricane that occurred six months ago didn't help matters any either, as well as the sweltering humidity that occurred in southern Louisiana during the hot season. As in, any month besides February.
Remy LeBeau grimaced, feeling his hair and nearly-bearded jaw, as his red on black eyes, hidden by the shades and crossed with one graceful scar, scanned the area like a person with OCD. These days, it was vital that the locals didn't recognise you as a mutant.
His hands, sheathed in fingerless black leather gloves, were in his duster pocket, lightly touching the pack of cards he had filched several towns back. His other pocket held marbles, pebbles and other possible projectiles. He'd used up most of his ammo in a run-in with a 'roadblock' some days ago that had demanded his bike. He hated having to restock, since it usually meant raiding abandoned houses, which in turn meant finding bodies.
It wasn't so much the deaths that bothered him, nor the various stages of decay he found people in. Rather, it was his own damn soft-heartedness. Remy never felt he could just leave a corpse to the elements, and made it his business to bury any poor soul he found. That ate into his road-time, putting hours on every journey and setting his progress back something chronic.
Satisfied that the town was abandoned, he hopped onto his bike and searched for a gas station that might have fuel and a possible place to hide for a couple of days.
He couldn't remember a time that he got more than four hours of broken sleep, and even then he had been lucky.
The Colorado air was soaking through his duster and he shivered, staring at the mountains on the far-distant horizon. He needed to stock up fuel soon - and there was no telling when he would reach another station on this seemingly endless trip.
Several hours later, outside an abandoned fuel station where he'd filled his bike's tank full, he curled up into the ratty blanket kept in his small pack of belongings. His bo lay next to him, as was his protective habit, and he fell into an uneasy sleep, body so alert that even a mouse's sneeze would have sent him crashing back to wakefulness.
Remy hadn't survived so long alone on the road by being sloppy.
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Peter was excessively glad that, while the rest of his garish costume had been ripped, torn, burned and otherwise ruined, his mask had stayed intact. Something felt wrong about letting these people see his face. He found himself not wanting them to know who he really was, and so was, for the first time, also glad on Magneto's insistence they use only codenames as identification. It was Spider-Man fighting his way out of that dingy prison; Spider-Man thwacking aside mutants that were barely children, not Peter Parker. Parker was safe somewhere with MJ, not here instigating a prison riot, escaping with a man missing quite a few sandwiches from his picnic basket, and a cluster of mutants he'd been battling to the death not a few hours earlier.
He caught a flying punch some nameless citizen threw, refraining from harming the owner just for violence's sake. Instead, he twisted the arm around, flipping his assailant over his back and catapulting her into his erstwhile cell with a crash that would leave her unconscious long enough she wouldn't re-enter the fray anytime soon.
"Make for the exit," he called, not entirely sure to whom he was addressing the order.
He only did it because it felt like someone should say something. Magneto wasn't saying much of much and both Wolfsbane and Dazzler were otherwise engaged with their own problems.
Dazzler! Her lights mostly useless, she'd been backed into a corner by one of the resident Jamies in this town. Another two, including what Spider-Man assumed to be the original, stood off to one side, circling like wolves around prey. Dazzler tried her best to fight back against the Jamie, but he was obviously well-versed in fighting, and had a sword on his side to boot.
Using the momentum of a flip, Spider-Man carried himself over to the duelling pair, landing square in front of the clone. "I really hate to do this," he said, drawing back a fist and punching hard enough to send the Jamie and newly created clones flying backwards into - and then *through* - the rickety wooden wall, "but you *did* say you weren't our Jamie."
Thank you.
The words appeared in the air next to his ear, and Spider-Man gave them a precursory nod before turning and scooping Dazzler into his arms. Surprised, she opened her mouth to squeal, but all that came out was a burst of brilliant light and colour.
"New plan," he shouted above the din. "Head for *that* exit!"
And without further ado, he bounded through the makeshift opening, over the cluster of Jamies, and into the moonlit street beyond.
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It was a brawl by the time Kurt got there. Apparently, not all of the residents of Mutie Town were happy with their lot. Those that were content - or at least halfway to being so - were trying to get the rest to stay.
And in that mess, in that chaos, were his people.
Mutants everywhere. All fighting to get out, or to keep the others in.
Except one.
Magneto stood in the middle of it all, looking like a man who had lost everything and was watching the rest of the world turn into ash. He was just *waiting* for a stray shot to finish him, and his dreams, forever.
The Fates' message burning in his brain, Kurt tackled the bigger man. "Don't you *dare* try to die, Arschgesicht[2]! You could stop all this in a *moment* and we both know it!"
Magneto's eyes were despondent. "How? What can I do that won't hurt things further?"
"Lift that verdammt bus! Get the Kinder - the children on it! *NOW*!"
Maybe it was the voice of authority. Maybe it was the urgency, the need in his tone, or the wildness of his eye... but something made the Master of Magnetism obey.
The bus, stripped of its engine and anything not welded down, floated gently into the air.
Kurt fought his way through the masses, flipping over heads, vaulting fighters, and landing in front of his own.
"Kurti!" Robyn cried, launching herself at him from behind Raven's thing-with-teeth guise.
"Liebes! Quickly," Kurt said, grabbing her and gesturing to the others before they had time to question his arrival or what he'd said to the Council. "Everybody inside, *now*!"
They loaded Kitty, Hope, Ariel, Robyn and Daisy in first. Then Kurt cupped his hands around his mouth and used his best ringmaster voice.
"ATCHUNG! ANYONE WANTING THE HELL OUT OF MUTIE TOWN - GEKOMMEN SIE! I HAVE A FREE RIDE FOR ANYONE WANTING FREEDOM!" He took a breath. "COME ONE, COME ALL, AN EXPRESS TRIP TO THE GREEN LANDS OF THE GODDESS ORORO!"
Kurt had to leap clean onto a nearby wall to get clear of the influx of people.
*That* certainly got 'em...
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Rogue jolted as many bodies rushed past her and fell to her knees, only to be caught by a pair of blue arms.
"Keep your feet," Raven told her sharply, "or you won't have any left to keep."
They heard Kurt's desperate shout and were swept along in the wake of it, crushed against the side of the bus until Rogue cried out in pain. Raven tightened her grip on her daughter, but startled as Rogue slid gloved hands under her arms and *lifted* her into the air.
Raven gawked as the two of them skittered up the side of the bus, Rogue 'borrowing' Kurt's powers for a few precious seconds until they were safely atop the metal behemoth. There, they quickly found the smashed window Logan had used to taunt Wolfsbane and slipped through it.
The bus was almost completely stripped of its innards, bar the seating; and even then, one of the chairs was missing. All their belongings had either been ransacked, or else were still in the building they'd so recently left. Yet there was no time to go back for them, and instead the woman and girl ran down the stairs and grabbed their own, hoisting the children onto the second level and staving off those poor escaping Mutie Towners whose desperation was making them violent and unmindful of others.
"S'like a damn cage in here," Rogue gritted, hauling Daisy and Robyn up the steps as Ariel pattered after them.
Raven was too busy shielding Kitty and Hope to answer.
"A'right, comin' through. Move over!" a familiar gruff voice sounded out, and then there was Logan, dragging a struggling Alvin with him.
"My cart! My plants! I can't leave the green!"
Logan grunted, but didn't halt. "If I was of a disposition to let you get torn to shreds in this rush, then I'd gladly letcha go back for yer cart, God Boy. But I'm not, so shut up and get with the movin'."
"Logan," Raven called, "over here!"
The two men fought their way over and up the stairs, just as the first few trickles of mutants started heading up that way.
"One at a time, you lot," Logan snarled, depositing Alvin with the shapeshifter and setting himself up to police the stairwell. "Plenty enough room fer ev'ryone, so no shovin', or I'll shove all of ya right out the door."
He sounded serious, and the crowd began to lull, whispering to each other as they found seats and huddled onto them.
Logan nodded; guiding and directing all those who sought passage to Ororo's lands - or just plain out of Mutie Town.
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Robyn shuddered, a scared little bundle of puffed out fur in Rogue's arms. Beside her, Daisy sat likewise in the embrace of Raven, while Alvin and Ariel sat in the seat in front of them.
The zealot was weeping for his lost cart, aching loss made worse by the fact that he could understand why he couldn't go back for his beloved plants and religious texts. Ariel did his best to soothe him, laying a webbed hand on the older man's arm.
Rogue squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the sounds of other people's thoughts in such close quarters. Layla had visited her while in 'prison', and explained her theories as to her evolving mutation. Having seen what she'd seen in the last few days, Rogue was willing to believe her, too.
That didn't make it any easier to deal with.
How the hell had those telepaths up at the Xavier Institute *coped*?
In her arms, Robyn twitched. "Rogue? Rogue, where are they?"
"Where are who?" Rogue gritted through clenched teeth.
Robyn wiped at her little pink nose, whiskers quivering. Her voice sounded slightly panicked and rose an octave. "Kurti and Pie-Pie. Where are Kurti and Pie-Pie?"
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Peter hurried as he passed Wolfsbane up to Raven, hanging onto the bus side with his feet. The lupine girl took the outstretched hand, but didn't look too happy about it. They needed to get out ASAP, since many of the Mutie Towners looked... unstable.
Magneto wasn't looking much better, but at least he was willing to help.
Peter nearly fell when someone whacked his foot. Looking down, he saw the blue elf-thing, who was outside of the bus again, helping others to board undamaged.
"Here," he said, passing up a small child with silver hair and, oddly enough, canine-esque ears peeking out.
"Let me have him," Raven said, leaning out of the busted window to haul the three-year-old inside. "Kurt, we need to get out of here, and *soon*"
Kurt whirled to face the crowd that was still outside of the bus, worried. "I *know*."
Alvin had taken the child from Raven, and though still upset about his cart, he began to calm himself in order to quiet the crying child.
Raven, looking outside again after Peter clambered through the window, suddenly froze. "Where did Kurt go?"
Peter looked back down, eyes scanning for the Elf, then swore.
"I've got a bad feeling about this [3]."
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Pietro watched the screams and the disorder. It didn't bother him unduly. It was just more chaos and death. Death and chaos. It followed him wherever he went - another thing he couldn't run from.
Kurt was extremely relieved when he saw him, staring out at the pandemonium from a doorway he'd huddled himself into. He rushed towards the crouching silver figure, trying to avoid the various punches and blows thrown in his direction. Layla had done her job well, and it would be many a year before he lost the acrobatic skills he had gained in the circus.
He reached the silent speedster. "Come on!" Kurt growled, grabbing Pietro's skinny arm. "We've gotta get going!"
"Why? Where?"
"We..." He paused. Dammit, he'd forgotten about Magneto. How was he supposed to work this between disowned son and father?
Might as well be honest.
"I've gotten Magneto to raise the bus. He's going to take us to the Lands of New Hope."
"Why? How?"
"I don't know, and frankly I don't care. We'll deal with that bridge when we get to it, but right now we have to go!"
"But he hates me, I'm not his son - "
Kurt paused long enough to grip Pietro's shoulders and shake him. "Maybe not, but you're *my* brother. We're still family, Pietro, and I won't leave family behind. Not ever."
Pietro turned and looked into Kurt's wide, pleading eyes. There was something there that might pertain to violence in others, but somehow just made Kurt look even more determined.
"All right," he sighed, hauling himself to his feet. "But... but I still can't run with this ankle. The crowd - "
"Pie-Pie, I'll frikkin' *carry* you if I have to, but we have to go *now*."
Good as his word, Kurt picked Pietro up and he slung his slight form over his back, silently thanking Layla again for doing her job so well.
"Hold on tight."
Then he fell onto all fours and was running again.
A few years ago he would never have considered this; running along with someone on his back, like some donkey or other pack animal. Now, however, with bedlam breaking out all around him, Kurt knew didn't have much choice, and dutifully careened towards the masses once more.
He only stopped when a familiar pale figure stepped across their path.
"You're leaving, then." It wasn't so much a question as a statement.
Grasshopper stood tall, all four arms folded. Behind him, the pandemonium was starting to abate a little at Logan's efforts. Still, many mutants crowded towards the bus, and many more continued to hold them back, crying for order and the sanctity of Mutie Town's secrecy.
Kurt couldn't stand up properly, but stared with hard eyes. "Yes. The Fates gave me permission to take my people out of here."
Grasshopper nodded, as if he already knew, but waved a hand at the melee. "And what of the others? What of *my* people? Did they give you permission to take them too?"
Kurt made as if to snap, and then caught his tongue.
Had they? Not in so many words, but surely... the Three Ladies had seemed so understanding, surely they knew how these poor folk felt being trapped out here in this dead end of a safe-town.
Yet truth had always been something Kurt prided himself on, and so he shook his head. "No... not in so many words. I just thought... they deserved to make their own decisions. For once," he added, then wondered if he should've done, judging by the strange look in Grasshopper's coal-black eyes.
For a moment nothing was said. Around them, the sounds of fighting, shouting and cursing rang on, accompanied by in incessant hum of Magneto's power. The bus hung suspended not a foot off the ground.
Then, slowly, Grasshopper nodded, greasy hair flopping into his eyes and across his careworn face. "I just did as I was told," he said in a low voice, and Kurt respectfully kept silent. "Ever since the day... it happened; the day the humans left this place to us mutants, I did what I thought was best for the people here. Perhaps keeping residents hostage wasn't the best plan in the world, but it was the only way I could think to do as the Fates said and keep everybody safe." He raised his eyes, casting them over the ruined buildings, as if drinking in the battered sight. "Dictatorship?" he said softly, and then shook his head. "Perhaps it *is* time..."
And with that, he turned and flew swiftly to the bus, leaving Kurt in the dust to follow as best he could.
Once there, Grasshopper perched atop the giant vehicle and held up his arms, letting out a high-pitched noise so loud it could only have been due to his mutation. It was followed by a shout.
"*STOP*!"
It was like someone had pressed the great pause button of life, and everybody froze at the thunderous voice. Even Magneto looked up, though his hold over the bus didn't slip an inch.
Grasshopper looked around, taking in the faces he'd come to know over the past four years. There was Scry, standing unsteadily towards the back next to Layla. Probably been drinking with Sneak and Bairn again, the fool. Nearer the front, Bairn herself sat on a large rock, allowing the multitudes to swarm around her like an ever-flowing sea, while Bubbles stood like a bodyguard by her side. Redeye, the Jamies - even Sneak had made himself visible enough to be noticed and counted.
They all trusted him, believed in his prowess as leader. Now it was time to prove to them that what he did was for their benefit, whatever that might be.
"People, please, listen to me." His authoritative voice boomed out, consuming the air and rattling the atmosphere like shells in a tin can. "Do *not* stop those who wish to leave. The Council has decreed that everybody here today - mutant or human - should be entitled to his or her own choice. Mutie Town is not a prison, nor was it ever meant to be. If you or I stop them from leaving, we're no more than those who sought to kill us with the virus four years ago."
A murmur went through the crowd, and some looked confused. "The Council said that?" asked one.
Grasshopper nodded, allowing himself the whitest of lies. "Freedom is a birthright. We all forgot that Mutie Town was originally constructed to embody that freedom for Mutantkind. We - I," he amended, "got too caught up in safety and forgot about just plain *living*. Well, no more. If anybody wishes to stay, then they're more than welcome, but I won't stop anybody from seeking passage to the Goddess' lands."
More muttering. A ripple went through the crowd. "Will you be going, Grasshopper?" It was Scry, and Grasshopper looked down at his old friend.
"No. My place is, was, and will always be right here."
Scry shouted at the top of his lungs, words only slightly slurred. "I choose Mutie Town. All those who do likewise should stand back and let those who want to leave onto the bus."
"Right now!" Layla added, then shrugged at Scry's surprised expression. "What? You're going to need a healer here, sure enough. I'm assuming Mutie Town'll stay open for anybody wanting to join it?"
Grasshopper fluttered down to land by her side and took the greying mutant's hand in his own. For the first time in long, long while, he gave a genuine smile. "That it will, Layla. That it will."
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To Be Continued...
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[1] New Orleans, for those who don't know (and this makes pretty good useless trivia), is below sea level. That's why they all freak out when a hurricane heads that way. Also, people are buried in vaults for this reason - if N.O. went under, I *think* some of the coffins in the ground will actually float. No lie.
[2] Literally 'ass face'. Or, in more colloquial terms, 'butt-head'.
[3] A line in almost every Star Wars movie. Sorry - couldn't resist.