Brotherhood Evolution: Sins of the Father
Disclaimer: I own the idea and character of Michael Nagrite, Jeremiah Nagrite, and Sarah Ramos. If you wish to use them in a fic, just ask. It's easier than you would think.
Dedication: Too all the loyal fans of this series. Its obvious that you like the turn I've taken with it. I thank you for your support and reviews.
********************
Miami, Florida. Four years ago
"So what movie do you have planned for us?" Sarah Ramos asked as she dragged Michael Nagrite into the movie theater.
"I was thinking the Exorcist redux." Mike said simply. "Good old fashion horror."
"Nice." Sarah said as Mike scratched his forearms. "Arms still hurt?" Sarah asked.
"Yea." Mike said simply. "It's more intense now though." Mike said simply as he led her through the hallways and towards their theater. Then it struck.
"GET DOWN!" Sarah shouted as Mike grabbed her and they dove for cover as four-gunman burst into the theater, weapons blazing. People fell like rain as the gunmen showered the crowded theater with bullets.
"Keep quite kiddo." Mike said as he held onto Sarah. "God…" Mike then muttered through grit teeth. Pain flooded his senses as his arms bulged.
"What?" Sarah asked in horror as a flood of emotions hit her all at once, the most intense of which was a severe agony coming from her boyfriend. She turned to see the bulges and backed away as Mike's arms erupted in a spray of Blood and gore as two white tendricals emerged from his fore arms.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Mike screamed in agony as the tendrical whipped around. The emotions flooding into her head where too much for Sarah to take as she stumbled away from their hiding place. And right into the gunmen's line of Fire.
"Mike…" Sarah asked in shock as the first bullet tore through her.
"SARAH!" Mike Nagrite screamed as he bled profusely from his arms. He watched in horror as bullets destroyed the blond girl in front of him. "NOOOOOOOO!!!" Mike screamed as he shot out of bed. "Not again…" Mike muttered to himself as he held his arms as he trembled. "Not again…"
********************
The Hive
"Mike have another nightmare?" Lance asked as he sipped his coffee. Betsy was toasting a bagel.
"Yea. This is the fourth one this week." Betsy said simply a she sat down and gave Boris, the X-Factor Rat a piece of the bagel. The rat happily munched on the bagel as Toad and Scarlet Witch walked into the room.
"It's more than nightmares." Wanda said simply as she sat down. Pietro sped into the room and downed a cup of coffee and sat down next to Wanda. "He's also been crying at night to. I think."
"How do you know this?" Betsy asked in disbelief.
"My room is right next to his. I was up late one night reading and I heard him. I went to check on him and saw him crying over some picture. I'm really not the confiding type so let him be. I just figure he needed to get it out of his system." Wanda said as she poured herself a bowl of cereal.
"I can't believe he would keep this from me…" Betsy said in utter shock.
"Mike has never really disclosed much about his past to us." Blob said as he walked into the room. "I mean, we only found out about Sarah because she came back to life and tried to kill him." Blob said as he sat down and began to eat a dozen fried eggs.
"He does have a lot on his mind too." Todd added. "I mean he's appointed himself our personal guardian angel, and that right there shoulder's way to much responsibility. I mean, I like the fact that he's protective, but damn, he doesn't have to baby us."
"He doesn't." Pietro said dryly. "He babies you because you're the one whose always getting into these weird jams."
"Like what?" Toad asked.
"Should I?" Pietro asked the others.
"It would take too long and take us off subject." Lance said simply. "Leave it at that."
"What jams?" Toad asked from the background.
"What's going on?" X asked as she walked into the room with Forge.
"Omega problems." Pietro stated.
"Ah." Forge said as he nuked a piece of toast. Literally. "Think we should send him to those psyche guys Val has on staff?"
"I think Val has been taking up too much of their time." Betsy said simply.
"Have you tried getting him to talk about it Betsy?" Blob asked Psylocke. "You two have always been close, even before you started dating."
"Believe me Blob, I've tried. But it's like he's a different person as of late. He's colder, and he's been shutting me out. If I still had my telepathy, I could probably dig into his mind and find out, but since my powers have evolved I'm at a real loss here."
"What jams?!?" Toad screamed from the background.
"Maybe the best thing is to give him time." X said. "He is more than capable to deal with any problem.
"But Freddy, this isn't something he's use to. Mike has always dealt with his problems by removing them in a physical way." Toad said. "Whatever is hitting him, it's hitting him psychologically. And we don't know how well he can deal with that kind of stress."
"We could try to get him to talk about it." Forge said as he pushed his cereal bowl forward.
"Or you could just mind your own friggin' business." They all turned around to see an irate Omega standing behind them. "So this is how you guys pass the time now-a-days when we're not on a mission? Talk about other people's business when they're not around?" Mike said in an angry tone.
"Luv, we're just…" Betsy began before Mike cut her off.
"Don't 'Luv' me." Mike said angrily. "I don't need this crap. My 'friends' talking about me behind my back. That's real good." Mike said as he stormed out and started his car up. "I'm out of here…"
"MIKE!" Betsy called out after him as X-Factor ran outside to see Omega's car driving out of the parking lot of the hive. "Damn it. Now he hates us."
"He doesn't hate us. Well not me anyway." Toad said as he walked back inside with the others. They all stared at him angrily. "Sorry."
********************
Three days later
"Where the bloody hell is he." Betsy said as she paced around. "We haven't heard from him in three bloody days." Betsy said as she fought back tears. "I MEAN WHO THE BLOODY HELL DOES THIS TO THEIR FAMILY!"
"Calm down Bets." Toad said as he tried to comfort her. "Mike wouldn't do this unless he had a good reason too."
"Where the hell is Omega?" Valerie asked as she walked in. "I haven't seen him in three days."
"We don't know." Forge said simply.
"Great." Valerie said as she walked away muttering to herself. "Betsy, Todd. Find him. The rest of you, try and not burn the building down." Val said as she walked away.
"What did she say?" X asked as she held a burning match.
********************
Miami Florida, Nagrite residence, 2 days later
(Ding-dong) "Who the hell is that?" Dr. Jeremiah Nagrite swore under his breath. "Essex chose a wonderful time to take a break. I told those idiots that they'd get their formula by the end of the month…" He thought as he opened the door to see the last person he though he would see. "Michael." Dr. Nagrite said simply as he saw his son standing in front of him.
"Jeremiah." Mike said irately.
"What brings you back? I thought that you had left for good?"
"I did." Mike said as he pushed his way in. He looked around the spacious mansion that he used to call home. "So who are you working for this week? Cobra? The Sabbat? Umbrella? Virtu-Con? The Friends of Humanity?"
"That's none of your business freak." Jeremiah Nagrite said as he approached his son. "Now if I recall correctly, I disowned you and you swore never to return."
"You did. And I did." Mike said simply as he faced the man he had one called father. "But that's the funny things about promises, they can be broken."
"Yes they can." Jeremiah Nagrite said as he stared long and hard at his son. "So I hear that you're working for the government."
"It's no worse than the companies you sell you bio-weapons too."
"That's where your wrong boy. My weapons will eradicate you pathetic species off of the face of the earth."
"Get real old man. It's been a proven fact. We're the next step in human evolution." Mike said as he got in his father's face. "And it pisses you off that I made it before you, doesn't it?"
"No. Because when I get my power, it won't be through genetics, it will be man made. I will have earned it. It won't be handed to me as a birth rite."
"Same old, same old. You still only care about gaining power."
"Yep. And I guess I should thank you. Your DNA is the reason my research has gotten as far as it has." Jeremiah Nagrite said with a smile.
"Yea. Whatever."
"Look I'm a busy man? What the hell do you want?"
"I want to know why you had Sarah killed." Mike said grimly.
"There's no proof that I did." Jeremiah said with a smile.
"You're right. There is no proof. But I still know you did. And I want to know why."
"Let's just say she was getting to close to you. And I couldn't have my prize guinea pig falling in love." Jeremiah Nagrite said with a smile.
"You Son of a'…" Mike screamed in anger as he unleashed his tendricals and sent them flying toward his father. But before they could reach Jeremiah Nagrite, Mike Nagrite was overcome by pain. "ARGH!" Mike screamed though grit teeth.
"Hey Lover." Sarah said from behind him as he fell to the ground, back smoking from the blast Sarah had delivered.
"Sarah..." Mike muttered.
"Mikey, Mikey, Mikey." Dr. Nagrite said with a smile. "I thought you would have remembered that you can't touch me. Especially with my new bodyguard."
"Damn you…" Mike muttered as he slumped to the floor.
"You should have stayed in whatever hell-hole you've been living in Freak. But now, you belong to me again. And my research just got more interesting." Dr. Nagrite said with a smile as Mike lost consciousness from the pain. "Sarah, be a dear and take him to my lab."
"Welcome home Mikey." Sarah said as she dragged Omega away.
********************
Somewhere at the Georgia state line
"Dammit." Betsy said as she landed from her Psionic trance. "I had his psi-signature for a brief period, but it's gone."
"What does that mean, yo?" Toad asked as he started the rental car up.
"It either means he's lost consciousness, or…" Betsy stopped herself from saying the rest.
"Don't even say it Betsy." Todd said as he pulled out of the back lot they had parked in. "Did you get his current position?"
"Yea. He's in Miami." Betsy said simply.
"That's another's day drive." Todd said as he gunned the gas. "Besides, I thought he swore never to go home?"
"He did." Betsy said simply. Something's wrong."
"What a day." Toad thought.
"Hold on Mike." Betsy thought as she stared out the window.
********************
Miami Florida, Nagrite residence
"Wha..?" Mike muttered as he woke up with a killer migraine.
"Glad to see you're awake. Your healing abilities must have accelerated." Jeremiah Nagrite said as he walked over to where his son was strapped to a table.
"Go to Hell." Mike spat as he tried to get up. But not even his super strength could break the bonds that held him down.
"Your already there. And those bonds are pure adamantium, not even you can break out of them." Jeremiah said as he walked over to Mike with a syringe. "This is going to hurt…" Jeremiah said as he injected a green colored liquid into his sons arm.
"Don't you just love agony?" Sarah asked from the corner with a smile.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Mike screamed as the liquid rushed through his system, burning the entire way. "ERGH…" Mike muttered as he felt his healing factor combat the liquid and destroy it before it could cause any more damage. "What was that?" Mike swore.
"PCP?" Sarah asked.
"A genetic disease that affects only mutants. It breaks down their genetic structure slowly, causing them to lose control of their powers and eventually kill them." Jeremiah explained. "It's still in its infant stages, as you could probably tell. Your healing abilities have prevented it from affecting you." Jeremiah explained. "But I'm working on that. It appears that your antibodies have a knack for destroying foreign tissue. Its amazing really."
"Can't kill what can heal from anything." Mike muttered through the pain.
"True. But soon this virus will be powerful enough to overrun all accelerated healing abilities, and then it will be ready for market."
"Your sick." Mike muttered.
"Maybe. But soon you will be as well." Jeremiah said with a smile. "Sarah, be a good little girl and go fetch a few things for me." Jeremiah said as he handed a list to Sarah.
"Be back in a few." Sarah said as she picked up her gun and walked out of the room.
"How?" Mike demanded.
"Oh, Sarah? You'd have to talk to my associate Dr. Essex to find out that little detail. He's the one with all the cloning know-how." Dr. Nagrite said. "In fact, I may just have him create me a son that I can actually love."
"Love? You? Doubtful. But just for laughs, what corny name have you come up with for this bio-weapon?" Mike asked as he felt his healing factor expunge the rest of the virus.
"I don't know. But I'll think of something. It is my dream to wipe out all of you freaks after all."
"Then your going to be severely disappointed old man!" Came the shout as Betsy emerged from the shadow on the wall with Toad in tow. Toad leapt over to where Omega was restrained and carefully spit acidic slime onto the restraints. The restraints began to sizzle as the acid melted them.
"I take it you're the Calvary." Jeremiah Nagrite muttered as he faced down Psylocke.
"I don't know who you are, but no one messes with my boyfriend and gets away with it." Betsy said as she formed as telekinetic katana.
"Boyfriend?" Jeremiah asked in shock. "I must say Mike, you sure do have a flare for picking the real fiery ones." Jeremiah said with a smile as Mike broke out of the weakened restraints.
"Cram it Jeremiah." Mike muttered as he walked over. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you right now?" Mike muttered as he unleashed his tendricals.
"You don't have it in you." Jeremiah stated with a smile.
"Your right. But I can make sure that this virus never sees the light of day." Mike said as he picked up a vat and threw it into a machine, causing a small explosion. Jeremiah looked on as Mike destroyed every test-tube, vat and chemical in his laboratory. Toad then melted all of Jeremiah's notes and computer.
"What, no goodbye?" Jeremiah said as Omega, Toad and Betsy turned to leave. "You didn't stop anything here today Michael. I will create this virus soon!"
"Not without his DNA you won't." Toad muttered with a smile. "I read you notes old man. You need him."
"And I'm never coming back." Mike said as he turned around. Jeremiah turned pale when he realized that his son was correct.
"It's all gone…" Jeremiah said in shock as Mike and the others walked away from that place. "DAMN YOU!"
"Don't worry Jeremiah." Came a voice from the shadows.
"But I failed." Jeremiah said as he faced the individual that emerged from the shadows.
"No. This is just a minor setback. But don't worry. The Virus will be ready in time for the final attack." Dr. Essex said as he smiled at the man on the ground. "And this is what I get for leaving you alone." Essex said with a slight smile.
"But how? Without my son's genetic structure, we have no way to create the base that the Virus needs to grow." Jeremiah said as he got up.
"Don't worry about that." Essex said. "We'll have Sarah pay him another visit. Oh, and have you decide on a name for the virus yet?"
"Well since it is my life's work, I decided that it should be called the Legacy Virus." Jeremiah said with a smile.
"The 'Legacy Virus'. It has a nice ring to it." Dr. Essex said simply.
"Thank you Dr. Essex." Jeremiah said. "For all the help with making my dream a reality."
"Don't worry about it. Your dream has perked the interest of some very, VERY powerful people. Just get this place ready for your samples." Dr. Nathaniel Essex said with a smile. "Now lets get this cleaned up. I have to take off soon."
********************
The Hive
"Have they come down yet?" Lance asked Toad in the rec. area
"No. They've been in his room ever since we got back." Toad said as he played with Boris, The X-Factor rat.
"I guess they need to talk about this." Blob said from his position on the couch. "I mean if anyone can get Mike to talk about what happened, it's Betsy."
"What the hell was going on Todd?" Val asked as she stretched out.
"From what I could tell, Mike's dad has been using his DNA in experiments designed to destroy mutants. He's developed some sort of Virus that only affects us. I couldn't pick up any more info from the sheets before Mike destroyed the Lab."
"Jesus. If that Virus ever gets out…" Pietro began.
"Don't worry Petey, we destroyed the lab and every remaining bit of the Virus. It won't be bothering us for awhile." Toad reassured.
"Still, we should probably take some precautions about it." Wanda said simply. "It may come back to haunt us."
"We better let Mike explain it. He can probably explain it better." Pietro said. "That's assuming he ever comes down…"
--------------------
"So are you going to tell the guys about this?" Betsy asked.
"I will. I just don't know how." Mike said as he sat on his bed. "I can't just go "Hey guys, guess what? My father's a megalomaniac who's hell-bent on creating a virus that can wipe out mutant kind all because he has some perverse hatred of me. Oh and by the by, he's using my DNA to build the Virus, so my bad!" I mean come on." Mike said sarcastically, but with sadness in his voice. "Ever since I could remember, that man has seen me as nothing more than an experiment. He had my best friend killed, just because she got close to me. Than, he brought her back to life to try and kill me."
"You loved her, didn't you?" Betsy asked as she embraced Mike.
"Yea. I guess I did. As much a fifteen year old can love another fifteen year old." Mike said as he hugged Betsy tighter. "The thing that kills me, is that he openly admits to all of this, but I can't do a damn thing to him. Once he found out I was a mutant, he had some of his friends do tests on me, made me feel like some freaking guinea pig." Mike said.
"I so sorry Luv." Betsy said as she looked at him.
"So am I Bets. But the only thing I can do now is move on. I got some much needed closure today." Mike said as he got up. "Jeremiah my try to kill us off, but I won't let that happen. When I came to Bayville, I didn't have a care in the world, but now? Now I have a family. Albeit family of mutants that work for the government as a special anti-mutant terrorism team. But a family none the less."
"And you have me." Betsy said with a smile as she pulled him down into a kiss.
"Yea. I got you too." Mike said as he kissed her.
"So are you going to tell your family about your pain?" Betsy asked after they broke the kiss.
"Yea. I am. It's time to clean the skeleton's out of the closet for good." Mike said as he and Betsy got up and walked downstairs together. "The sins of the father are not the sons..."
********************
Next Time on Brotherhood Evolution: Something Stirs below. X-Factor gets called in when reports of Sabertooth being sighted are found. Where is Toothy? None other than Bayville! But he's got some friends this time.
********************
There you all go. Now that's what I call progress. Join us all next time when X-Factor goes to Bayville, again. Please review.
Later,
Descendent
Disclaimer: I own the idea and character of Michael Nagrite, Jeremiah Nagrite, and Sarah Ramos. If you wish to use them in a fic, just ask. It's easier than you would think.
Dedication: Too all the loyal fans of this series. Its obvious that you like the turn I've taken with it. I thank you for your support and reviews.
********************
Miami, Florida. Four years ago
"So what movie do you have planned for us?" Sarah Ramos asked as she dragged Michael Nagrite into the movie theater.
"I was thinking the Exorcist redux." Mike said simply. "Good old fashion horror."
"Nice." Sarah said as Mike scratched his forearms. "Arms still hurt?" Sarah asked.
"Yea." Mike said simply. "It's more intense now though." Mike said simply as he led her through the hallways and towards their theater. Then it struck.
"GET DOWN!" Sarah shouted as Mike grabbed her and they dove for cover as four-gunman burst into the theater, weapons blazing. People fell like rain as the gunmen showered the crowded theater with bullets.
"Keep quite kiddo." Mike said as he held onto Sarah. "God…" Mike then muttered through grit teeth. Pain flooded his senses as his arms bulged.
"What?" Sarah asked in horror as a flood of emotions hit her all at once, the most intense of which was a severe agony coming from her boyfriend. She turned to see the bulges and backed away as Mike's arms erupted in a spray of Blood and gore as two white tendricals emerged from his fore arms.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Mike screamed in agony as the tendrical whipped around. The emotions flooding into her head where too much for Sarah to take as she stumbled away from their hiding place. And right into the gunmen's line of Fire.
"Mike…" Sarah asked in shock as the first bullet tore through her.
"SARAH!" Mike Nagrite screamed as he bled profusely from his arms. He watched in horror as bullets destroyed the blond girl in front of him. "NOOOOOOOO!!!" Mike screamed as he shot out of bed. "Not again…" Mike muttered to himself as he held his arms as he trembled. "Not again…"
********************
The Hive
"Mike have another nightmare?" Lance asked as he sipped his coffee. Betsy was toasting a bagel.
"Yea. This is the fourth one this week." Betsy said simply a she sat down and gave Boris, the X-Factor Rat a piece of the bagel. The rat happily munched on the bagel as Toad and Scarlet Witch walked into the room.
"It's more than nightmares." Wanda said simply as she sat down. Pietro sped into the room and downed a cup of coffee and sat down next to Wanda. "He's also been crying at night to. I think."
"How do you know this?" Betsy asked in disbelief.
"My room is right next to his. I was up late one night reading and I heard him. I went to check on him and saw him crying over some picture. I'm really not the confiding type so let him be. I just figure he needed to get it out of his system." Wanda said as she poured herself a bowl of cereal.
"I can't believe he would keep this from me…" Betsy said in utter shock.
"Mike has never really disclosed much about his past to us." Blob said as he walked into the room. "I mean, we only found out about Sarah because she came back to life and tried to kill him." Blob said as he sat down and began to eat a dozen fried eggs.
"He does have a lot on his mind too." Todd added. "I mean he's appointed himself our personal guardian angel, and that right there shoulder's way to much responsibility. I mean, I like the fact that he's protective, but damn, he doesn't have to baby us."
"He doesn't." Pietro said dryly. "He babies you because you're the one whose always getting into these weird jams."
"Like what?" Toad asked.
"Should I?" Pietro asked the others.
"It would take too long and take us off subject." Lance said simply. "Leave it at that."
"What jams?" Toad asked from the background.
"What's going on?" X asked as she walked into the room with Forge.
"Omega problems." Pietro stated.
"Ah." Forge said as he nuked a piece of toast. Literally. "Think we should send him to those psyche guys Val has on staff?"
"I think Val has been taking up too much of their time." Betsy said simply.
"Have you tried getting him to talk about it Betsy?" Blob asked Psylocke. "You two have always been close, even before you started dating."
"Believe me Blob, I've tried. But it's like he's a different person as of late. He's colder, and he's been shutting me out. If I still had my telepathy, I could probably dig into his mind and find out, but since my powers have evolved I'm at a real loss here."
"What jams?!?" Toad screamed from the background.
"Maybe the best thing is to give him time." X said. "He is more than capable to deal with any problem.
"But Freddy, this isn't something he's use to. Mike has always dealt with his problems by removing them in a physical way." Toad said. "Whatever is hitting him, it's hitting him psychologically. And we don't know how well he can deal with that kind of stress."
"We could try to get him to talk about it." Forge said as he pushed his cereal bowl forward.
"Or you could just mind your own friggin' business." They all turned around to see an irate Omega standing behind them. "So this is how you guys pass the time now-a-days when we're not on a mission? Talk about other people's business when they're not around?" Mike said in an angry tone.
"Luv, we're just…" Betsy began before Mike cut her off.
"Don't 'Luv' me." Mike said angrily. "I don't need this crap. My 'friends' talking about me behind my back. That's real good." Mike said as he stormed out and started his car up. "I'm out of here…"
"MIKE!" Betsy called out after him as X-Factor ran outside to see Omega's car driving out of the parking lot of the hive. "Damn it. Now he hates us."
"He doesn't hate us. Well not me anyway." Toad said as he walked back inside with the others. They all stared at him angrily. "Sorry."
********************
Three days later
"Where the bloody hell is he." Betsy said as she paced around. "We haven't heard from him in three bloody days." Betsy said as she fought back tears. "I MEAN WHO THE BLOODY HELL DOES THIS TO THEIR FAMILY!"
"Calm down Bets." Toad said as he tried to comfort her. "Mike wouldn't do this unless he had a good reason too."
"Where the hell is Omega?" Valerie asked as she walked in. "I haven't seen him in three days."
"We don't know." Forge said simply.
"Great." Valerie said as she walked away muttering to herself. "Betsy, Todd. Find him. The rest of you, try and not burn the building down." Val said as she walked away.
"What did she say?" X asked as she held a burning match.
********************
Miami Florida, Nagrite residence, 2 days later
(Ding-dong) "Who the hell is that?" Dr. Jeremiah Nagrite swore under his breath. "Essex chose a wonderful time to take a break. I told those idiots that they'd get their formula by the end of the month…" He thought as he opened the door to see the last person he though he would see. "Michael." Dr. Nagrite said simply as he saw his son standing in front of him.
"Jeremiah." Mike said irately.
"What brings you back? I thought that you had left for good?"
"I did." Mike said as he pushed his way in. He looked around the spacious mansion that he used to call home. "So who are you working for this week? Cobra? The Sabbat? Umbrella? Virtu-Con? The Friends of Humanity?"
"That's none of your business freak." Jeremiah Nagrite said as he approached his son. "Now if I recall correctly, I disowned you and you swore never to return."
"You did. And I did." Mike said simply as he faced the man he had one called father. "But that's the funny things about promises, they can be broken."
"Yes they can." Jeremiah Nagrite said as he stared long and hard at his son. "So I hear that you're working for the government."
"It's no worse than the companies you sell you bio-weapons too."
"That's where your wrong boy. My weapons will eradicate you pathetic species off of the face of the earth."
"Get real old man. It's been a proven fact. We're the next step in human evolution." Mike said as he got in his father's face. "And it pisses you off that I made it before you, doesn't it?"
"No. Because when I get my power, it won't be through genetics, it will be man made. I will have earned it. It won't be handed to me as a birth rite."
"Same old, same old. You still only care about gaining power."
"Yep. And I guess I should thank you. Your DNA is the reason my research has gotten as far as it has." Jeremiah Nagrite said with a smile.
"Yea. Whatever."
"Look I'm a busy man? What the hell do you want?"
"I want to know why you had Sarah killed." Mike said grimly.
"There's no proof that I did." Jeremiah said with a smile.
"You're right. There is no proof. But I still know you did. And I want to know why."
"Let's just say she was getting to close to you. And I couldn't have my prize guinea pig falling in love." Jeremiah Nagrite said with a smile.
"You Son of a'…" Mike screamed in anger as he unleashed his tendricals and sent them flying toward his father. But before they could reach Jeremiah Nagrite, Mike Nagrite was overcome by pain. "ARGH!" Mike screamed though grit teeth.
"Hey Lover." Sarah said from behind him as he fell to the ground, back smoking from the blast Sarah had delivered.
"Sarah..." Mike muttered.
"Mikey, Mikey, Mikey." Dr. Nagrite said with a smile. "I thought you would have remembered that you can't touch me. Especially with my new bodyguard."
"Damn you…" Mike muttered as he slumped to the floor.
"You should have stayed in whatever hell-hole you've been living in Freak. But now, you belong to me again. And my research just got more interesting." Dr. Nagrite said with a smile as Mike lost consciousness from the pain. "Sarah, be a dear and take him to my lab."
"Welcome home Mikey." Sarah said as she dragged Omega away.
********************
Somewhere at the Georgia state line
"Dammit." Betsy said as she landed from her Psionic trance. "I had his psi-signature for a brief period, but it's gone."
"What does that mean, yo?" Toad asked as he started the rental car up.
"It either means he's lost consciousness, or…" Betsy stopped herself from saying the rest.
"Don't even say it Betsy." Todd said as he pulled out of the back lot they had parked in. "Did you get his current position?"
"Yea. He's in Miami." Betsy said simply.
"That's another's day drive." Todd said as he gunned the gas. "Besides, I thought he swore never to go home?"
"He did." Betsy said simply. Something's wrong."
"What a day." Toad thought.
"Hold on Mike." Betsy thought as she stared out the window.
********************
Miami Florida, Nagrite residence
"Wha..?" Mike muttered as he woke up with a killer migraine.
"Glad to see you're awake. Your healing abilities must have accelerated." Jeremiah Nagrite said as he walked over to where his son was strapped to a table.
"Go to Hell." Mike spat as he tried to get up. But not even his super strength could break the bonds that held him down.
"Your already there. And those bonds are pure adamantium, not even you can break out of them." Jeremiah said as he walked over to Mike with a syringe. "This is going to hurt…" Jeremiah said as he injected a green colored liquid into his sons arm.
"Don't you just love agony?" Sarah asked from the corner with a smile.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Mike screamed as the liquid rushed through his system, burning the entire way. "ERGH…" Mike muttered as he felt his healing factor combat the liquid and destroy it before it could cause any more damage. "What was that?" Mike swore.
"PCP?" Sarah asked.
"A genetic disease that affects only mutants. It breaks down their genetic structure slowly, causing them to lose control of their powers and eventually kill them." Jeremiah explained. "It's still in its infant stages, as you could probably tell. Your healing abilities have prevented it from affecting you." Jeremiah explained. "But I'm working on that. It appears that your antibodies have a knack for destroying foreign tissue. Its amazing really."
"Can't kill what can heal from anything." Mike muttered through the pain.
"True. But soon this virus will be powerful enough to overrun all accelerated healing abilities, and then it will be ready for market."
"Your sick." Mike muttered.
"Maybe. But soon you will be as well." Jeremiah said with a smile. "Sarah, be a good little girl and go fetch a few things for me." Jeremiah said as he handed a list to Sarah.
"Be back in a few." Sarah said as she picked up her gun and walked out of the room.
"How?" Mike demanded.
"Oh, Sarah? You'd have to talk to my associate Dr. Essex to find out that little detail. He's the one with all the cloning know-how." Dr. Nagrite said. "In fact, I may just have him create me a son that I can actually love."
"Love? You? Doubtful. But just for laughs, what corny name have you come up with for this bio-weapon?" Mike asked as he felt his healing factor expunge the rest of the virus.
"I don't know. But I'll think of something. It is my dream to wipe out all of you freaks after all."
"Then your going to be severely disappointed old man!" Came the shout as Betsy emerged from the shadow on the wall with Toad in tow. Toad leapt over to where Omega was restrained and carefully spit acidic slime onto the restraints. The restraints began to sizzle as the acid melted them.
"I take it you're the Calvary." Jeremiah Nagrite muttered as he faced down Psylocke.
"I don't know who you are, but no one messes with my boyfriend and gets away with it." Betsy said as she formed as telekinetic katana.
"Boyfriend?" Jeremiah asked in shock. "I must say Mike, you sure do have a flare for picking the real fiery ones." Jeremiah said with a smile as Mike broke out of the weakened restraints.
"Cram it Jeremiah." Mike muttered as he walked over. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you right now?" Mike muttered as he unleashed his tendricals.
"You don't have it in you." Jeremiah stated with a smile.
"Your right. But I can make sure that this virus never sees the light of day." Mike said as he picked up a vat and threw it into a machine, causing a small explosion. Jeremiah looked on as Mike destroyed every test-tube, vat and chemical in his laboratory. Toad then melted all of Jeremiah's notes and computer.
"What, no goodbye?" Jeremiah said as Omega, Toad and Betsy turned to leave. "You didn't stop anything here today Michael. I will create this virus soon!"
"Not without his DNA you won't." Toad muttered with a smile. "I read you notes old man. You need him."
"And I'm never coming back." Mike said as he turned around. Jeremiah turned pale when he realized that his son was correct.
"It's all gone…" Jeremiah said in shock as Mike and the others walked away from that place. "DAMN YOU!"
"Don't worry Jeremiah." Came a voice from the shadows.
"But I failed." Jeremiah said as he faced the individual that emerged from the shadows.
"No. This is just a minor setback. But don't worry. The Virus will be ready in time for the final attack." Dr. Essex said as he smiled at the man on the ground. "And this is what I get for leaving you alone." Essex said with a slight smile.
"But how? Without my son's genetic structure, we have no way to create the base that the Virus needs to grow." Jeremiah said as he got up.
"Don't worry about that." Essex said. "We'll have Sarah pay him another visit. Oh, and have you decide on a name for the virus yet?"
"Well since it is my life's work, I decided that it should be called the Legacy Virus." Jeremiah said with a smile.
"The 'Legacy Virus'. It has a nice ring to it." Dr. Essex said simply.
"Thank you Dr. Essex." Jeremiah said. "For all the help with making my dream a reality."
"Don't worry about it. Your dream has perked the interest of some very, VERY powerful people. Just get this place ready for your samples." Dr. Nathaniel Essex said with a smile. "Now lets get this cleaned up. I have to take off soon."
********************
The Hive
"Have they come down yet?" Lance asked Toad in the rec. area
"No. They've been in his room ever since we got back." Toad said as he played with Boris, The X-Factor rat.
"I guess they need to talk about this." Blob said from his position on the couch. "I mean if anyone can get Mike to talk about what happened, it's Betsy."
"What the hell was going on Todd?" Val asked as she stretched out.
"From what I could tell, Mike's dad has been using his DNA in experiments designed to destroy mutants. He's developed some sort of Virus that only affects us. I couldn't pick up any more info from the sheets before Mike destroyed the Lab."
"Jesus. If that Virus ever gets out…" Pietro began.
"Don't worry Petey, we destroyed the lab and every remaining bit of the Virus. It won't be bothering us for awhile." Toad reassured.
"Still, we should probably take some precautions about it." Wanda said simply. "It may come back to haunt us."
"We better let Mike explain it. He can probably explain it better." Pietro said. "That's assuming he ever comes down…"
--------------------
"So are you going to tell the guys about this?" Betsy asked.
"I will. I just don't know how." Mike said as he sat on his bed. "I can't just go "Hey guys, guess what? My father's a megalomaniac who's hell-bent on creating a virus that can wipe out mutant kind all because he has some perverse hatred of me. Oh and by the by, he's using my DNA to build the Virus, so my bad!" I mean come on." Mike said sarcastically, but with sadness in his voice. "Ever since I could remember, that man has seen me as nothing more than an experiment. He had my best friend killed, just because she got close to me. Than, he brought her back to life to try and kill me."
"You loved her, didn't you?" Betsy asked as she embraced Mike.
"Yea. I guess I did. As much a fifteen year old can love another fifteen year old." Mike said as he hugged Betsy tighter. "The thing that kills me, is that he openly admits to all of this, but I can't do a damn thing to him. Once he found out I was a mutant, he had some of his friends do tests on me, made me feel like some freaking guinea pig." Mike said.
"I so sorry Luv." Betsy said as she looked at him.
"So am I Bets. But the only thing I can do now is move on. I got some much needed closure today." Mike said as he got up. "Jeremiah my try to kill us off, but I won't let that happen. When I came to Bayville, I didn't have a care in the world, but now? Now I have a family. Albeit family of mutants that work for the government as a special anti-mutant terrorism team. But a family none the less."
"And you have me." Betsy said with a smile as she pulled him down into a kiss.
"Yea. I got you too." Mike said as he kissed her.
"So are you going to tell your family about your pain?" Betsy asked after they broke the kiss.
"Yea. I am. It's time to clean the skeleton's out of the closet for good." Mike said as he and Betsy got up and walked downstairs together. "The sins of the father are not the sons..."
********************
Next Time on Brotherhood Evolution: Something Stirs below. X-Factor gets called in when reports of Sabertooth being sighted are found. Where is Toothy? None other than Bayville! But he's got some friends this time.
********************
There you all go. Now that's what I call progress. Join us all next time when X-Factor goes to Bayville, again. Please review.
Later,
Descendent