Notes: For those who wondered, that boy with the android that Mikhail abducted will be identified at the end of this chapter.  Sort of.

Chapter 15: Friendly Foe

Ray had been floating her telekinetic bubble over the remains of The Hill for nearly fifteen minutes when she finally spotted another, smaller bubble heading towards her.

"Frankie!" she called excitedly, waving to her friend.  "Is everyone okay?"

"I was going to ask you the same, Ray," Franklin replied as his bubble was absorbed into hers, rejoining their parties.  With him were Lilandra, Nitro, and Boost.

"It would seem that our scheme has paid off," Nitro commented as he surveyed the barren land.  "I have yet to see any attempts at regeneration."

"It was quite an explosion," Lilandra commented, nodding respectfully to Boost, who blushed.  "I believe the chief threats now are my sister and Mikhail."

Upon hearing that last name, Franklin's eyes narrowed.  "Where is Illyana?"

"Oh, she's right-" Rachel began to say as she pointed, only to find an empty space next to her.  "-here?"

"Ray, be ready to leave at any moment.  I'm going to get her.  Boost, you'd better come, too."

"Yes, Psi-Lord," Boost agreed at once, turning into a mist that entered Franklin's chest.

"Shouldn't you take someone else with you?" Ray suggested, looking worried.

"No.  This will be the final battle.  If Illyana has gone to face Mikhail, as I think she has, it is better if only we go.  I stand the best chance of surviving, and Boost almost guarantees that."

"Almost?" Ray asked, her voice trembling.

"Be ready to leave," Franklin repeated firmly before he faded from view.  "We won't get any second chances."

* * * * *

The young mutant boy known as Remy Lebeau ceased to exist the moment he saw the huge creature thundering towards the front door.  From then on, there was only Gambit.

"That be far enough, mon ami!" he called out, holding up a playing card that was practically overflowing with charged energy.  "You come any closer, you gotta play wit Gambit."

To his amazement, the gray monstrosity did stop for a moment, as if recognizing him.  "You leave now, Gambit…or you will be crushed!" it roared.

"So you still talk, eh?  An' just who Gambit have the pleasure of conversin' wit?  I take it Ernie out to lunch…"

"There is no Ernie," the hulking figure growled.  "Only Hemingway!"  With another roar on his lips, he leaped at the front door.

"Gambit promise petite he won't hurt you, mon ami…but Gambit doubt you feel dis, anyway."  Gambit flicked the card directly into Hemingway's gaping mouth and dodged aside.

There was a muffled explosion as Hemingway's mouth snapped shut, followed by the louder sound of him obliterating the school's front door with his huge weight.  If Gambit's card had given him internal injuries, he gave no sign of them as he scrambled to his feet and made his way into the school.

Gambit frowned and gave chase, pulling what appeared to be a metal baton from his pocket as he ran.  As he gripped it tightly in his hand and sent a tiny energy pulse through it, however, the baton suddenly jerked and became a long staff.  Without a second's hesitation, Gambit planted the staff in the floor and threw his weight upward, pole vaulting all the way across the room and landing squarely between Hemingway's broad shoulders.  "Gambit not done wit you yet, mon ami!"

Growling in annoyance, Hemingway swatted his back with one giant hand, just missing Gambit's head in the process.  "Get off!  Hemingway busy!"

"Got dat right, Ernie," Gambit replied, pressing his hands firmly against the monster's gray skin.  "You and Gambit, we dance partners now.  You don' want nobody cuttin' in, either.  Gambit let go, things get real hot, real fast."

Finally, Hemingway stopped in his tracks, realizing what Gambit was telling him.  "You make Marrow sad."

"Oui.  All you gotta do is stop where you are, and she don' have to be sad.  Your choice, mon ami."

Hemingway appeared to be thinking it over, and Gambit thought he had finally reached the friend that Marrow had insisted was inside him.  But then, Hemingway looked sadly over his shoulder at the boy.  "Do what you must.  Hemingway no stop."  He turned and headed upstairs.

Gambit was in shock.  For whatever reason Hemingway had attacked the school, he was willing to get blown to bits to do it.  Gambit couldn't just LET him go on attacking people…but he had never thought he'd have to kill the big brute.  Part of him had hoped that Marrow was right about Ernie not wanting to hurt people.  But Ernie was clearly not part of the picture anymore.  All the same, Gambit could not bring himself to let go or stop pouring charged energy into Hemingway's body.  If this thing really intended to hurt people, Gambit had to stop him.  No one else could, not even Professor X.

So he hung on as Hemingway charged through the mansion, until they finally reached the War Room.  Gambit thought about warning the others, but realized they couldn't have missed Hemingway's pounding footsteps echoing throughout the school, anyway.

Hemingway flattened the door with his fist and tore into the room.

Gambit was only slightly relieved to see that most of the students were gone, probably having fled to the tunnels beneath the school.  Unfortunately, the two people that remained were Jean Grey and Professor X.  Jean had thrown up a crimson shield, but he suspected that wouldn't last long.

With a snort, Hemingway thumped the shield experimentally with his thumb a few times, before bringing his entire fist down on it.

Jean trembled visibly under the strain, but the shield held.

The next time, both of Hemingway's fists slammed into the shield.

Jean cried out and fell to her knees, gripping her head in her hands.  And still the shield held.

Grinning terribly, Hemingway flung himself at the shield, bodyslamming it with jarring force.

Jean collapsed to the floor, and the shield disintegrated.

"Nobody stop Hemingway."  He strode up to the Professor and picked the man up in one huge hand.

"Don't you dare hurt him, Ernie!" cried a voice behind them.

Professor X's eyes widened in shock as he spotted Marrow emerging from a hidden panel in the wall.  "Marrow!  Get back!  Please, don't come any closer!"  He didn't seem to notice that Hemingway had frozen stiff.

Marrow swallowed nervously and slowly approached the gray monster.  "I know you're in there, Ernie.  That's how I know you won't hurt me, no matter how much you've changed."

Hemingway's grip on the Professor tightened ever so slightly, and he took a step back.

"Remy, let him go," Marrow whispered.

Gambit shook his head.  "Can't do that, petite."

"Remy, please!"

"No, REALLY can't, petite," he replied, nodding at his hands.

"Then take it all back," Marrow insisted.

Gambit stared at her.  "You better know what you doin', petite."

"I do."  Marrow stared up at Hemingway.  "Just let Ernie go."

It took a few minutes, but Gambit absorbed all the energy he'd channeled into Hemingway and dropped to the floor, quickly moving out of reach.

Marrow began to approach again, even as Hemingway backed into the wall.  "Don't be scared of me, Ernie," she pleaded, reaching for his hand.  "I'm your friend, remember?"

The monster shook his head.  "Stay back, Marrow!  Come no closer!"

"You used to call me something else," she said softly.  "Do you remember?"

"NO!" he shouted.

"I think you do," she continued.  "Say it, Ernie.  Tell me my name."

"Can't!  Won't!"

"Please, Ernie?" Marrow whispered.  "I know you didn't want to hurt anyone today.  Just tell me my name, and we can put this all behind us.  We'll pretend like it never happened.  Just put Professor X down and say my name."

"NO!!!" Hemingway roared, panic thick in his throat.  "Can't let him go!  Need to know!  Have to…find out…for Raven…"

Professor X's eyes lit up at that name, and so did Gambit's.  But it obviously meant nothing to Marrow.

"So you're helping her.  But would you really hurt your friends just because she told you to?"  She came even closer and laid her tiny hand on Hemingway's fist.  "Would you really hurt me?"

"Never," Hemingway groaned, "hurt Marrow…can't…"

Marrow shook her head.  "Say my name, Ernie.  What's my name?"

There was a sharp snap, followed by a loud thump as a jutting spur of bone fell from Hemingway's shoulder and buried itself in the floor.  Soon another followed it, and then another, and another, until most of them were falling off.  The rest seemed to draw into his body as it twisted and shrank in on itself.  In seconds, there was only a pile of broken bone mass.  Visible in the pile, however, was a head of sandy hair with patches missing here and there.

Marrow waded through the mess and gently cupped the boy's face in her hands.  "What's my name?"

"Sarah," Ernie whispered hoarsely, tears spilling down his face.  "Sarah…"  He collapsed into her arms, sobbing miserably.

Marrow shushed him and stroked his hair gently.  "It's okay, Ernie," she murmured.  "Everything's okay."

Gambit went over to check on Jean.  Finding her vitals strong, he sighed and moved to the Professor.  "Best field trip I ever been on, Prof.  But I tink we gonna need seat belts next time, non?"

Professor X smiled weakly.  "I couldn't agree more, Remy."

* * * * *

Illyana laid her hands gently on the tree roots that imprisoned her.  At once, they shriveled and crumbled to dust, revealing that her clothes had changed as much as he face.  She now wore only a piece of lightweight silver armor that covered her shoulders and chest, along with a red loincloth, held up by threads of golden hair decorated with various animal teeth.

The most startling change was in her lower half. Her legs were covered in dusting of pale, ghostly white fur, ending in two large hooves where her feet had been. 

Anyone else would've been horrified, but Mikhail smiled as if all was right with the world.  "Yes, snowflake!  This is what you were always meant to be!"

Illyana glared at him, her golden horns gleaming.  "You foolish insect.  I am no more your sibling than you are alive.  Rest assured that if I were ever to take a throne, it would be mine and mine alone.  I will share power with no one!"

Mikhail chuckled.  "But you are new to this, Illyana.  There is so much that I can teach you."

"All you have taught me is that madness is contagious.  I have no desire to be exposed to you any longer.  You have infected this entire dimension with your illusions.  It is time that someone tore them down permanently."  She stretched out her right hand, and a shining sword appeared in it, overflowing with sparkling energy.

"What do you intend to do with that?" Mikhail asked, sounding amused.

Illyana did not answer.  Instead, she vanished from view.

Mikhail knew exactly where his sister was, yet made no move to defend himself.  His mutant powers had grown immensely since first encountering The Hill, and it was fair to say that even Franklin would've had trouble containing his true might.  But the simple fact was, Mikhail Rasputin was no longer in complete control of his mental faculties.  Though it was perfectly logical for him to assume that Illyana would never harm him, the fog of insanity around his mind refused to admit that the creature he faced was no longer totally Illyana.  At least, not enough to keep her from harming him.

So while he did turn around in time to see her appear in mid-slash, Mikhail only held out welcoming arms.

For her part, the creature that had once been Illyana saw only a roadblock that needed demolishing.  Though she had never used a sword before, in her hand, it was little more than an extension of herself, and wielding it was as easy as using an extra finger.  So it was almost with practiced skill that she sliced open a fist-sized hole in his chest, exactly over his heart.

She half-expected blood to come gushing out and fly all over her face, so she was more than disappointed when the thick patch of flesh merely fell away with no mess at all.  It was rather like cutting open a dried out pumpkin.  With a shrug, she raised her sword again to finish the job.

A hand closed over hers.  "I don't think you want to do that."

Her first instinct was to snarl.  But as her gaze landed on the single, blazing blue that stared back at her, the sound died in her throat.  It was not fear the gripped her now, but an overwhelming sense that she would never encounter another being that was to the light what she was to the darkness.

"Who are you that would stay my hand?" she asked warily.

"A kindred spirit, and nothing more."  He paused and continued to stare at her.  "Unless, of course, you know me?"  He stopped there, knowing it would be a mistake to address her as Illyana just then.

She focused on his eye a moment longer, and some of the crimson in her own faded.  "Franklin?" she whispered.

"Yes, Illyana," he said soothingly, squeezing her hand.

"I-I feel weird," she confessed, tears spilling down her face.  "Like I'm sick inside."

"You're not sick," Franklin confirmed, and there was sadness in his tone.  "At least, there's nothing that needs to be cured."

"What are you saying?!" she cried.  "That I'm supposed to be like this?!"

He closed his eye and sighed.  "Illyana, try to understand.  I believe that your Rasputin blood is highly adaptable.  You can undergo transformations, depending on your surroundings.  Mikhail was exposed to The Hill, and as such, he and it have become of one mind.  Your mutant power allows you to teleport.  To do that, however, you open portals and pass through a certain dimension, perhaps not totally unlike this one.  Something in this dimension has caused you to transform as well."

"But…you can help me, right?" Illyana asked desperately.  "You can change me back?"

"I can think of only one solution, and I am unwilling to do it."  Franklin looked away.  "I would have to literally take your mutant power from you, in order to seal off whatever caused this.  That is not possible, since you would need it to leave this place."

"But afterwards…couldn't you-"

"Your brother is dying," Franklin interrupted.

Illyana froze, and then looked up at Mikhail, who still had a ghastly smile plastered on his face.  Then she noticed the hole in his chest, and her eyes widened at what she saw inside.

There was no heart inside Mikhail's chest.

At least, it was not visible.  There was, however, what looked exactly like a miniature tree trunk, pulsing with obvious life every few seconds.

Franklin looked on in dismay.  "Your brother is far more connected to The Hill than I realized.  He IS The Hill, and at this point, one cannot survive without the other."

* * * * *

Jubilee had been in the tunnels several times, but never during an actual emergency.  Up until now, there had been occasional drills, and a few times, she'd merely gone off exploring on her own.  But she knew to keep going until either Jean or Professor X telepathically contacted her or one of the other older kids.

Thankfully, all the kids had paid attention during the drills, and while many were scared, they all knew that following her and Kitty was the best thing they could do at the moment.

It wasn't until they reached the open air several miles outside the mansion that Jubilee realized something.

"Crap!  We forgot Nate!"

Kitty stared at her.  "Of course!  He wouldn't have heard the alarms; he was sleeping like a dead man…"

"Don't SAY that!" Marie snapped at once, glowering at her.

"Sorry!  But nothing could wake him.  And we didn't have time to look for everyone, that…thing came out of nowhere and just-"

"He's fine," Wanda said at once, brushing past them.  "I can tell.  Keep moving."

"We're just gonna leave him?" Jubilee asked uncertainly.

"Musty's still there.  He'll look out for Nate."  Wanda glanced back at all of them.  "Unless one of you wants to go back alone?"

"…Musty is very capable," Marie muttered, going red in the face.

Wanda smirked.  "I thought you'd see it my way.  Trust me, Nate's fine."

"But you, Wanda Maximoff, are most certainly not."

The girls looked up to see a man in a trench coat standing atop the large drainage pipe they'd emerged from.

"Greetings, children.  I have been hired merely for extraction.  Assuming Ms. Maximoff cooperates, there will be no need to exterminate any of you."

"Oh, great," Wanda sighed.  "Another macho pig that assumes just because I'm a girl, I'm automatically defenseless."

The man's red eyes blazed.  "Quite the opposite, Ms. Maximoff.  Your father has informed me just how dangerous you are.  I was merely hoping you would be more considerate of your companions."

The words were barely out of his mouth when Kitty dropped to her knees, make a gagging sound deep in her throat as she went into convulsions.

"What did you do to her, you freak?!" Jubilee shouted.

"The very same that I will do to you, if Wanda insists on causing further difficulty.  For I am Omega Red, and patience is NOT my strong point."

Wanda bit her lip.  "Guys, back off."

Marie whirled on her.  "You're not actually thinking of going with him?!"

"He's a mutant and he knows my father.  Of COURSE I'm going with him.  Unless you happen to know exactly how to fix what he's doing to Kitty."

Marie shut her mouth and frowned.

"A wise decision, Wanda."  What looked like a silver tentacle of steel tore from his coat, wrapped around Wanda's waist, and yanked her up to his side.

"Now undo whatever you did to Kitty!" Jubilee ordered.

Omega Red arched an eyebrow.  "You have misunderstood.  I said there would be no need to exterminate you all.  I never said that I wouldn't do it out of sheer pleasure."  Three more tentacles emerged from his coat, and a maniacal smile appeared on his lips.

"Enough, Arkady," said a voice behind him.  "We never agreed that you could drain or harm the children."

Wanda's head whipped around.  "PIETRO!" she screamed in rage, struggling against the tight coils around her.  "When I get my hands on you!!!"

"You won't," Pietro replied simply.  He glanced down at the girls, and then nodded at Kitty.  "Take that one and leave the others.  Kill no one."

With a scowl, Omega Red sent out a tentacle to scoop up Kitty.

"I suggest you do whatever you have to in order to keep that girl alive, Arkady.  My father might still have some use for her."

"You won't get away with this," Wanda swore.

"We already have, dear sibling," Pietro replied with a grin.  "Have I mentioned how wonderful it is to see you again, Wanda?"

"Go to hell," she spat.

"Not yet," Pietro replied mysteriously.  "Not just yet…"

* * * * *

"They are coming, child," Lilandra said.

Ray's eyes lit up.  Sure enough, she could see the bright blue bubble that was so like Franklin's remaining eye in color.  She waved excitedly, but stopped when she realized that there were four people instead of two.

Franklin and Illyana stood in plain view, but behind them lurked Deathbird and Mikhail.

Ray eyed them mistrustfully.  "Why'd you bring them, Frankie?"

"Mikhail can still be helped," Franklin replied.  "And I don't think we have anything more to fear from Deathbird.  She seems to genuinely care about him."

Ray looked hesitant, but finally nodded.  "Okay.  Well, join your bubble with mine and we'll leave."

Franklin did not reply, but brought his bubble closer in silence.  Illyana stepped over first, and once she had, the bubble split off again.

Ray blinked in surprise.  "Frankie, what are you doing?  Stop messing around!"

"I'm not going with you," Franklin said quietly.  "Mikhail is tied to The Hill, and he cannot leave it.  I can separate him from it, eventually.  But it will take time.  Most likely years, at the least.  This will require some very delicate surgery.  His heart is sealed within solid tree bark.  Currently, I lack the proper medical knowledge.  Deathbird has experience with…organs…and I will need her help.  We three will remain until he is able to safely exit The Hill."

"You knew," Ray said accusingly, her eyes wet with tears.  "You knew this would happen!"

"I suspected."  Franklin raised his head and looked into her eyes.  "Take the others home, Ray."

"You know I can't find my home without you, though!  How am I supposed to-"

"Ray."  Franklin swallowed noisily.  "I hoped I would never need to tell you.  I wanted you to have hope, but…your home is gone.  The one you knew, anyway.  I've been monitoring your world through the time stream.  If you were to return, you would be enslaved, just as you were here.  There is no one waiting for you there.  Your family…did not survive."

Ray's bottom lip trembled, but she did not cry.  "Then…was it…?"

"Apocalypse and his Hounds," Franklin confirmed.  "I'm sorry."

"How long did you know?"

"They took over the day Proteus first arrived here.  Your family…shortly after that."

"Was…was it quick?"

"No."

Ray closed her eyes tightly.  "You tell me that…and you expect me to just leave?  Without you?"

"We will meet again," Franklin promised.  "When I am done here, I will return to you.  Until then, you must go home with Illyana.  There is someone there who will understand your pain.  Someone who hates Apocalypse just as much as you do.  Someone who has lost everything they knew…just as you have."

"But it's not my home," Ray whispered.

"No.  But it can be, if you give it time."  He nodded, almost to himself.  "Between you and Illyana, you have enough memory of where each person should return to.  Take them home, as we promised, and then Illyana will guide you back to her world.  If you need help getting through…you will have it."

"What do you mean…?"

"Goodbye, Ray," Franklin whispered, raising his hand in farewell.  "I will remember you always."

"Frankie…I lo-"

There was a sound not unlike a sonic boom, and then Ray's bubble was racing away from the other, guided by a telekinetic push.  For a long time, Ray would wonder if she had pushed off, or if Franklin had done it himself.  All she knew was that she would not get to tell him how she felt until the next time they met.

"Are you okay?" Illyana asked quietly.

Ray noticed for the first time that Illyana was not quite herself.  "Nice hooves."

Illyana blushed.  "Thanks, I think.  It's only temporary, supposedly."

"Well."  Ray wiped at her face and put on a brave smile.  "Let's get started!"

Illyana touched her friend's shoulder.  "Ray…if you-"

"We should do this fast," Ray interrupted.  "I want to see what your world is like.  Anyway, I have to pee."

With a faint smile, Illyana nodded.  "Okay.  Let's do it, then."

* * * * *

Nate was in the midst of some prophetic dreams, which was perhaps newer to a telepath of his caliber than it should have been.  All the same, he could tell that the coming days would not be peaceful ones.

…a man in red and black, breaking into Magneto's plastic prison, killing each and every guard, and walking out with the Master of Magnetism right behind him…

…Kitty and Wanda being held prisoner by a terror that call itself Omega Red, who in turn was held in check by Pietro, Wanda's own estranged brother, …

…new mutants gathering and joining Magneto's fold, misguided as ever, but stronger in their unity…

…Magneto ushering in a terror the likes of which the world had never seen before…

…a gifted young boy with the mind of a much older man, working tirelessly over the body of Mikhail Rasputin.  Suddenly, though, the boy raised his head, and the energies roiling beneath his very skin were too much to behold, you could only look away, or be blinded by the immense brightness…

"Only the power within you can save this world now, Nate Grey.  Awake, and be reborn, before it is too late to act."

The speaker was not one, but two different boys.  The first had no doubt been the one surrounded in light.  But the second was younger, smaller, and so much like Nate in appearance that it disturbed him.  Even as he watched, something like alien metal crawled up the boy's arm, coating it and possessing it.

"My time is nearly over," the boy whispered, grimacing in pain.  "But you can do what I could not.  Guard Ray's life with your own—only I'm not sure why—just that you have to, for both our sakes…"

"The link will collapse soon, Master Dayspring," said the white-garbed android beside him, "and you cannot continue communication with this person.  He and your psi-signatures are far too much alike, and your young mind cannot handle the strain."

"It doesn't matter," the boy muttered.  "I was only meant to pass on the message.  You are stronger, Nate Grey, because you have the strength that I would never live to possess…"

Nate's eyes snapped open at once, and nearly all recollection of his dreams instantly faded.  There was, however, only one thing he was certain of at the moment.

"Don't worry, Yana.  I'm gonna bring you home."

~~~~~~~

Reviews!

Jeanne Marie

I always intended for Frankie & Ray to make a good team. Glad you like. Synch? Um...no. If you mean the kid with the metal finger, waaaay off. My fault for not being descriptive of his skin color (nothing like Ev's). No, that boy (and his teleporting android in white, which I thought might be a hint) is an alternate version of two other people in Marvel...or the alternate version of one person that has another version of himself (not to mention an evil clone) running around. Um...now I'm confusing you, I bet. Let's just say he's not quite Stryfe and leave it at that.

Though, if you meant Ernie, wrong again.  You know who he is now.

But thanks for playing!!! ^_^

Amanda

Thanks! The thing you must understand is that alternate universes play havok (pun intended) with relations. So, it is both perfectly reasonable and unreasonable to say that Phoenix II (Rachel) is the daughter of Phoenix (Jean Grey). Why? Rachel is from another universe. Meanwhile, Jean has so far lived her life with no knowledge of such a child. While it is true that Rachel is the daughter of *A* Jean Grey (an alternate version of her) and they both possess the Phoenix Force (or at least telepathy & telekinesis), the fact remains that it would be terribly rude for Rachel to just barge in on another Scott & Jean, claiming that she is their daughter and that now they have to feed & clothe her.

Nate is from AOA, Scott & Jean are from the present, and Ray is from another place entirely. How they interact and what responsibilities they decide to shoulder is totally up to them. Also keep in mind that Ray has had prolonged exposure to Franklin, (who is no stranger to alternate universes himself) and that he will impact who she does or doesn't trust or consider family.

For those of you who want to guess, there are still…hmm…two more "unidentified" characters (one of them being the man with the red and black mask that frees Magneto) lurking within the story…