Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men. Ilehana Xavier belongs to Corrinth. All
other characters belong to me.
A/N: Thank you to all my reviewers out there; you really are all stars. Witness references from Corrinth's Guardians of Destiny, which is mega cool, so go drop it a review!
Scene 12
Colossus died with his friends, his family around him. The relief from the pain was instantaneous, tempting, but he hung on that brink between life and death knowing he had so much more to say. He wanted to tell them all so much, how much they meant to him, how glad he was to have known them, loved each and every one of them. He would always watch over them, always. But as he hovered above his broken body, the last threads of his mortal existence scattered to the wind, he knew that if he knew he was a Witness, it was already too late to tell them...
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"Is there anything I can do?" Blaze enquired of Ilehana after the redhead had received her all clear, along with Gambit, in the infirmary. There was an immense amount of work facing Ilehana and Hank, for even with Colossus gone they still could not rule out the possibility that more of the school's inhabitants might be infected. Not only did they need to know if anyone was, but also the need for a cure was almost suffocating in its urgency. Ilehana's reply was cut short though by Matthew and Sam's arrival in the infirmary.
"Kara, the President's daughter, says her friends have died too." Sam was trying hard to be at her most mature, handing over what notes she'd took whilst on the phone to Vixen. "I've written down everything she told me, their symptoms, everything... What their powers were..."
"They were mutants?" Ilehana asked sharply.
"Yeah, the only two on the trip apparently." Matthew answered this time. "Not that many people knew, or the President's daughter wouldn't be allowed to hang around with them no doubt."
"Looks like this time Dad's big mouth has saved me." Sam hadn't been slow to realise this. "If we hadn't announced I was a mutant, I would have been dead by now too. Excuse me." The senator's daughter left the room, obviously upset, leaving the adults wondering how well she'd known the deceased members of the Hawaii party?
"I'd really appreciate a hand Blaze." Ilehana finally confirmed. "Grab yourself a lab coat and gloves okay?"
"I thought you were a linguist Blaze?" Matthew asked inquisitively. "Are you trained in the sciences as well?"
"Err, no, to put it mildly." Blaze replied with a slight smile. "But I can follow instructions..."
"Since when?" Gambit chipped in, folding his arms and leaning on a work surface.
"Since you stopped giving them, Rem." Blaze laughed.
"When did he give you instructions, Blaze?" Matthew asked, now completely confused. The more time he spent around the X-Men, the more he realised he knew very little about any of them. A realisation amplified around Blaze and Gambit, he knew they'd known each other before coming to the mansion, but more than that he could not decipher. For a moment Blaze looked like she was going to give him a long-winded answer, but as if remembering something, she turned her back on the politician and began working.
"It's a long story." Was all she'd say, "Catch you later Remy?"
"Sure, Little One." Gambit replied, quite happy to be leaving. Trench coats were one thing, lab coats totally another. "Bonne chance."
Matthew followed just long enough after so as not to be stepping on Gambit's coat tails. Ilehana was pouring over Sam's notes, whilst Blaze prepped more samples under Vixen's instructions. Not much later, Hank was back with the last of the student's samples, and with Storm returned, mission 'reclaim Havoc' successfully completed, the lab was in full working order. All they needed now, Vixen thought grimly, was one of Nightcrawler's miracles.
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Blaze took a break a good while later, convinced she'd be seeing test tubes in her sleep. She was starved, her hypermetabolism a constant reminder of her power's need for fuel, so she headed to the kitchen. With any luck, there would still be some ice cream left...
Her mobile rang just as she opened the freezer. She didn't usually bother with the pesky devices these days; she lost them far too often, not being a tidy person. But sometimes they were a necessity. And this was a call she'd been dreading. She didn't bother with the ice cream, just shut the freezer and answered the call.
"Hello Studd, what have you got for me?"
"Bad news, hot stuff." The male voice at the other end offered. "She got to him, he's dead."
"No!" Blaze slammed her fist into the door of the fridge in anger and pain.
"Wasn't pleasant either," Studd carried on regardless. "She wanted somethin' from him pretty bad, and by the state of his office, I'd say she tore it outta him... Still, one less cop right?"
"Shut you mouth Studd! Where is she now?"
"On her way to our neck of the woods, last one of my bugs picked her up." Studd was a technical wizard, expert at tracking and bugging, hacking into security systems across the world all from the comfort of his Boston apartment. Which was why Blaze had had him keep his ear on Lance. But she'd hoped she was just being paranoid nonetheless. Fat chance of that... "Which brings me to my point, Blaze. Lookin' at what Mercury did to your ex, I'm cashin' in now before she gets here."
"How much?" Blaze asked, not blaming him for wanting payment before she too had a run in with Eloise. Time was she'd have done the same.
"Don't want money, Blaze and you know it. Some people I know are interested to find out what one of their business associates has been up too, on the side if you like, with their biggest rival. The database is called Topaz; you'll find it in New York, high-rise on 23rd and 8th. Email me. And good luck."
Blaze pocketed the phone again and shook her head. Blackmail. Lance was dead and she was reduced to getting blackmail material for Studd in return for that knowledge. Add to that Mercury intent on some serious revenge, not to mention the whole virus thing... This was just not turning out a good day.
"What are you up to Blaze?" Blaze turned sharply, she'd no idea how long Matthew had been stood in the doorway.
"Nothing." She replied automatically, giving up on the idea of food anytime soon. She needed to get this information for Studd before anything else happened. Last thing she needed was Studd's more muscular 'associates' coming down on her and the X-Men for unpaid debts.
"Liar." Matthew pointed out, standing in her way in the doorway.
"And that from the politician..." Blaze smiled, melting Matthew's resolve a little.
"You're not in some sort of trouble are you?" He asked, troubled.
"Nothing I can't handle." Blaze picked her moment and walked past him. "But I appreciate your concern."
"Could have fooled me." Matthew muttered, not sure if Blaze heard him or not. His fumbling fingers found his mobile in his pocket, a brief scan through the phone book and without thinking he was calling an old college buddy with his mind made up.
"Mark Borchardt." The voice on the other end of the line was businesslike, and Matthew knew he'd made the right choice. If there was something going on here, his friend in the CIA would figure it out, and Matthew could approach Blaze to help so clued in she couldn't refuse his offer so easily.
"Hey Mark, its Matthew. I'm calling in that favour you owe me..."
A/N: Thank you to all my reviewers out there; you really are all stars. Witness references from Corrinth's Guardians of Destiny, which is mega cool, so go drop it a review!
Scene 12
Colossus died with his friends, his family around him. The relief from the pain was instantaneous, tempting, but he hung on that brink between life and death knowing he had so much more to say. He wanted to tell them all so much, how much they meant to him, how glad he was to have known them, loved each and every one of them. He would always watch over them, always. But as he hovered above his broken body, the last threads of his mortal existence scattered to the wind, he knew that if he knew he was a Witness, it was already too late to tell them...
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Is there anything I can do?" Blaze enquired of Ilehana after the redhead had received her all clear, along with Gambit, in the infirmary. There was an immense amount of work facing Ilehana and Hank, for even with Colossus gone they still could not rule out the possibility that more of the school's inhabitants might be infected. Not only did they need to know if anyone was, but also the need for a cure was almost suffocating in its urgency. Ilehana's reply was cut short though by Matthew and Sam's arrival in the infirmary.
"Kara, the President's daughter, says her friends have died too." Sam was trying hard to be at her most mature, handing over what notes she'd took whilst on the phone to Vixen. "I've written down everything she told me, their symptoms, everything... What their powers were..."
"They were mutants?" Ilehana asked sharply.
"Yeah, the only two on the trip apparently." Matthew answered this time. "Not that many people knew, or the President's daughter wouldn't be allowed to hang around with them no doubt."
"Looks like this time Dad's big mouth has saved me." Sam hadn't been slow to realise this. "If we hadn't announced I was a mutant, I would have been dead by now too. Excuse me." The senator's daughter left the room, obviously upset, leaving the adults wondering how well she'd known the deceased members of the Hawaii party?
"I'd really appreciate a hand Blaze." Ilehana finally confirmed. "Grab yourself a lab coat and gloves okay?"
"I thought you were a linguist Blaze?" Matthew asked inquisitively. "Are you trained in the sciences as well?"
"Err, no, to put it mildly." Blaze replied with a slight smile. "But I can follow instructions..."
"Since when?" Gambit chipped in, folding his arms and leaning on a work surface.
"Since you stopped giving them, Rem." Blaze laughed.
"When did he give you instructions, Blaze?" Matthew asked, now completely confused. The more time he spent around the X-Men, the more he realised he knew very little about any of them. A realisation amplified around Blaze and Gambit, he knew they'd known each other before coming to the mansion, but more than that he could not decipher. For a moment Blaze looked like she was going to give him a long-winded answer, but as if remembering something, she turned her back on the politician and began working.
"It's a long story." Was all she'd say, "Catch you later Remy?"
"Sure, Little One." Gambit replied, quite happy to be leaving. Trench coats were one thing, lab coats totally another. "Bonne chance."
Matthew followed just long enough after so as not to be stepping on Gambit's coat tails. Ilehana was pouring over Sam's notes, whilst Blaze prepped more samples under Vixen's instructions. Not much later, Hank was back with the last of the student's samples, and with Storm returned, mission 'reclaim Havoc' successfully completed, the lab was in full working order. All they needed now, Vixen thought grimly, was one of Nightcrawler's miracles.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Blaze took a break a good while later, convinced she'd be seeing test tubes in her sleep. She was starved, her hypermetabolism a constant reminder of her power's need for fuel, so she headed to the kitchen. With any luck, there would still be some ice cream left...
Her mobile rang just as she opened the freezer. She didn't usually bother with the pesky devices these days; she lost them far too often, not being a tidy person. But sometimes they were a necessity. And this was a call she'd been dreading. She didn't bother with the ice cream, just shut the freezer and answered the call.
"Hello Studd, what have you got for me?"
"Bad news, hot stuff." The male voice at the other end offered. "She got to him, he's dead."
"No!" Blaze slammed her fist into the door of the fridge in anger and pain.
"Wasn't pleasant either," Studd carried on regardless. "She wanted somethin' from him pretty bad, and by the state of his office, I'd say she tore it outta him... Still, one less cop right?"
"Shut you mouth Studd! Where is she now?"
"On her way to our neck of the woods, last one of my bugs picked her up." Studd was a technical wizard, expert at tracking and bugging, hacking into security systems across the world all from the comfort of his Boston apartment. Which was why Blaze had had him keep his ear on Lance. But she'd hoped she was just being paranoid nonetheless. Fat chance of that... "Which brings me to my point, Blaze. Lookin' at what Mercury did to your ex, I'm cashin' in now before she gets here."
"How much?" Blaze asked, not blaming him for wanting payment before she too had a run in with Eloise. Time was she'd have done the same.
"Don't want money, Blaze and you know it. Some people I know are interested to find out what one of their business associates has been up too, on the side if you like, with their biggest rival. The database is called Topaz; you'll find it in New York, high-rise on 23rd and 8th. Email me. And good luck."
Blaze pocketed the phone again and shook her head. Blackmail. Lance was dead and she was reduced to getting blackmail material for Studd in return for that knowledge. Add to that Mercury intent on some serious revenge, not to mention the whole virus thing... This was just not turning out a good day.
"What are you up to Blaze?" Blaze turned sharply, she'd no idea how long Matthew had been stood in the doorway.
"Nothing." She replied automatically, giving up on the idea of food anytime soon. She needed to get this information for Studd before anything else happened. Last thing she needed was Studd's more muscular 'associates' coming down on her and the X-Men for unpaid debts.
"Liar." Matthew pointed out, standing in her way in the doorway.
"And that from the politician..." Blaze smiled, melting Matthew's resolve a little.
"You're not in some sort of trouble are you?" He asked, troubled.
"Nothing I can't handle." Blaze picked her moment and walked past him. "But I appreciate your concern."
"Could have fooled me." Matthew muttered, not sure if Blaze heard him or not. His fumbling fingers found his mobile in his pocket, a brief scan through the phone book and without thinking he was calling an old college buddy with his mind made up.
"Mark Borchardt." The voice on the other end of the line was businesslike, and Matthew knew he'd made the right choice. If there was something going on here, his friend in the CIA would figure it out, and Matthew could approach Blaze to help so clued in she couldn't refuse his offer so easily.
"Hey Mark, its Matthew. I'm calling in that favour you owe me..."