Thanks to:
UncannyAsianGirl – The vampire analogy was from 'Salems Lot' when the people floated outside the window. My mums fave film! There will be increased amounts of the family Darkholme in later chapters. As for other eps in series 4, for the most part I won't be using them mainly because they don't affect the story here. There will be referrals to anything important (I tend to think that every one has seen the important episodes although I shouldn't. Always remember a review of yours referring to 'Impact' that I got literally about an hour after the first time it was shown on UK TV. It was cool, because I had just watched that ep!). I don't see the point in going over stuff that has no real bearing save for the changed position of Lance, but I hope you enjoy the reworking of this episode! Horsemen…I'm still not decided upon the last one, ha ha!
LadyEvils – You're right, Warren doesn't get enough Evo-attention. He's here though! And there will be something along to 'shake up' the Lancitty. After checking the look on Mystique's face in Ascension 2, I didn't think she would ever change, not really…
Kurttyscogue – I know that there will be some trials for the Lancitty element of the story, but half of your pen-name will be realised in here! I adore Lancitty, so Kurt and Kitty probably won't hook up (I say probably because I've no solid plans yet!) but Lance is gonna have some issues…
X00001 – You don't have to wait any longer! I just hope you like it.
Raphaella – I just liked the idea that the prof will extend the hand of friendship to anyone and we all know Kurt wants to mend fences with mummy…
Enfant-terrible – You're so kind, thanks! I appreciated the review for 'Unpredictable' BTW, the only one I got for the first chap! I wanted to bring Warren into the fic, but in a way that was not right at the end in a minimal part.
Oceanbang – The sub-plots were really hard in that chapter, I'm glad they made sense! Before Ascension I've no plans as to episodes, it looks like it will all be my own stuff. I've twisted the plot too far for any of them to work!
DemonRogue13 – I'm glad you enjoyed it!
XX-Goth-Gal – I won't slap you, it can be hard to tell characters apart when they're incidental, especially if you don't look at the comics (or do, but the characters aren't in recent ones).Warren was in the Xmas episode 'On Angels Wings', he was the guy with the wings! He was one of the original five X-Men but he's woefully underused in the comics lately.
Rogue14 – I'm hoping the story isn't cursed either…I'm gonna check out some of your other stories as soon as I finish up with my chapters! I loved 'I was made to love you' because certain parts of it made me laugh out loud, and I will certainly be there soon. Yeah, we Scorpios are a enigmatic and talented bunch :) And I love Emma! I have her poster up on my wall!
Furygrrl – I was beginning to wonder where you'd gone! I needed to put Warren in there because he's underused in Evo and because I was trying to think where Jean would go…the two ideas just bumped together in my head and made a storyline. Archangel? Not that I thought he was miles better than Angel, but, uh, I did! I refuse to give the horsemen away! Although you can guess by who gets splatted. This chapter sees a suggestion you made back in 'Manipulating' come into effect, and I'd like to say thanks for the idea!
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
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"I think we should go over there and see her," said Kurt, loading his plate with sausages. "She is our mother!"
"You're mother." Rogue took a sip of her orange and looked over at his plate. "Y'know, you're gonna weigh about 300 pounds by the time you're twenty if you keep eating like this."
"I'm a growing boy!" Kurt grabbed the bacon as soon as Ray had finished with it. "And this is our second chance. We could get to know her, maybe she could explain some things to us…"
"Ah know more about her than ah want to," replied Rogue. "She's an evil, lying, manipulative bitch and ah want nothing more to do with her. You try to play happy families with her if you want, but leave me out of it."
"Rogue…"
"Leave me out of it!"
Kurt frowned but dropped the subject, concentrating instead on his breakfast. There was plenty of chat and laughter around the room; most of the students seemingly unconcerned about the emergence of the second dome in China although beneath the façade there was worry. Scott pushed scrambled eggs around his plate, having barely tasted them. He and Rogue were avoiding each other's gaze and Kurt decided that this had gone on long enough. He couldn't allow his best friend and his sister to remain miserable just because of Jean Grey. He was midway through concocting an elaborate scheme involving a locked room, a disco ball and a Celine Dion CD when the Professor entered the room, a man that none of them recognised trailing after him.
"I'm glad you're all here," said the Professor. "This is Piotr Rasputin. He'll be staying here at the Institute."
"Hi Piotr!" said Kitty chirpily. "Where are you from?"
"Russia," replied Piotr in a heavy accent.
"We're getting ever more multi-national around here," muttered Lance sulkily, not a morning person.
"Ignore him," instructed Kitty. "We're glad to have you on the team."
"Thank you." Piotr gave Kitty a smile, which didn't escape Lance's notice. He glared at the newcomer and put a possessive arm around Kitty's waist.
"Lance, I'm trying to eat," said Kitty irritably. He was still acting strangely around her, even though they'd talked through what Jean had shown him. It was beginning to get on her nerves.
"Charles!" Ororo burst into the room. "The situation in China is escalating."
""Kitty, Lance, show Piotr around the mansion." The Professor took no notice of Lance's scowl and followed Storm to the control room, where the Beast was monitoring the dome that had appeared around the Chinese pyramid.
The Professor wheeled over to the computer. "What is it Hank?"
"The Chinese military have evacuated the province so they can drop explosives on the dome."
The Professor glanced at the screen, where he could see news footage of missiles heading for the dome. "Oh no…"
There was a loud noise from the screen before the picture turned to static. The Beast began typing on the keyboard, trying to regain the visual.
"Hank?"
"Checking." The Beast put on the headset, still messing with the computer. "Reports are coming in…the dome's still there but everything else is levelled. For miles."
"And the media backlash will not be favourable to mutants." The Professor felt a headache coming on.
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"This is really bad." Rogue let the curtain drop and turned back around to face the others. "There's a mob out there. The police are holding them back, but they're pretty pissed."
"They're really loud." Kitty looked toward the window timidly.
"I still say they'd soon go away if there was a minor earth tremor." Lance glowered, one arm around his girlfriend.
"No earthquakes," said Scott. "No streams of lava, no suddenly frozen sidewalk, no electric shocks, nothing. We just ride it out. They can't stay out there forever."
Most of the New Recruits were watching the news reports, slightly worried at seeing their own house on the television. "I dunno," said Bobby. "They look like they're here for the long haul."
"International rescue teams are pouring into the site of the largest mutant-related disaster that the world has ever seen…"
"Why are they blaming us?" Kitty looked upset, watching the interviews with people giving their opinions on mutants. "It was the military who attacked the dome, not mutants!"
"It is human nature to find some one to blame for their problems," said Piotr. "A scrape-goat."
That elicited a giggle from Kitty. "That's scapegoat."
"Hey look!" Rogue pointed to the TV. "It's that jerk Matthews."
"The one that did this, they call him Spyke." Duncan was stood in front of his burning car. "He lives in the sewers with a bunch of other crazed mutant lowlifes. Bayville is just not safe anymore. We gotta stand up and defend ourselves!"
"He didn't mention Evan only did that because those guys were trying to push me and Sam around." Amara glared at the image of Duncan on the screen.
"As anti-mutant hysteria grows, Bayville police try to disperse angry mobs from outside the Xavier Institute as well as the Brotherhood Boarding House."
"Do you think the Brotherhood are OK?" Kitty was worried about her former teammates – their house didn't have the protection that the mansion afforded the X-Men.
"Ah'm sure Mystique has it all under control." Rogue's voice dripped with sarcasm. "Let her see what she helped start. Might teach her a lesson."
"You must regret ever coming here," said Kurt to Piotr. "It's not usually like this."
"I am sure things will calm down when we are able to show the world that we are peaceful."
"We're not gonna be able to show them anything like that as long as Apocalypse is putting up these domes," muttered Lance.
"Hey, look on the bright side." Bobby looked over his shoulder and grinned at the older students. "If they stay there a while, we might not be able to get to school!"
"Now why doesn't that make me feel better?" Lance folded his arms and proceeded to sulk.
Another reporter took up the story. "A crazed mob now seems to be pursuing the mutant identified in earlier reports as Spyke."
"They're after Evan!" Amara jumped to her feet. "We have to stop them!"
"You stay here," instructed Scott. "You're going nowhere at the moment. Rogue, come with me."
The pair left the room and Kurt smirked. "Maybe this is his attempt at a reconciliation."
"Yeah, going out to confront a rampaging mob." Kitty rolled her eyes. "That is just like, so romantic!"
The Professor was in his study by the window, troubled by the crowd outside when Scott and Rogue burst in.
"Evan's in trouble."
Looking up, the Professor nodded and telepathically summoned Logan and Storm to help them.
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The scenes on the streets of Bayville hit Scott like a blow. He'd always known that things would get bad when mutants were revealed to the world, but he had never imagined just how bad. A gang had lured out the Morlocks and were opening fire on them. Scott was unsurprised when he realised the apparent leader of the mob was Duncan Matthews.
Scott hit the ground in front of Duncan with an optic beam, distracting the other boy from his intended target. Infuriated, Duncan opened fire on the Velocity, which was hovering above the street. Logan leapt out, Scott stopping Duncan's blast with a blast of his own. Rogue and Storm flew out of the Velocity and Scott jumped out as it landed, all of them making their way to the mob.
The Morlocks joined them, Evan shooting Scott a black look. "You shouldn't be here."
"Neither should you."
The arrival of the X-Men evened the odds and it wasn't long before most of the gang had been disarmed, their weapons rendered useless. Duncan had managed to keep hold of his weapon and aimed it at Rogue as she hovered over his car.
"Duncan, don't do this!"
"Well, if it isn't my girlfriends girlfriend. Save it. Jean's not here to stick up for you now!"
Rogue's eyes blazed. "Ah don't need Jean to help me with anything! Least of all taking care of you." She lifted him up telekinetically and threw him across the hood of a car, ready to do some real damage to him for that last remark – but then a floodlight from overhead momentarily blinded them all.
"This is the police! Stay where you are. Put down your weapons!"
For a moment, Duncan considered doing just that – then he realised that he had a perfect shot at Spyke, the mutant who had destroyed his car. Hoping that the police were too high up to see him act, he raised the weapon and took careful aim. He paused as a small boy walked out in front of Evan, then saw the way the kid looked and realised he had to be a mutant too, probably one of the freaks from the mansion.
Two for the price of one he thought as he pulled the trigger.
"No!" Evan grabbed the kid and shielded him with his own body, the blast hitting him and sending him flying. The kid grabbed his head and looked at Duncan through wide eyes, gritting his teeth before crying out.
"NO! STOP!"
The streetlights blinked out, followed by the lights in the nearby building, then the faint glow from the nearby streets. Evan's spikes drew back into his body for the first time in months. Duncan's gun shorted out. Rogue fell out of the sky, landing painfully on the road. Scott hurried over to check she was OK, glancing up as a loud noise indicated that the police helicopter had just crash-landed onto a nearby rooftop.
The little boy collapsed.
Evan ran over to him. "Hey, are you OK?"
"Dorian? Dorian!" A woman, presumably the kid's mother, hurried onto the scene and knelt beside him, cradling him in her arms. "What are you doing out here?"
"It's OK mom. The headaches are gone. It doesn't hurt anymore!"
Scott helped Rogue to her feet and started to take off his visor. Rogue grabbed his arm to stop him, but Scott shook her off and removed it, for a moment afraid to open his eyes – but the pressure behind his lids that was the constant reminder of his mutation was absent and he blinked. Nothing happened. He kept his eyes open and turned to look at Rogue, her gasp barely registering as for only the second time in his life he saw her without the red tint that was a part of his life.
And the other time I never appreciated it.
Rogue shed a glove and lifted her hand. Scott reached out to take it, grasping her fingers, caressing a knuckle with his thumb.
They both smiled.
"That kid," said Scott, not taking his eyes off Rogue. "He's somehow suppressing the energy around here, including mutant powers."
"Yeah," growled Logan, looking down at his claws before retracting them with a grimace, blood pouring from the wounds they left in his hands "How nice."
Duncan dropped his useless weapon. "Let's get outta here!"
"Not so fast." The mob turned to find two policemen with batons waiting for them.
The woman ushered her son away from the area, only to be stopped by Evan. "Ma'am? I'm uh, really sorry about this. I'm just glad he wasn't hurt…"
"Hurt?" The woman put her hands on her hips. "Thanks to you, my little boy's been exposed as a mutant! What chance has he for a normal life now?"
"None," Evan said sadly. "None at all."
As he dragged Dorian away, the streetlights flickered and powered up again. Evan's skin once more burst forth with plates and spikes. Scott closed his eyes quickly, shoving his visor back on. Rogue tried to pull her hand away from his, but he kept his grip tight.
"Scott, let go! Ah can't…"
"You don't know that. You haven't tried since – well, you haven't tried since you got control back."
As the lights from the surrounding buildings came back on, Rogue grimaced in anticipation of absorbing Scott, concentrating desperately on not hurting him…
A noise startled them, the siren on the police cruiser returning to life. The police officers were bundling the mob members into the car in handcuffs. Scott smirked as he thought of Duncan trying to talk his way out of this one – then glanced down, his hand still gripping Rogue's with no apparent ill effects.
"Ah don't understand," said Rogue, looking stunned. "Ah was just worried about hurtin' you and it was like mah telekinesis kicked in somehow and…and ah don't know!"
"It must be the TK that controls your powers," replied Scott.
"Ah can touch?" Rogue let go of his hand, then touched him lightly, concentrating on her absorption ability. This time they both felt the pull as her powers kicked in and Rogue snatched her hand away from him.
"Ah can control it!"
She took Scott's hand again, concentrating on not hurting him again – and nothing happened, no absorption, no loss of consciousness, nothing. Just two people enjoying the touch of each other's flesh.
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Jean glared at the dome, ignoring the devastation in the area. Warren flew alongside her, gaping as he saw the wholesale destruction of what had once been a central area of China.
"This is horrible," he murmured as they flew over the devastated locale.
"This is nothing," replied Jean. "If Apocalypse gets his way, the whole world will look like this and then we'll all be fighting to survive. Right now, we have the edge. We can do what the humans can't. Apocalypse wants us all to be mutants and if that happens, we're fighting for our lives every moment of every day. Mutants were born to rule. If everyone's a mutant, it disrupts the natural order."
They approached the dome cautiously, knowing that the combined forces of the Chinese military had no effect on the structure. Warren turned to Jean. "What now?"
"I need to get his attention." Jean put her hands to her temples, telepathically communicating with Apocalypse.
…it's me, Jean Grey…
…I know who you are…
…you lied to me…
…I did no such thing. I let you believe what you needed to…
…come out here and face me…
…
Apocalypse rose from the dome.
Warren gasped as he saw the powerful mutant for the first time, rising from the impenetrable fortress of the dome. He gave the two teens a disdainful glance. Jean didn't waste her time. Instead, she summoned the full force of her telepathy to hit him with a psychic blast.
The air rippled with energy and Warren winced, anticipating the explosion that he associated with such an outpouring of power – but there was nothing.
Frowning, Jean tried again. Apocalypse seemed unmoved by her attempts.
Realising she might have made a mistake, Jean picked up pieces of the ineffective bombs and hurled them at Apocalypse with all her psychic strength. The military may have failed, but that was against the dome, not the man…
Apocalypse reflected the objects away from him, with no apparent signs of strain.
He looked over at Jean and gestured.
Realising where this was going, Jean pulled Warren in front of her telekinetically, a human shield to defer whatever Apocalypse had in store for her. She watched in awe as Warren was encircled by what seemed to be a ball of sheer energy, hearing him scream until the ball contracted and there was nothing left…
Belatedly, she tried to fly away.
Apocalypse looked to her contemptuously and Jean found herself surrounded by a bubble. She used her powers to repel it, to no avail. It was as though she was without her powers and unable to act as the bubble closed in around her, smaller and smaller until it was impossible to breathe, and still it shrank…
Apocalypse sank back into his pyramid, satisfied. Of Warren Worthington and Jean Grey, nothing remained.