Oops. Those last two responses were to RogueFanKC and Red Witch, respectively.
RogueFanKC: Thanks. I personally thought that scene was too short, but I've never been good at lengthy sequences. As for the Baroness, let's just say she's going to have a nasty wake-up call in the third part of this trilogy. Zanya won't be that much help, because... well, you'll see.
Red Witch: I love that you love it.
c-wolf: I'll consider that a great compliment.
Our story so far...
The heroes have worked together to defeat the Mutant Registration Bill. The traitors have all been revealed, and dealt with. Cobra has left for parts unknown. However, Zartan is still on the loose, with revenge on his mind...
Chapter 19: "I'll Never Forget You"
The Pit...
"Well, I'm glad that's all sorted out," commented Lance.
"You have no idea," Quake told him.
"So... what happens now?" Lance asked his older self.
Quake shrugged. "To be honest, I have no idea. Hawk's told us that we're all welcome to stay, but I don't know. We've always been kind of a free spirit, when we weren't worrying about Kitty."
Lance grinned. "Yeah, I see your point. I have to ask. Have we ever...?"
Quake shrugged again. "I'm not telling you," he smirked. "That would take all the fun out of it."
Lance laughed. "Yeah," he said, "I guess it would."
"Wanna get together a pick-up game?" asked Quake.
Lance looked confused. "With who?"
"Our fine earthy friends," replied Quake, as the ground around them surged upward to form several familiar pro basketball players.
"You're on," laughed Lance.
Todd, Althea, Xi, Komodo, and Piranha were talking quietly in the cafeteria.
"Is there any way to keep myself from losing the ability to speak?" Todd asked Piranha and Komodo. The larger winged version of himself nodded, and projected his response into Todd's mind. The teen winced. "Where am I going to get that much mustard sauce?" he asked.
Piranha grinned. "That's your problem," she told him. She turned back to her younger self. "If some guy tries to sell you the Golden Gate Bridge next year," she said, "take it. He's legit, and you'll own a bridge."
"Cool," nodded Althea. "You all right, Xi?"
Xi looked up. "I am fine," he replied. "I just cannot accept that while my older self told me everyone else who was responsible for the problems, he did not tell me of his... my involvement."
Althea wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "Forewarned is forearmed," she told him. "Now that you know, you'll never do it."
"But I am ashamed that any part of me would betray my friends in the first place," Xi told her quietly.
Todd put his arm around his other shoulder, across Althea's arm. "It's all right, yo," he said to his friend. "That was a crazy, messed up future. There's no way you'd ever do that to us."
"They're right," Piranha smiled at him. "We're not going to tell you the circumstances, but believe me, there's no way you're ever going to do anything like he did."
Komodo radiated some good feeling to Xi, and the scaled mutant smiled. "Thank you," he said. "It still hurts, but I am comforted. Are there not cookies and coffee over in the kitchen."
"It's like you read my mind," Piranha and Althea grinned together. They looked startled for a moment, and then the four who could began to laugh, while Komodo grinned.
Wanda and Hank walked along the edge of the compound. They were both quiet, feeling awkward. It was the first time they'd been alone together since Wanda had kissed Hank.
Hank cleared his throat, and seemed about to speak, then stopped. His hands fiddled around, as though he wasn't sure what to do with them. Wanda looked at him, shrugged, and threw her arms around him. Their lips met.
Block and Roadblock slipped away, not wanting to intrude. They happened upon Wolverine, Slice, and Blaster, who were having fun wrecking an obstacle course.
"Hey, Wolvie, can't catch me!" Blaster yelled cheerfully as she executed a series of back flips that took her over a low wall. Wolverine sliced through the wall. "Okay, maybe you can."
She threw a time bomb at him, but Slice knocked him out of the way before it exploded, demolishing what was left of the wall.
"Oops," gulped Blaster. "That was a little more powerful than I intended."
"Just be more careful," growled Slice. "You probably won't kill us, but it'll sting like crazy trying to grow our skin back."
"You have no idea how much that stings," agreed Wolverine.
"Sorry to interrupt," called Roadblock, "but you might want to be more careful, unless from the General you want to get an earful."
"You're pushing it with those rhymes," Slice grinned.
"It's not our fault," protested Block. "It's getting harder all the time for us to find the perfect rhyme."
"It's a strain on the brain," agreed Roadblock.
Slice groaned, while Wolverine rolled his eyes.
"And now," Zartan chuckled, "Operation: Revenge! Bless my future dead self for coming up with an emergency plan in case he failed. Soon, these enemies of mine will all pay the ultimate price!"
Hawk had gathered them all for a debriefing. "We've been through a lot," he told them, "and from our viewpoint, we haven't really accomplished much. Sure, we stopped the Bill, but now it might seem futile, since nothing after it will happen according to how our guests remember. Still, I honestly believe we've all done a good job, and I want to congratulate you."
He paused, cleared his throat, and continued. "However, the danger isn't over yet. We've recently come into some new information, courtesy of Zanya." Althea and Piranha growled at the name. "I know, but she's sincere. It seems that Lord Zartan is dead, and Zartan of our time has taken his place. But before he died, he came up with a contingency plan called Operation: Revenge, for in case he failed. Now that we've succeeded, I'm afraid Zartan is going to use this plan against us. Zanya didn't know the nature of the plan, so we'll have to be prepared for anything."
"And with that bit of irony," came a voice from above, "allow me to introduce to you... Operation: Revenge!"
They looked up, and Zartan came swinging down a long cord. Strapped to his back was a large machine. "Now, I suppose you're all wondering what this is. I'll tell you. Better yet, I'll show you!"
As he landed on the ground, he pulled out a large hose, and pressed a button on the side. A beam of light shout out, and with a cry Block was disintegrated before their eyes.
"Back to your own timeline you go!" laughed Zartan, as he swung the hose and pressed the button again. Piranha disappeared when the beam of light hit her, a pained cry echoing through the room.
Komodo tried to transform, but the next beam of light caught him halfway through the process, and he too disappeared.
"Stop him!" yelled Lance, but Zartan threatened them with the hose.
"Take cover!" yelled Hawk, but for some, it was too late.
Slice and Blaster were caught in beams one after the other, their startled shouts cut off as they disintegrated.
"Yes, run!" laughed Zartan. "That will make my revenge that much more sweet, when I've sent you all into a war-torn future!"
Quake and Lance took shelter behind an overturned table, and watched the others take cover also. Zartan fired the beam randomly, but it didn't seem to affect anything that wasn't alive.
"Come out, you cowards!" he called.
"I'm going to sneak around behind him, and overload the machine," Quake whispered to Lance.
Lance looked at him. "No! You can't!" he cried softly. "What if it sends you back, too?"
Quake put a hand on his shoulder, and looked him in the eye. "I'm willing to take the risk," he told his younger self, "if it means sparing you everything I've gone through. Make the most of yourself kid. Make me proud."
There were tears in Lance's eyes as he said, "I'll never forget you."
"You better not," Quake mock-frowned. "Now distract him so I can make my move. And keep practicing with those earth forms. They're not only fun, but practical."
Lance nodded, smiling through his tears, and he concentrated. And as he concentrated, the entire building began to shake.
Zartan looked around wildly. "What the-?" he shouted.
Quake tackled him from behind, and they wrestled for several long moments. Then Quake managed to pull the hose out of its connection in the metal device on Zartan's back.
"No!" screamed Zartan. "You've killed us both!"
Quake looked at him. "Good," he said simply. He turned, and winked at Lance, and they both disappeared in a blinding flash of light.
Next time: The conclusion of this story is at hand. What are the reactions of our heroes at the end of all these events? Tune in next time, for chapter twenty of Misfits In Time!