Chapter 8
Second Floor Corridor
6:28 P. M.
"Okay, where the hell are we?"
"I think we're on the second floor now. . . ."
"Ja, we climbed stairs. I think this might be the dormitories. . . ."
Marty kicked the wall in frustration. "Damn! We should have gotten a map or something before trying this rescue mission. At the rate we're going, we're going to need rescuing ourselves."
"Ye of little faith," Doc said, frowning. "It's only been 15 minutes and 12 seconds since we left J. C."
"Yeah, but a lot can happen in 15 minutes. What if he's done something to the girls, Doc?"
Doc felt his stomach flip-flop. "They'll be fine," he said, reassuring himself as much as Marty. "They can take care of themselves. Besides, why would Shaw want to do anything to them? They're not mutants."
"I'll feel better once we can get them loose."
Kurt tried to rally their spirits. "I'll teleport ahead and see what I can find." He disappeared with a bamf, leaving Doc and Marty on lookout.
A minute later, he was back, looking noticeably poorer. "We're getting closer. It was harder for me to teleport now."
Doc, not one to leave a hypothesis untested, shot a bit of mini-lightning into the wall. A rather unpleasant -- almost painful -- tingling appeared in his fingertips. He frowned. "We'll have to tread even more carefully from now on. Around Frieda, our powers won't be much use." He looked at his friend. "You couldn't pull another punch like the one you used on Buford in 1885?"
Marty grinned, finally feeling useful. "Yeah, I think I can do that."
"Good. We'll distract her while you get in. Which way should we go, Kurt?"
Kurt deliberated, trying to sense where the feeling was strongest. "Left, I think."
Left turned out to be a very bad choice. Because left was where a good number of Hellfire Club members had ended up chasing them. A good number of annoyed Hellfire Club members. With guns.
Kurt realized his mistake a few seconds before the members did, at least. "Ah -- right would be better. Much better."
"HEY!"
Marty, Doc, and Kurt bolted, hoping to lose them in the maze of hallways. A few of the goons promptly started a chase, while the smarter ones just began firing. "Kurt, get Marty out of here if you can! I'll take care of them!" Doc snapped, swinging around and sucking electricity from the wall.
Kurt grabbed the teen in a bear hug. "I don't know how far I can take you," he admitted.
"You're not taking me anywhere!" Marty said, wiggling free of Kurt's grip. "I'm not leaving you here, Doc!"
"Marty, please! Just go!" Doc hit the nearest goons with electricity, sending them stumbling back into their fellows. "Ouch," he added, shaking his hands.
"Herr Doktor is right," Kurt agreed, grabbing Marty again. "It's too dangerous!"
"No! He's my best friend! I stick by him no matter what!"
Kurt was about to teleport anyway when strong arms wrestled him away from Marty and to the ground. Somebody grabbed Marty and pinned his arms behind his back. The teen kicked backward, furious.
There was a "BAMF!", and Kurt reappeared three feet away, looking quite ill. The Hellfire members he had dragged with him didn't look so hot either, but they managed to drag him down for some fresh members.
Doc prepared to shoot more electricity at those holding Kurt. Noticing this, one of them quickly raised his gun. "Herr Doktor!" Kurt yelled in warning.
"Doc!" Marty screamed, feeling a burst of terror.
The next few moments seemed to be in slow motion for the teen. Doc spun -- too fast. He slid, overcorrected, and began to fall. The Hellfire member smiled wickedly, finger curling around the trigger. Horror filled Marty's soul. "No. NO!" he shrieked, struggling desperately against the arms that held him. "Don't! Stop! STOP!"
And, just like that, he did.
Marty lurched out of his captor's grip. He couldn't believe his eyes. The guy had actually stopped, only seconds from firing. Why had he listened to him? Not that he wasn't grateful as hell, of course --
Wait a minute. The guy didn't seem to be moving at all. Marty went up to him and waved his hand in front of his face. No response. He snapped his fingers a few times. Still nothing. And now, Marty noticed something else weird. Not only was this guy frozen, so was everyone else. Kurt, Doc, the members of the Hellfire Club -- everybody. All frozen solid. He, Marty, was the only thing moving.
For a moment, Marty wondered with a hopeful heart if Professor X had sensed their distress and come back. His powers were capable of this, the X-Men had told him so. But he was forced to rule it out. Professor X only affected non-mutants as far as he knew. Kurt and Doc should still be moving, at least.
Shaking his head in confusion, he happened to glance up at the wall clock. He froze.
Professor X also couldn't stop the clocks from moving.
He looked down at his own watch. Still running smoothly. He went over to Doc and checked both of his. They were stopped. Marty shook his head again. "Jesus, what's going on here? It's like time just -- stopped."
He had yelled "stop," and time had stopped.
Holy shit, Marty thought wildly, I can stop time. I'm a mutant and I can stop time.
Why the hell couldn't I do this earlier?!
As he grumbled to himself about all the problems he could have solved had his mutant ability shown itself earlier, an unpleasant buzzing began in the back of his head. Must be Frieda, he figured, grimacing. Kinda hurts. . .guess that means I should make the most of the time I have. He went to work "fixing" the scene.
6:30 P. M (after one microsecond)
Doc blinked. Something seemed -- different. Like things had happened during the last microsecond to throw the whole world out of whack. He couldn't put his finger on what, though.
He realized that he was sitting comfortably on the ground. True, he had been falling, but his trajectory had been such that he should have landed on his side. Plus, now that he thought about it, just a moment ago, he'd still been in the process of falling. He shouldn't have landed just yet.
Doc was snapped out of his introspection by puzzled cursing. He jumped to his feet to face the Hellfire member about to shoot him.
Only to notice that, suddenly, the man (or woman) no longer had a gun.
Deciding to take advantage of the situation now and puzzle it out later, he hit the goon with a shock. He jumped and fell to the ground, unconscious. He was followed quickly by three of his fellow members.
Kurt landed by his side, frowning. "Doktor, do you know what just happened?" he asked plaintively. "Because I could have sworn they had me pretty firmly." He indicated his former captors, bested by Kurt's acrobatic moves.
"Frankly, all I can say is, got me," Doc admitted, stunning another member. "There's the possibility that somehow we opened a time warp of some sort. I wonder what Marty --
"MARTY!"
In the confusion over the changes, Doc had completely forgotten about his young friend. He looked around wildly. "Great Scott! Where is he?!" he gasped, running down the hall.
"Over here, Doc!"
Doc and Kurt spotted Marty down at the opposite end of the hall. "I found a secret passage. I think it leads to the lab."
"Not so loud," Doc cautioned.
"How on earth did you get over there?" Kurt demanded. "Gott un Himmel, I'm confused."
"It's--" Marty paused, looking nervous. "I'll explain later. Once Hank's stuff is safe."
Doc frowned. "Marty, are you all right?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Come on, before those goons wake up."
Bet it's this strange time phenomena, Doc figured as they followed Marty. He has even less of an idea than we do of how he got out of his situation. I wonder if our continued presence here is seriously starting to affect the space-time continuum? If so, we'll have to leave immediately after getting rid of these people.
A few turns later, Marty pointed down another of the endless hallways. "It's over here. Hidden behind this painting. I'll show you."
Before he could do anything, though, they suddenly heard an eerie cackle behind them. "Ah, look here. Come to Selene."
They spun around, expecting to see the familiar mask of a Hellfire member. But, instead--
6: 32 P. M.
Kurt
But, instead of the hallway, Kurt was amazed to see a vast expanse of desert. Scruffy-looking patches of grass dotted the landscape, occasionally swaying in a hot breeze. Nearby, grass huts were arranged in a rough circular shape. Frankly, it reminded him of the African Savannah.
Ororo's home.
Kurt frowned deeply. Had they accidentally wandered into J. C.'s territory again? Somehow, he doubted that. Something about this scene felt too -- real. Maybe it had something to do with those time warps Doc Brown had mentioned. He and Ororo were planning trips to both Germany and Africa for their eventual honeymoon. They had wanted to see each other's homelands. How odd. If I walk into that village, will I see myself and Ororo, vacationing?
Well, only one way to find out. Kurt started walking.
Doc
But, instead of the hallways of a great, ancient mansion, Doc saw white and disgustingly clean corridors. They reminded him of a hospital. Even stranger, he could see still faint flickers of the school's halls underneath these new ones.
An illusionist! Could it be J. C.? No, we're on the second floor, she's on the first. This must be that "Selene" woman we heard just a moment ago. She must not know about my own electrical powers, which is a lucky break. But still, it looks so real. . . . She must be extremely powerful to worm her way into my brain like this. And if she's done this to me. . . .
He looked around. Marty and Kurt were still next to him, vague shapes lost in their own worlds. Doc moved a little closer to them. "Marty? Kurt?" he tried.
"There's no one there, Dr. Brown," cooed an overly-soothing voice. Doc spun to see three almost-solid figures, a woman and two men. "Now come with us, like a good boy."
The men stepped forward, attired in dull white uniforms. Police batons hung from their belts. One had a small paper cup of red liquid in his hand. The other carried a strait-jacket.
Even though he knew what he was seeing wasn't real, Doc's heart still quickened in fear. Somehow, Selene had gotten into his brain enough to make him see the place he truly feared -- a psychiatric hospital. Doc felt an urge to scream, but fought it down. He wouldn't give her the satisfaction of seeing him shake in terror. "I want to see my family," he said firmly, playing along with the illusion.
"It's not visiting hours, Dr. Brown."
"Then I want to contact them."
"Oh, Dr. Brown, you know all their visits end in tears. They're so ashamed of having you in here. They hated having to commit you -- the publicity. . . ."
This bitch knew how to push his buttons! Furious, Doc paced the illusionary corridor, looking for the woman's vague shape so he could introduce her to a shock. The attendants tried to grab him, but couldn't get a firm grip. Doc chuckled at their puzzlement, and kept searching.
Marty
But, instead of the school, Marty saw rooms done in the most vulgar colors he could imagine. His jaw dropped. He had somehow been transported to a place he'd never wanted to see again.
Biff Tannen's Pleasure Paradise.
"You look confused, kid," a rough voice said behind him. Marty turned to see Biff-A behind him, robed and smirking. "Whatsa matter, butt-head, don't like what I've done with the place?"
Marty frowned. Something was -- off about Biff-A. His smirk wasn't quite the one Marty knew. I'd say it was J. C., only we never told her any details about this place. Did we run into another illusionist?
Biff-A walked toward him, casually murderous. Marty backed up. Illusion or not, this guy still scared him. "I need something from you, you little punk," he growled. "And unless you give it to me, you're gonna suffer the consequences."
"Yeah?" Marty said, trying to sound tough. "Like what? You gonna shoot me?"
Biff's smirk evolved into a truly twisted grin. "Actually. . . ."
Biff's gang trooped in, dragging with them a strait-jacketed Doc. Marty's best friend was struggling hard, but it was obvious he wasn't escaping anytime soon. Biff produced his gun. "I'm gonna shoot him."
The blood drained from Marty's face. Shit. . .don't do this to me. . .anything but this. . . .
Biff pointed the gun straight at Doc's heart. "Do what I say, or he dies, McFly." Biff giggled and cocked his piece. "Hell, maybe I'll kill him anyway. You never know."
This was too much! No matter if it was illusion or real, Marty had to stop this! He activated his power.
Instantly, the scene vanished. Marty breathed a sigh of relief. He had seen Doc threatened enough for a lifetime.
He realized someone was gripping his arm. He looked up to see Doc staring at him. "She get you too, Doc"?" he asked with a sigh, not expecting an answer.
"Enough," Doc replied, making Marty start. "Did you do this?"
Marty nodded. "Yeah. I can stop time. That's how I found the passage, when I froze everybody the first time." He looked around, baffled. "But how come you're moving now?"
"I don't know, and frankly, at the moment, I don't care." Doc took a look around too. Kurt was frozen in a leap, an expression of horror on his face. At the end of the hall, a strange woman in black stood stiff as a statue. "Although, a quick hypothesis is that I touched you. Is your watch still running?"
"Yeah, was the last time too."
"Then that's probably it." He released Marty's arm and went up to the woman. She was quite beautiful, but in a way that made him and Marty shiver in fear. Her eyes were closed, her fingers against her temples. Her expression was a mixture of concentration, confusion, and pain. "I think we just found Sebastian Shaw's lovely illusionist wife. The pain is from fighting Frieda, the confusion is from trying to get me fully into the fantasy."
"Do you think you could shock her?"
"Now that I have an idea of where she is, definitely. I don't know if I should try it now, or in regular time. The effects on the space-time continuum could be catastrophic."
"I don't know about that, but I'm getting a major headache," Marty agreed.
Doc grabbed Marty's wrist. "I'll be quick. You can deactivate now."
Marty released his power, sighing with relief as the headache vanished. Biff reappeared, but only for a second. Then he disappeared again as Selene shrieked in surprised pain. Marty quickly backed up as she glared at them all. "Fools! You think you can defeat me?" She rounded on Doc, her eyes wide with power.
Suddenly, she screamed again and collapsed to the floor in a heap. Marty gaped. "Jesus, Doc, what happened? What did you do to her?"
"Nothing. She did it to herself. Remember how I said it's damn near impossible to use mental powers on me? Try too hard when I'm using my power, and you'll receive a rather nasty shock to the brain." He knelt over her and checked her vitals. "She's still alive, but she'll be out for quite a while." Doc looked over at Kurt, who was breathing hard. "Are you all right?"
"I think so." Kurt wiped the sweat from his face. "I thought I saw -- Ororo being -- being whipped to death for sorcery." He shivered. "I was trying to save her."
Marty was abruptly reminded of Jennifer, still trapped with Shaw. "Doc, we gotta get to the girls. They need our help!"
"I would love to go right to them, but -- and I hate to say this -- Hank's work is more important. If Shaw gets it, more people than them will be in danger."
"But we can't just leave them!"
"Who says we're going to leave them? Kurt can go."
"Me??"
Doc smiled. "It's simple logic, Kurt. How much of your mutation can Frieda suppress?" Kurt still looked puzzled. "You were still blue when you couldn't teleport, right?"
"Ja, but -- oooh," he said, catching on.
Doc nodded. "You're the most athletic of our little group anyway--"
"And that tail of yours is the best," Marty added.
"If anyone's got a chance against Frieda, it's you," Doc finished. "Make sure our families are all right. We'll be in the lab, saving what we can."
Kurt nodded. "Good luck." He scampered down the hall, looking for the source of their troubles. Doc turned to Marty. "Now where was this secret passage again?"
6: 48 P. M.
The Hall o'X-Men
Frieda, slumped against the wall, barely noticed as she heard something come running up the hall. Probably another Hellfire Club member, she thought, utterly bored. She hadn't expected her job to be that of a baby-sitter. But here she was, looking after a bunch of kids and the X-Men. It was enough to drive a girl mad.
The running drew closer. Frieda turned her head -- and was rewarded by the sight of something very much unlike a Hellfire member. It was blue, with bright yellow eyes and a long flexible tail. A mutant! Frieda grinned. Finally, some excitement. She couldn't wait to knock the mutant's block off once it tried to use --
Wait a second. It wasn't changing in the least as it drew nearer. And her power, thanks to the amplifier, should stretch out a couple of yards in all directions. Why hadn't it changed sooner?
Shit! Its main X-power must be something else! Just like that Mystique woman -- couldn't morph in my presence, but remained blue and scaly!
The mutant leapt into the air and aimed a kick at her head. Frieda dodged, but the kick connected anyway. Despite her powers as a mutation-blocker (in fact, probably because of them) Frieda wasn't much of a physical fighter. She got in a few good punches before Kurt took her down for the count.
Kurt looked around at his friends. "Is everyone all right?"
"Pretty bored, to tell the truth," Marie admitted, giving Bobby a final nuzzle. "Where the heck did you come from?"
"I ran up an air duct earlier." He released Ororo and gave her a quick kiss. "Then, when I could, I teleported." Next he freed Logan, who promptly popped his claws and set to work slicing through the rest of the ropes. "Doktor Brown, Marty, and J. C. are here too."
"Are they all right?" Clara and Jennifer asked in unison.
"Ja. They send their apologies that they couldn't come and rescue you personally. But your husband felt it was more important that they protect their work on Legacy, Mrs. Brown."
"And J. C.?" Verne asked as Clara untied him.
"She's keeping a few Hellfire Club members busy."
Logan frowned at the blood leaking from his knuckles as he freed Jean and Scott. "How do we get our goddamned powers back?"
"From what I've heard, Frieda's normal range is only a couple of feet in diameter. I think that black box attached to her belt is somehow helping amplify her powers. Try taking off that," Jean suggested.
Logan promptly clawed off the box. As he drew back, the blood stopped oozing. Scott snapped his eyes shut and felt for his sunglasses while Bobby and Marie quickly moved apart.
Jean handed Scott his glasses just as an alarm on the box went off. Within minutes, Hellfire members were pouring through the doors. A few quickly grabbed Frieda and used her as a shield. A couple of others concentrated on distracting Wolverine, correcting identifying him as the biggest threat. Clara, Jules, Verne, and Jennifer checked on the X-Kids, then joined the growing battle as best they could.
Meanwhile, down in Hank's Lab
Doc and Marty landed beside one of Hank's research tables. Doc promptly ran to the computer. "Can you give me a little more time? Or, should I say, out of time?"
"Sure thing, Doc." Marty grabbed Doc's arm. Instantly all above was quiet, the lab clock frozen. "Just be fast. I dunno how long I can hold it."
Doc nodded, got into their file system, and began copying all their work to CD. "We'll probably have to erase the information from the computer, but I'll be damned if we don't have a back-up copy."
He came across their previous recipe for a cure serum and sighed deeply. He and Hank had had high hopes it would work. But, like all the others, it had failed upon testing. Where did we go wrong? Doc thought, preparing to back it up anyway.
Then he paused. Something about the formula didn't look right. He took a moment to scan it.
"Doc, what are ya doing?" Marty asked, impatient.
"Shh." Aha, there it was. Hank had forgotten a "two" subscript at the end of a formula. Inside of hydrochloric acid, the serum contained water. Doc fixed the mistake -- then, on a hunch, ran the testing program.
It worked.
Not believing his eyes, Doc ran it again. The same thing happened. The serum weakened the virus, providing spots for antibodies to form. Disabled, the virus could only drift helplessly. Then, in a rush of white blood cells, it was gone, and the DNA was free to repair itself.
Marty watched the screen over Doc's shoulder, jaw hanging open. "Doc. . .did you just. . . ."
"Yes." Doc's eyes lit up in joy. "Yes! It's the cure, Marty! WE FOUND THE CURE!"