I don't own Marvel. I do own Morgan, Argus, Psyche, Umbra, and Techno.
I know his name is Kurt! I screwed up! His name is KURT! Not Karl...mutters angrily at self
The black shuttle touched down with a soft whoosh, the down ramp extending as soon as the post-flight check was complete. The crowd of X-Men hurried down on to the rocky soil, the tiny island's gravely terrain slipping about beneath their booted feet. Iceman reached up and helped Rogue to the ground. Behind her on a leash came Argus, whining like an injured pig.
"Shhhh," she said soothingly, patting the frightened dog on the head. He wuffed quietly, nudging her hand for comfort. The Girl With Strange Fur had insisted that the dog be brought along, saying his ties to his Girl went beyond licks and sniffs. He straightened slightly, pressing his nose to the ground. Yes, her scent! He could lead them to the missing Girl! And, by Sirius, he would!
Argus trotted forward with a bark, dragging Rogue after him. "Y'all, I think he can show us where they've taken Morgan! Look!" The rest of the group turned and hurried after Rogue, who had to jog to keep up with the elated dog. Rogue mouth was set in a grim line as she thought of what tortures the poor Mimic could be suffering inside.
We're coming, Morgan.
Magneto and his cronies stormed down the hallway, Mystique at her master's side, whispering soothingly into his ear. He pushed her away forcefully quickened his pace; the one of the other mutants sniggered. Mystique whirled around, furious. The giggles stopped abruptly. The group paused, at a stalemate; an angry shout came from ahead. The crowd jumped and hurried on, the blue woman clenching her fists in fury. They turned the corner and disappeared.
A section of shaded wall shifted, becoming a smoky-haired teenager. Morgan shucked her shredded sweat-shirt, revealing a navy blue t-shirt. She wiped her sweaty brow with the cover-up and tossed it to the ground. She padded silently away from it, the slapping of her bare feet echoing around the warm chamber.
"We've got 'er."
Techno swiveled in his chair, his slanted almond eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Where?" Magneto inquired, pushing the arrogant Oriental boy out of the way to peer at the screen. "I don't see…"
"There, sir," the genius said, returning to his keyboard. "Now if you had let me replace these repulsive cameras with some of mine, this picture would be a lot shaper…"
"Silence!" the leader erupted, slamming his fist on console. He gazed at the screen as it came into focus. The monitor now displayed a crisp view of the East corridor, where a young girl was breaking into a jog. "Mystique, Pyro. Go."
"Lemme just move the camera…" Techno muttered, fiddling with the mouse.
Out of the corner of her eye, Morgan caught a quick movement. She quickly vanished, backing up against the wall.
A camera.
Once again, the embodiment of her foes. Smirking, she blew it up and continued down the hall in shadow form. They would be here soon. But she would be long gone.
The girl vanished for a moment, the a blaze of red light appeared and the image was lost.
"Damn! Techno, fix this," Magneto growled, turning. "Umbra, Toad, come with me. We'll cut her off. Mimic cannot be allowed to escape."
"Uhh, sir…" said Techno, tugging on the older man's cape.
"What IS it, Techno!" the man cried, whirling around. His eyes widened when they saw the monitor the boy was pointing to. A soft smirk twisted his features. "Charles. You never could leave well enough alone, I suppose." He shook his head, pressing the button that activated the intercom.
"Ladies and gentlemutants, the X-Men have arrived."
When Morgan heard the announcement, she lost her shadow form and let out a whoop. In the excitement, she forgot why she had been invisible; she was quickly reminded when a ball of flame soared past her face, so close that it singed her hair. She vanished, twirling around to face her attacker.
A sneering boy carrying a Zippo lighter leaned casually against the glossy wall, tossing up and catching a sphere of white-hot fire like a baseball. "Come out, come out where ever you are…" he murmured, moving forward. Morgan stepped back, repulsed and fascinated at the same time. If he wasn't trying so hard at that evil grin, he'd be kinda cute. She shoved that absurd thought away, her ghostly eyes trained on her opponent. Her formed flickered; the strain of so many forms was beginning to catch up with her. She gasped and disappeared once more. His grin widened as he threw the fiery projectile, missing her shoulder by inches. She tumbled out of the way, and into a intersecting hallway, pressing herself up against the wall.
"Come on, you little copycat, I'm not going to hurt you," he growled. "Much!" Pyro whipped his head around the corner, his face inches from hers. She held her breath, not daring to move, should it trigger another sputter in her disguise. "Humph," he grunted, stepping into the hallway.
"Pyro!" Mystique stalked down the opposite vestibule, making the boy jump.
"Ma'am," he said, standing up straight. "She was here, I saw 'er. She kinda flickered right over there, then ran this way." He pointed over his shoulder with his thumb, the opposable appendage coming very near to Morgan's eye. She back up slightly; her vaporous body shimmering into being for the briefest of moments. Mystique's owl-like irises widening.
"There, you idiot!" Mystique cried, pushing the surprised Pyro out of the way. At this point, however, Morgan was already halfway down the passage, her cold feet pounding along the corridor. Her body continued to waver between shadowy invisibility and considerably dangerous opaqueness. Pyro pelted after her, trying to singe her just enough to slow her down; Magneto would be very displeased with him if he killed her. He followed her at a sprint, gaining ground at every stride.
She knew it, too. Morgan fought to speed up, taking as many turns as she, hoping to loose him in the labyrinthic complex. He had the major advantage of a good pair of shoes; a violent shock ran up her leg every time her naked foot crashed to the ground. And she was certainly no runner. All that kept her going was hatred and adrenaline. Time for something desperate.
Pyro tailed her easily as she turned a corner, never expecting his prey to jump him as he rounded the bend. Morgan leapt at him with a freakish yowl that would have been comic if it hadn't been so terrifying. He howled in pain as a shower of pointed hailstones rained down on his face. As he raised his arms to defend himself, she kicked his legs out from under him, grabbing his lighter as his fell through the air. He lay on the ground, stunned, as she leaned over him. "I'm really sorry about this," she murmured, her hand hovering over his face. And somehow, as the ice crept up his legs and torso, he believed her. She didn't want this. She was just a scared kid. Just like everybody else.
Morgan shuddered, turning. She tossed the lighter to the floor, far away from the arm now thickly incased in frozen water. The girl hurried away from him, her head low.
She heard the click of a lighter being flicked open and glanced over her shoulder in terror. But the boy was still on the floor, covered in frost.
The lighter rose from the ground, lingering in the air like some bizarre insect.
"What in the name of…" she whispered, watching the dancing flame of the igniter as it danced in the air.
"The time has come, young Mimic. Surrender."
Morgan looked forward, backing up a step in surprise. Magneto stood before her, his strange red helmet gleaming in the fluorescent lights, Mystique at his side. "Oh, gawd," she murmured, turning to run. She ran smack into Pyro, for whom Magneto had recovered the Zippo. He gripped her by the shoulders, spinning her back around to face Magneto. She gazed the tall man, wild-eyed, a shock of smoky hair tumbling over her face as she struggled in his grasp. "Did you really think I would join you? Hell no!"
Magneto sighed. "So dramatic. Well, we certainly can't allow Xavier to have such an excellent prize," he said, touching her cheek, but pulled away as she tried to bite him. He slapped her fiercely, frowning. He turned to speak to Mystique. "Tell Techno to initiate the chamber, we'll be there momen…"
Morgan used this opportunity to elbow Pyro in the stomach. He loosened his grip with a groan. She hooked her foot around his ankle, pulling him to the ground. She racing down the hall past him by the time he hit the floor, careening at top speed back the way she had come.
She had little strength left to use her powers; opening a door with telekinesis almost made her pass out there on the floor. She bolted through the door, shutting it fast and sealing it with laser vision. She leaned against it, panting, her eyes closed.
"Morgan?"
She opened her eyes in surprise, but was enveloped in a huge hug. "What the…Rogue?" she stammered, returning the hug with enthusiasm. She pushed her away. "Magneto's on my tail."
"Let's get out of here, kid," said Wolverine, clapping her on the shoulder. "Come on, how d'we get outta here?"
Morgan glanced around, realizing they were back in the cavern with the bizarre machine. "This way," she said, stepping forward.
The door began to groan; Magneto was on the other side, trying to force it open. "Damn!" cried Wolverine. "Freeze that," he said to Iceman, hurrying Morgan away.
Iceman raised his hand, creating a thick layer of ice between the door and the chamber. He grinned, winking at Morgan. The pounding from the other side of the door became more intense as the group of X-Men hurried away, but Iceman had done his job well; the ice was many inches thick.
The X-Men followed Morgan across the steel causeway towards the alarming apparatus that had amplified Psyche's powers. As they approached it, they could see a crumpled white form lying next to the contraption.
Wolverine and Cyclops cried out. "Jean?" whispered Cyclops, unbelieving. He dashed forward, followed closely by the other X-Men.
"No, wait!" called Morgan. "Don't touch her!" But Cyclops already had the body in his arms, weeping like a newborn child. "Jean, Jean, Jean," he repeated her name over and over, rocking her still form back and forth.
"Stop!" Morgan hollered, but her cries fell on deaf ears. She hobbled up to them, her bare feet sore and bruised, trying vainly to push them away. "You're making a big mistake!"
A massive CRACK echoed throughout the chamber; only Morgan turned to see it's source. The ice shield was glowing, the center already thin and red. Magneto was coming.
"We have to get out of here!" she repeated, pulling on Storm's arm. But the mutant pushed her away, the benevolent expression on her face was of one in a trance. Cyclops was sobbing uncontrollably, clutching the pale form of the bleeding Psyche like a doll.
They all thought she was Jean Grey.
"That's not Jean Grey, dammit!" the girl shouted, trying to break Psyche's hold on them. But it was no use. Outside help was to no avail. She would have to go inside.
Glancing back at the quickly disintegrating door, she straightened her shoulders. This would be easy; just like the keeping out the Professor.
She closed her eyes, the hissing of the vaporized ice distracting her. She cover her ears and plunged into the minds of the X-Men.
A huge eagle appeared before Wolverine, blocking his view of Jean. He tried to push it out of the way with his hand, but its great wings shrouded his head, cutting her off from him.
"Logan! Help me!" Jean sobbed. He fought the pull of the eagle's talons as they raked his skin. The pain reached an intense point; he gasped, and returned to consciousness, Morgan sitting before him with her imitation of his claws buried deep in his shoulder. She pulled them out apologetically. "This isn't Jean, Wolverine. She's Psyche. She's trying to keep us here. He moved towards the Jean he saw in Cyclops's arms uncertainly, stroking her brown hair. "No!" Morgan cried angrily, slapping him. That removed all traces of the trance, bringing him sharply back down to Earth. He caught her arm as she raised it to strike again.
"Alright, I'm back, calm down!"
"The door…"
He leapt to his feet. "Fix 'em. I'll hold him off." She looked at him oddly, but nodded. She set to work as he moved away towards the door.
The ice was very thin now; he could see three shapes moving behind it. Expelling his adamantium claws, he prepared for a fight.