Super Pronto!!: Hey babe - thank you so much for reviewing. Made me laugh, you make me laugh. Love you!
Mish: Guess we finally got Melly huh? I think Melly's review was more childish but that's her and we love her for it. Thank you for the review. I'll see on Monday or perhaps this weekend.
Angel LeeAnn: You're reviews could never fall on deaf ears, trust me on that one. I honestly don't know why I made Eric so nice and so gentle aside from the fact that I don't believe that people can be so one sided. No on is just an antagonist or a protagonist, and he was humane once. I guess I like the idea what Marie can warm even the coldest heart. Mystique… you thought she was bad wait till you're done this… her evil reaches a new height.
Author's Note: One more chapter after this then it's done. Don't hate me for what's to come at the end of this. It had to be done, life doesn't exist in happily ever after. Least my world doesn't. Reviews are gratefully appreciated and may mean a quicker end.
Gimpy
The world around her seemed to stretch into never ending seconds. Her movements slowed, limbs weighted down by a celestial force. Mystique's well coifed words trickled into the room as she preached again to her minions. She spoke of a group of mutant evangelists that were on the verge of learning their location. Horrors spilled from her mouth, the wrongs that would be done to them by these 'creatures'. A wave of angered cries and demands as to what to do crashed into Marie's lithe form like solid blows.
"Our time has run out!" Mystique called to them. "If we are to do gods bidding, we do it now! We cannot allow their plaque to infect this holiest of places! Our calling is at hand, we must grab hold without falter or uncertainty!" The mass of zealous crusaders cried out in agreement, every word she spouted raging them on towards the inevitable.
Tears Marie couldn't control shelled out whatever hope she'd bared up until this point. Desperation bubbled and tipped her over the edge. She could feel her fate closing in on her.
"For our fellow man!" cried Mystique followed by a chorus of agreements. "And for generations to come!"
A thunderous volley followed her words, the sea of people massing together, marching towards most certain death. To them this was war, one worth dying for. Shaking forcefully Marie tried to scurry away when the crowd broached the archway of her vision. Pleading eyes darted over them searching for at least one compassionate face but all she earned herself was ignorance, bare and unyielding.
Cloaked in the form of William's, Mystique sneered at her and motioned for her followers to take their places. Baring white robes mysteriously shy from the dust that clung to the rooms, they gathered around the altar. Their faces cowered in overhanging hoods allowing for each one to remain as anonymous as the next. They merged, becoming one omnipotent force, so drenched in hatred it reeked of malice.
Three broad, muscled men advanced on the desperate girl, urged by Mystique's unwavering hand. Whimpering and struggling Marie let out a piercing scream when two of the men grabbed her arms and wrenched her from her fetal position.
"Please! Don't do this! Please!" her pathetic pleas fell onto deaf, unheeding ears. Jerked to her feet she found herself face to face with the dark beady eyes of Williams. The black abyss they held flowed into Marie, fueling her agony. "Please…" she begged him, thrashing in the powerful grasps. The beady eyes glowed once more, a show for the crumbling girl that this was her loss and his overpowering win.
Mystique reached her hand towards Marie's salt stained cheeks, "Your crimes will be accounted for this day and you will pay the price along with the rest of your kind."
Marie snapped at the outreached hand earning a tighter hold, circulation failing to reach her fingers. "You bitch! I am your kind! He's not who he says he is…" Mystique smirked as Marie struggled to get the men holding her to understand. "He's a mutant! You have to believe me!"
Green eyes scoured the faces once more, the sight causing her to break even further. Every face bore disgust and pure hatred forged solely for her. Short gasping breaths eluded her lungs. It finally seeped in that this was it, this was the end, her final moments. The tears poured in untamable rivers and sobs racked her slender form.
"Strip her."
Marie's eyes widened and streams of tears swelled within the doe-eyes. The gloved men forcefully removed her shackles, heedless of the unhealed wounds. The third stepped out of her view and her jaw clenched. No elegance went into his actions as the stranger viciously cut at the confines of her clothing. His sharp double-edged knife shredded her clothes slicing deep lines through flesh at the same time. Cries flooded her overwhelmed mouth as waves of fire course through her. The audience simply regarded her with uncaring cold eyes. Marie watched as her bloody shirt and jeans hit the floor and for the first time remembered her forgotten bra. Violated beyond repair her stomach threatened to lose cohesion.
"No…" she mumbled with a voice so drenched in sobs it went beyond understanding.
"Yes," Mystique whispered back. Moving aside she watched passively as the men led Marie's bloody naked form towards the altar.
Nothing but the sound of Marie's jagged sobs could be heard, each one piercing yet insignificant to the people around her. Wobbly legs gave out forcing the men to drag her the rest of the way. The urge to survive, to fight, seemingly vanished, not a single drop lingering. Broken, blinded by tears, muted by hindered sobs, she merely felt them lift her. Bruising hands griping arms and calves. She barely felt the coarse, freezing concrete against her untouched skin. Dulled eyes overwhelmed with tears simply gazed, unseeing. Marie felt herself retract into her own mind, finding a place warmer, more comforting between her inner Logan and the real world.
She relished the safety the smaller version of Logan gave her, savoring it for as long as she could until all she could feel was fire. Fresh metal snapped in place around her wrists and ankles. One after another they clicked soundly, rising above her sobs. Her heart quickened beyond its capacity, suspense trickling through her veins.
A moment passed, leaving Marie suspended in time. She knew what was coming, braced herself for that moment. Tormenting moments continued, her blood pumping so forcefully it vibrated through her ears clouding her senses. She could feel the sweat nestling upon her exposed form but there was no time for modesty. There was barely time for thought, for breath, for hope.
She grew desperate for an action, a prick of pain and in that moment her life was torn to jagged pieces. Her flesh sweltered and screamed for mercy as dozens of hands invaded her personal space. Her eyes flew open and a gargled scream pierced the charged air. Tortured ripples thrashed beneath her skin and the sounds of thunder filled her ears. Angry, delirious voices crashed within her until all she could hear was their screams above her own.
Tenderly life dripped from their hands into her screaming form. The flow quickly shifted becoming a raging waterfall, every sensation adding to the voracious hurricane building within her. Her only thought was of the lives she was stealing. Her pain, nothing compared to theirs. Through out the confusion one mind, one voice remained in the forefront. Her mental Logan cried to her, desperate to be heard above the noise.
The world around her began to tear at the seams, her small vessel overflowing with invaders. She felt as if her own skin was splitting in two, cracking and bleeding under the hands of her attackers. Their memories of passed loved ones, encounters with monstrous creatures it became all too much. Empathy came to the forefront and Marie found herself pleading to help them, to end their suffering. Dazed and depleted, she attempted to concentrate on that sole thought, demanding instead that this stop, that they be let free. She prayed for her own end to save them from theirs. The tear expanded, slicing into her thoughts, it's ragged edges pulling even further apart. With each inch gave way to a bright all-consuming light that washed over Marie. As the last remaining bits of her sanity and being became unraveled the brightness exploded a shock wave tailing behind it.
A switch turned and an abyss settled over the dying room.
Scott struggled to contain what little control he had left, urging the blackbird to break its own limits of speed. Ruby tinted eyes barely even registered the warning signs blazing across the screen. No words filled the hallowed metal shell. The air cracked with an overriding tension. The trip back to the mansion to pick up the others had taken up too much time for Scott. His desperation to reach their destination taking over his normally calm exterior. His sentiments seemed to echo through out the jet. Each face placated a sense of desperation, the occupants of the jet mentally demanding the contraption to slice through space and time. No one wanted to think what could happen if their arrival was untimely but they couldn't help leaning in that direction.
So much was at stake, the sanity of dozens, the hopes and fears and hearts. Logan barely found the strength to breathe to transfixed in the what-ifs. As a collective mass of robotic warriors they lurched when the Blackbird hit the ground hard. No one bothered to comment snidely, that comfort too absurd for such a time. Logan was the first to stand and the first to escape the confines of the jets. The moment his feet hit solid ground his senses went to work. Head tilted high he sniffed the air for even a lingering presence of his love.
Scott's pensive glare fell onto the ominous warehouse decrepit in ever sense. It looked passive, an afterthought in the background they never would have thought to look at twice. The perfect place to ward off searching foes. His gut twisted deftly when a deeply penetrating growl sifted through the air.
Jean stepped warily close to the Wolverine. "What is it?"
"She's here…" Logan barely allowed his voice to rise above a tense whisper.
Scott's commanding hand prevented Logan from charging towards the building, but only just. "We go in there guns blazing what the hell do you think will happen?" he retorted to the angry scowl shot his way.
Logan could barely withhold the rage boiling within him but attempted to form a collected mindset. Whatever semblance he'd gathered was quickly shattered at the sound of screams penetrating his mind. He staggered against the restraining hand on his chest one more, growling his disapproval.
"Damn-it one-eye! I can hear her! They're…" he couldn't finish but the sentiment was there and before anyone could even blink both Scott and Logan took off. Muscles strained against the excursion being forced upon them. All reasoning vacated the two enraged men, consequences taking a back seat to action.
Jean called to them, tried to make them stop but cut off short. A prickling in the back of her mind forged a hollow cry in her throat. She felt an immense wave of pain then a distinct tear in the universe cascading around her. No one could have by-passed what happened next. Both mobile men staggered, the natural world closing in on them. The force sent Scott back, his body arching in slow motion. It seemed like an eternity before he hit the ground. A solid collision as a blinding light swallowed the world whole.
Logan fought the force pulling him back, stuttering to bent knees. Hunched, his breathing labored and vision encased in white light he battled till it slowly started to fade. Beads of sweat feathered down his creased forehead and he glanced back at his comrades. Each one lay on the dirty dust filled ground shuddering with the need to breathe.
"What the hell was that?" His words grew husky and forced beneath the pressure growing on his chest.
Gasping, on the verge of tears, Jean was the first to move, pulling herself into a semi sitting position.
"A rift…" she murmured, staring into the confused eyes around her she stood on shaky limbs. "Something that goes against all things natural…" Wading against the heavy weight consuming her, darkness seemed to force itself onto her face. "Something's wrong, terribly wrong." With her words she took off, bypassing the two men before her, heedless of what might lay in her path.
Heavy metal laden doors burst open under the woman's mental taunting. Red hair flared in the air around her as she came to a rushing stop. She ignored the long wooden table and the rows of cots lining the wall before her. Crazed eyes searched for a hint of direction. Logan filed in behind her, his nose working as a compass. Motioning subconsciously towards a massive arching doorway the two moved as one. With each step hearts quickened, anxiety ravishing through them.
Jean froze at the precipice of the arch, eyes barely able to take in the foreboding steps before her. The smell of death, pain and smoldering flesh assaulted Logan along with a shattering gasp from the woman beside him. Prone bodies scattered the cold concrete before them, each one lying in unnatural positions.
"Oh god…" Scott's disheveled voice scattered the numbing hold on Logan's paralyzed form.
As Jean knelt before the closest form, her heart rammed against her chest full force as a tell-tail pulse thumped against her forefingers answering the unasked question lingering on the others faces.
"They're alive, if not barely." There was no shame on her face as her voice broke into shards as she spoke.
"Well… doesn't that just ruin everything."
Logan stiffened considerably at the invading voice. Nothing could have prepared him for the vision that would come along with the intruder, a low uninhibited growl vibrating through the air.
Amused sardonic eyes glistened in the darkened room. Logan took a warning step towards the monstrous creature. His actions caused a smirk to form and the glowing eyes shifted to the bound and broken form perched atop the altar. It was then that Logan finally noticed the naked and quivering girl struggling against her restraints. A collective gasp reverberated from the small heroic group followed by a coldhearted laugh. Logan tried to move, tried to reach her but Mystique's more agile form got there first.
Marie's glazed eyes screamed her fear and she tried desperately to backpedal. Everything seemed to fold into itself. Chains were shattered and a gargled scream grated in the air. Mystique deftly pulled the squirming girl from the altar, bringing her naked back towards her.
"Blue fucking bitch!" Jean snapped, taking the words straight from Logan's hanging lips. She moved to attack but Mystique's scaled fingers wrapped tightly around Marie's reddened neck.
The world around the crazed girl blurred together, the feel of rough skin on hers feeling like sandpaper scrapping at her flesh. A smothered whimper flushed from her lips. Nothing made sense, her mind a catacomb of voices and emotions. The hand squeezing the life from her burning lungs adding to the pain.
"Wonder how much pressure it would take for her neck to just… snap." Jean took Mystiques hint and pulled back.
Logan could barely stand the sight before him, an animalistic growl emanating from his pensively drawn lips. The sound registered in Marie's crazed mind and she crooned.
Mystique struggled to keep the almost lifeless girl standing, bare hands gripping at her stomach. No one seemed to notice the bare contact, Scott's own hand moving to the side of his visor. The action did not go unnoticed by Mystique and her hold tightened earning herself a strangled yelp from the barely there girl.
"Drop the arm x-man, try anything and she dies."
"Let her go." Logan's voice strained his eyes taking in the way Marie's head bobbed, her limbs jumping like unhinged electrical wires. Even with her beautiful green eyes open nothing seemed to register as they searched wildly for the faces that belonged to the voices. His concern intensified to absolute panic. Something had to be done now.
"Sorry Wolfman, not until I'm far enough away." To emphasize her words she dragged the unbalanced girl back a step. Marie's head fell back, her blind gaze slipping back to stare at her captor. She was like jelly in the woman's hands, bending and molding with each movement Mystique made. "She's not looking so good." Mystique mused smiling down at the ghostly face staring up at her.
Logan was seething now at the haphazard way the woman held Marie. Snapping through clenched teeth, he attempted to express to her what Xavier had to him the best way he knew how, "I'll cut you a deal!"
Mystique's head titled in his direction, a look of intrigued flashing across her scaly features. "I'm listening but if I don't like what I hear…" trailing off she tightened her hold for a second on the slender neck.
Encouraged, Logan took a small step forward. "You'll like it. Trust me. Ol' boy wheels made a deal with your 'master'. He gave you up, and in return we give him up." Taking another hesitant step, Logan bared into Mystique's eyes with purpose. "I've got it all. Location, guards, rotations… everything you'll need."
A skeptical laugh followed Mystique's disbelieving look. "And you, the animal, will let me walk? Freely? No harm done?"
Logan fumbled in his struggle to maintain his fury wavering, seething, "Yes"
"Even though your precious love, your soul mate is barely conscious?"
Her goading worked as Logan snapped, "It's a one time only thing and your time is fucking running out. Take it and live. Don't and you die."
"Really?" It was sarcastic and mischievous all at once as she dragged her elongated nails across the tender porcelain flesh beneath her hands. Blood his taunting had caused trickled from the fresh wounds, pooling between her barren breasts. A whimper followed the menacing hand of Mystique and Logan cursed holy hell, conjuring every single name he could think of to call the blue sadist.
"Damn-it Mystique here!" Jean screamed producing every single image she was given from the professor.
Yellow eyes closed as every tidbit wafted over the aggressor a small smile plaguing her face. A soft coo fell from her curved lips. The now demolished plan actually had a payoff. Releasing Marie's neck she pulled the barely lucid girl to her. Peering down at the girl her smile took on a twisted warmth and almost love that disgusted Logan to no end.
"Until next time my dear," she whispered but not low enough for Logan to miss her words.
"Like hell!" He snapped and cursed when Mystique dipped her head and laved at the blood tainting Marie's neck. The girl didn't flinch or whimper, her eyes gently rolling back into her head.
Slowly Mystique's hold loosened completely and without the stability Marie crumpled to the ground in a nude and bloody heap. Logan lurched, ignoring the scaly woman as she slipped away into the shadows.
His thoughts screamed at him as he skidded to the ground next to Marie. Hands shaking violently he grasped at her arms, turning the twisted limbs. She rolled without resistance and a sob cracked out of Logan's throat. Still conscious, she stared up at him with unseeing eyes, the look scaring Logan to the very bones hidden beneath metal.
"B-baby?" he called to her, desperate for her to come back. A whimper fell from her quivering lips but nothing more. "God Marie, I'm here… I'm here baby." Logan crumbled before the others, pulling Marie's unresponsive form to his tightened chest.
It was then that the implications registered to Jean. "Her skin…" No one bothered to contemplate the repercussions, her health take precedence.
The feral man buried his face deep into the nape of her neck, breathing in the scent he loved so desperately. Large burly arms circled the small form, cradling her. Logan rocked the girl, tears heedlessly soaking her caked hair.
"Logan," Scott called to him, hesitant of the distraught man. His own tear welled and burned but he chose to ignore them. The role of leader took hold and he stepped closer. Logan's snarl forced Scott to use words. Glancing between Jean's desperate eyes and the hunched couple he called out once more. "Logan. You've got to let Jean take a look."
The wolverine within him took control snapping at the idea of letting his Marie, his mate go. Instead he lifted her exposed body into his arms and struggled against his unruly legs. Turning he stared into Jean's unyielding eyes.
"Please," she begged, a tentative hand reaching out to touch the girl but Logan's building growl forced it back. "Then at least get her onto the plane!" Jean's desperation snapped.
Logan complied, sidestepping the others. His grip never faltered, the boneless girl molding to his own.
They found him strapped into his chair, rocking and mumbling to the catatonic girl. With every word Jean's resolve slipped away. Scott's own just behind hers. He forced himself to remain calm, to take his seat, forget the whimpers from behind and fly the jet. It took every last ounce in him to make that final trek back and even more to pry him from the cockpit once they'd arrived.
The despondent teens had spent every moment from the time the x-men had left until now, huddled together in the med-lab. Tears, consoling words and simple hugs the only thing keeping them sane as they waited for them to return. They prepared themselves for that they thought was the worst but it didn't compare to the reality.
It hit them with exploding force as they witnessed the normally controlled and reserved Wolverine walk towards them stuck in a daze. The tears streaking Logan's face formed lumps that couldn't be swallowed. What hit home the most was the limp naked girl in his arms, her own limp arms dangling in the air.
"Oh god," Jubilee gasped pulling herself even further into Kitty's chest.
Bobby slipped from the gurney, his pale, sallow eyes watching the woman he loved and the man he now held a deep respect for, move off to a private room. The x-men followed blindly, the redheaded doctor almost completely on Logan's heals. Haunted tearful eyes simply stared at where the three mutants had vanished.
The sound of an erratic beeping barreled forth from the closed door followed by Jean's hoarse voice demanding Logan to leave.
A growl and then nothing.
The consecutive beeping slowed taking perception with it.
Ororo's tears coincided with each high pitched beep. Slowly her eyes went dry and the sound became one long never-ending howl.