X3: Fight For the Future
The Blind Prophet
They had landed the jet just outside of the small town. Kurt had been so nice as to take them into town. He volunteered to stay with the jet though. Logan led the way into a small tavern. He was intent on two things; getting information, and getting his first beer in two weeks. He sat on a stool, but the bartender looked at Rogue. "Minors aren't allowed in here."
"Ah ain't drinkin'," she said coldly.
"I'll make sure of it," Logan assured the bartender, who set a bottle down in front of him. "I'm lookin' fer someone," he told the bartender.
"Wait a sec'," the Bartender said turning around a taking down an envelope from one of the shelves. "Would you be 'the soldier', the 'sentinel', or the 'vampire'?" he asked.
"What?" Logan responded, not at all understanding.
Suddenly Piotr spoke up, "Da, that is us."
"What?" Logan said, as the Bartender left him the envelope and went to wait on other customers.
"You vere a soldier, da?" he said pointing to Logan. Logan nodded. "A Colossus vas a sentinel to guard a bay in the old myth." He said pointing to himself. He turned to Rogue and said, "And… vell your powers…" he trailed off, and she nodded sadly.
"Fine lets see what this reads," Logan said, sliding a claw partway out to act as a letter opener.
"Go to 2387 Delphi Court, off of Cassandra Dr."
Logan turned it over, but that was all it said. "He, Mac, who gave this to ya?" Logan shouted at the bartender.
"An old lady that lives in town. 'name a Adler," her called back as he fixed a few more drinks down at the other end of the bar.
Logan got up, finished off the beer, and laid his money on the bar, with plenty of tip. "Lets go," he said to the two kids.
After a half-hour's walk, they were at 2387 Delphi Court. It was a large plantation style home. Logan went to knock on the door, but before he could it opened and a ladies voice from within called, "come in, come in."
The three entered the home to find it warm and well decorated. An aging lady was sitting down by a table with four glasses steaming on the top. "Please sit, have some tea." She said. The three sat, casting worried looks at each other. "Now, you are seeking that Mr. LeBeau gentleman," she continued.
"How did you know?" demanded Wolverine.
The old woman sipped her tea. "They say with age comes wisdom… this is disturbingly true in my case. You see, while my eyes can no longer see the here and now, they are able to foresee events that may yet be."
"Th' future?" asked Marie.
"Futures," she corrected gently. "Possibilities. I can usually determine the most likely ones of more recent, but the further out an event is, the less accurate my predictions become." She sipped her tea again. "This is my blessing and curse… my mutant power."
"Dat is a mutant power?" Piotr asked, bewildered.
"Yes, Mr. Rasputin," she smiled. It surprised Piotr when she pronounced his name perfectly. "But I need your help."
"Why us?" Logan asked.
"Usually there is a certain someone I tell my visions to…" she smiled distantly. "Someone very close to my heart. But now she has been taken by a great evil. My power is to see, and advise. I need others to do."
She set down her tea, and her tone left its kindness with the cup. "A great evil is coming. It is dark, and it is old. I can feel it, sense its cruelty. But all I have to give you is a bit of verse. This is how many of my visions come to me." She reached into what looked like a nearby sewing bag and pulled out a leaf of paper. "You have never faced anything like this before," she assured them. "And it will test each of you," she turned to them each in turn, lingering a bit on Rogue. "In the end, none of you will be able to put him down… but you will read more in the paper."
She picked up her tea again, and resumed her kindly nature. "Mr. LeBeau is just now entering the same tavern you were in earlier. He will be there for several hours. Good luck, and God speed." She said, nodding them to the door.
They arose, none of them had touched their tea. As the exited the house the looked at the leaf of paper. There were cryptic lines written reading;
The Destroyer hides behind the end of time, promising relief that cannot be given. He will call upon the weakness of man to submit and give him his riders of doom. See in this his evil and beware. The king of spades will give him power, and the Seraphim protect him. This for sooth will come to pass.
As the fight against him rages, the fallen lover will lament. Test his faith to the breaking point, for then shall the Fire Bird rise from the nadir of death. Only the song of love shall send the Destroyer back to his slumber. There in his sleep, and only there, may the Destroyer be forever forgotten, and ended.
Logan looked skeptically at it and handed it off to Marie. She had no clue. Piotr held his hand out, and she obliged. Piotr read for some time. Trying to understand.
They walked into the bar once more and the bartender smiled at them and waved. He always treated the good tippers well. The man they were looking for was not hard to find. He sat in a booth wearing sunglasses, inside, at sunset. He also was talking loudly in a mish-mash of French and English known as Cajun. Furthermore, he had a highly attractive, but probably not highly intelligent girl on each arm.
Logan marched up to him and growled "We need to talk Swamp-Rat."
"You wan' talk to Remy, you gon' have t' make 'n 'ppoin'ment," the Cajun said, barely looking away from the well-endowed girls.
"Yeux De Démon" Logan growled menacingly.
The man in the booth sat up straight, and let any smile vanish from his face. "Cheres, ya'll gon' havta give Remy an' 'is frien' some time t' catch up."
The girls frowned but stood and shuffled out of the booth. The made eyes as the passed Piotr, but Marie waved them off.
Remy looked left and right and then pulled off his glasses to show his red on black eyes. "How you know 'bout Remy' eye?" he demanded.
"We were sent by Professor Charles Xavier," Logan explained. "He told us of your mutant powers and appearance. He would like to extend an invitation to you to accompany us back to his school in Westchester, New York."
"Non," Remy replied. "Remy not need no one to preach to 'im," he said, putting his sunglasses back on. "Ah lahke mah life. Laissez le bon temps rouler," he said beginning to get up.
"There's a bounty on your head," Logan said quickly.
"Por d' diamant," Remy guessed.
"No, for stolen research from a company called Desino De Vicis."
"Wah would Remy steal research? Ah only steal what I can sell open."
"The Professor believe that you are being framed. What concerns him is that you are being framed, not a mutant. They went through a lot of trouble to make sure it was you and not just anyone."
"Remy admit what he do, and what he steal," he said. "But Remy not do dis." He narrowed his eyes at Logan. "Wha' you offer?"
"Protection," Logan said. "You come to the Mansion, and let us take a look at your head, and see if we can figure out why they want you so bad."
"You house a t'eif?" the Cajun asked skeptically.
"We've housed worse," Logan said, as all three of them fidgeted nervously.
"Wha' Ah got to loose?" he said with a shrug. "'sep' mebee a bum rap."
"Oh and when we get to the jet," Logan added. "Try not to scream."
"ce qui ?"
Meanwhile, in New York City, night had fallen. It was midnight. A man with no shirt, and wings on his back landed in front of a tall glass office building with the letters "DDV" on one side. A beautiful blond woman opened the door, with two security guards behind her. "You must be Mr. Worthington," she said kindly. He looked at her. Her voice was strange… as if… she were a puppet. The two men behind her had similar expressions to hers. Blank, as if they weren't in control of themselves. On guard was immense with long blonde hair tied back in a pony tail. He had side burns coming down to his chin. Warren noticed he had large bumps at the end of his fingers, covered by his leather gloves. The other guard was short, and actually looked fairly green. He was scrawny and almost sick looking.
"yeah, that's me. Are you read? Will it work?" Warren asked.
"Yes sir Mr. Worthington, everything is set up for your procedure," she said with a smile.
As he passed the blond heading into the building, her eyes flashed from their current blue, to a poisonous yellow, but quickly returned themselves to normal.