Well hello everyone!
Yes I know, I have not updated in a while cause I have been very busy with school and all my other activities so I decided to double update and give you two longer chapters
Have fun!
Mystery child
Cyclops and the rest of the X-men team were in the Danger Room when NM and the rest of the group appeared behind the Professor and Logan.
"Are they having fun?" Nova jokingly asked. Logan replied heartily,
"Yep." They both knew that the team was not having fun, but Logan was making them practice to the core.
"May we have a go at it?" NM asked, suddenly needing to exert some pent up emotions.
"Sure 'Tomi just as soon as these bozos are done." That earned a look from Charles which he blissfully ignored.
"Great. But Hack will give us a program one that all of us have never seen before. Are you guys' game?"
"Count us all in. We always enjoy Hack's twists and turns."
Hack grunted at Shadow.
"It's true and don't deny it." Said MN not turning around, still watching the X-men team.
As the team finished, MN met them downstairs, she spoke to each of them.
"Spike you need to work on your defense."
"Yes ma'am."
"Rogue, your defense."
"Ah know sugar, I jus' can' seem to git it right some days…can ya help me out?"
"Sure."
"Nightcrawler you need to work on your offense, but your defense is great."
"1) Vielen Dank." Night crawler nodded at the young woman taking in her advice, not realizing he had expressed his thanks in German. But none the less she had understood him.
"Gambit, you need to work on—" Gambit interrupted, "What chere? My class?"
"No Gambit," NM said laughing, "Your throwing ability, I'm sure you can throw farther than that."
"Impossible! 2) Beau femme asks much of Gambit, but Gambit will do."
NM laughed as he took her hand and kissed it. Rogue grabbed him, looking up for guidance.
"Fiery, you need to work on you offense and your defense."
"Yeah," she said sighing, "But could you help me out a bit?" Her eyes were hopeful.
"No problem. I'll help you after I'm finished in the Danger Room myself." Fiery's eyes turned to glee and she pranced away humming a song to herself.
"You're going into the Danger Room alone?" Damita asked, a mutant whose power was smoke,
"No Smoke, I wasn't my team is coming with me."
"Oh I see."
"And Smoke?"
"Yes?"
"Try not to kill anyone next time you get scared, learn to see what's around you."
"Gotcha."
Storm gracefully walked out of the room her stature that quietly and firmly said, 'Goddess'. MN gave her room as she walked out and spoke,
"Storm, you need to learn how to control your storms so that eventually you will be able to create small storms in a short period of time and in a small area."
Storm nodded once, acknowledging that she had understood.
"And can a guy get sum slack here. I'm blind ya know." said Element as he walked out the room.
"No Element, no slack for you, you need to work on getting your own defenses up instead of waiting for an enemy to attack. Your water and land powers are very useful once you learn to properly use them."
"Yes Commander." He saluted in her direction.
MN went to smack him, but he ducked and was dragged away by Sparks, who thought he could get away,
"Sparks, nice try…you need to work on controlling your sparks."
Sparks ignored her. 'Who do you think you are woman?'
MN snapped her fingers and a small spark jumped from her hand to his back pocket, before it exploded she said, "I think I am a woman who knows what I'm doing." It exploded causing him to jump and hold his butt while he ran howling down the hallway, screaming "BLOODY MURDER!"
Everyone including the Professor, Logan, and MN's team who saw the incident on the screen howled with laughter, tears streaming down there eyes.
As Jean came out of the room her own laughter evident, MN turned to her, "Jean you need to work with Scott more and the others so you know who needs help where."
Jean smiled at her and nodded.
"I do not think I need your help in telling my team what to do MN."
Scott looked down on the young woman, his anger rising once again after he had exerted it the Danger Room. Jean went to shush him but MN stopped her.
"Scott if I recall correctly whose butt was kicked earlier today?"
Scott turned a bright red remembering the incident that had happened earlier on, and what he had forgotten. Those who had seen it looked on at Scott with an unhappy expression and raised eyebrows, those who had not seen it cocked their ears. Scott was completely silent.
"That's what I thought Scott, now if you will excuse me; I have my own session to do." With that she walked into the room, she was soon followed by the rest of her team which shook their heads as they passed Scott. Scott looked at Jean, who gave him a disgusted look. Scott got even brighter as he walked passed everyone who was now silent. Professor shook his head at his young team leader.
Scott?
Yes Professor?
I would like to see you in my office as soon as you've showered and changed.
Yes Professor.
Scott ran his hand through his hair; he knew this was not going to be good. Professor sighed and wheeled himself away leaving Hack and Logan in the control room. Logan turned to Hack after the Professor had left.
"Alright bub, let's see what you got. Get movin'."
Hack gave him a short nod and began getting familiar with the X-men computer, getting to understand how it worked and how it moved within. Hack tapped his ear twice, and an eye plate with a microphone attached popped out, adjusting itself to Hack.
"Nice gadget kid. Got any more tricks up your sleeve?"
"Lots more." Hack responded as some of the X- men team came crowding into the room wanting to see what they were going to do.
"One at a time people, hold one let me…" And he typed a few buttons and the rest of the flat, large LCD screens that were in the control room flickered, and generated light showing everyone where the team was.
Hack spoke into the microphone, "Let the covert operation 'rescue Jones' commence." And with a flourish began tapping the keys with relish beginning the program that he had just come up with from off the computer they had at home. Everyone heard the quick tapping of the keys and wondered how fast he could type under pressure. He pressed the 'Enter' button.
MN and her group stood waiting then it came. The familiar sound of a roar like waves pounding upon the beach, the stomach churner as they felt themselves actually being transported, and the ear and eye adjust as they took in their new surroundings. MN and her group opened there eyes and found themselves standing outside a base in the middle of nowhere. They also tapped there ears twice and found that their earpieces worked.
"Hack this is Illusion here…what the hell is this????"
Hack laughed. "My new and improved version of 'Covert Jones'. Enjoy."
"How I fear for us." Shadow looked around trying to sense what was around her before she made a step. She held her hands at her sides and a black mist came from them slowly spreading in a circle around them. NM heard her chanting, and knew she was getting a feel for the area around her since she could not sense anything with her heightened senses.
Evan aka. Spike was telling Element what was going on in the room, gave a large gasp of surprise which was followed by others in the room.
"Spike what is it?"
"There's black stuff coming out of that pale one's hands. It's totally unreal."
Element, his pale eyes shifting to the sound of keys being tapped asked Hack,
"What type of mutant is the pale one?"
"You mean Shadow right?"
"Uh yeah…I think." Spike gave him two taps on the shoulder reaffirming his answer. "Yes, Shadow."
Hack sighed, he really did not wish to tell them, he had hoped that mother would do the talking, but he could not just avoid the question easily; not with others in the room.
"Shadow, as her name, has the gift of taking shadows and manipulating them causing them to 'come alive' and do her bidding. The mist that is coming out from her hands is because she…she…" He stopped there not really wanting to go on, but maybe, "Mom, can you hear me?"
"Loud and clear," came MN's voice, everyone was surprised at the abrupt change in subject, and how he easily called her mother.
"Maybe you can tell everyone what Shadow really is…"
Everyone heard MN sigh, "Shadow is a vampire."
There was a heavy cut silence that lay in the room for those brief moments. Some even put there hands to there necks subconsciously, remembering movies and books that they had seen and read. Spark smugly smiling spoke, breaking the hold that she had put upon them. Hack typed some more.
"So you mean that she is a vampire?"
"Yes Spark." MN knew where he was going to go with this,
"And that she drinks blood, actual—" MN cut him off right there; she knew that he was scaring the others and he also wanted payback for the stunt that she had pulled on him.
"She drinks my blood and MINE alone, YOUR blood would make her instantly sick Sparks and she would end up DYING. Got it?" There was an annoyed tone in her voice that everyone picked up on, and they all looked at Sparks their fears gone but they all realized what he had wanted to do. Sparks fumed and walked away angry for the second time. Storm asked out of curiosity, "How can she stay out in the sun? Wouldn't she burn?"
"No. She is not like the vampires that you read in books and see in movies, she can stay in the sunlight."
Everyone was fascinated by this time, learning about Shadow but before anyone could ask anything else MN spoke,
"Save your questions until after. I will answer them then. Enjoy the show everyone." With that she shut her comm. off for the moment so that Hack only heard the rest of them but not her.
"Shadow?"
Everyone heard Shadow's response,
"Nothing. It is safe to go now but beware the sand beneath us is not all that stable, Hack is not letting us get there easily and he is not letting us get out easily."
Everyone heard Hack's reply,"You got that right. Enjoy."
"Hold on." NM spread her arms at the side and let her power slowly flow through the desert area they were, when she pulled it back to her, her eyes were not happy.
"Hack, I hate you." Then remembering that her comm. was not on she tapped the end of the microphone once and it crackled to life,
"Hack?"
"Yeah?"
"I hate you."
"I love you too mother." Hack said laughing; knowing she knew exactly what was out there.
"What's going on?"
"Hack, your lovely brother decided to make this whole entire desert area a trap."
"What do you mean, I felt nothing really shocking out there." Shadow looked at her mother.
"Nothing physical, that actually had shape to it. Quicksand does not account for this."
"You mean this whole entire area is QUICKSAND?!?!?!" Nova glared angrily, "Hack I am really gonna kill you brother."
"Yeah, tell me that after you get out."
Nova ruffled her feathers irritably, and pouted, her eyes roaming the sand.
"C'mon, we're walking." And with that as she held them up with her power.
Hack watched amused as they began to walk,
'Mother, you are so not getting out of this easy.' he typed for a few seconds and pressed the enter button.
Hawk spoke, "Its way too quiet out here—"
Suddenly the sand rose around them and every stood waiting for what was coming out of the sand their powers ready, except for Mech who had a metal staff in his hand. Giant snakes rose from the sand, their brown bodies matching the sand that they had just been under. Nova began a very colorful string of curses. Logan was extremely surprised and proud for a very strange reason,
'Nova almost takes after me.' He thought, 'Well let's see what they will do.' MN looked at the snakes that surrounded her team, her eyes roaming each and every single one of them. Finally she found the leader of the group, its brown eyes having a gold rim around it. She began to speak, and everyone heard her and stood silently, shock, surprise and bewilderment written on their faces.
Smoke was able to ask, "Is she speaking snake?"
Hack nodded impressed. "Well I've never heard you speak snake before mother…" She replied mentally, not ending her conversation with the leader snake,
'But surprises must come from somewhere can't they my son?'
Hack laughed, everyone looked at him strangely, and he just pointed to his head. Spike explained everything to Element, whose face had an extreme look of wonder on it.
Ending her conversation with the snake, NM bowed and the snakes disappeared into the sand, as if they had not been there before. Everyone looked at her on wonder as they walked with her.
"Never before I have I seen you do that…when did you learn how to speak snake?" Nova still stared at MN, marvel in her golden eyes.
"I've been speaking snake for a long while now, but it has never been around you guys before, until now that is."
"Oh." Mech said a little dumbstruck. Soon they reached the end of the dunes of endless sand; their clothes shimmered and turned darker matching the color of the metallic half domes that were there.
"And now for the next test!" Belted out Hack, sounding like an announcer.
"Give it up brother." Hawk flipped the finger at her brother, with Illusion cursing him colorfully.
Everyone laughed at their antics, and watched the screens carefully to see what they did next.
"People, let's get into stealth mode here. Everyone cover your backs, if you get lost; find your way back to me."
Everyone nodded at MN's words, knowing what she meant, but no one else did.
"What does she mean 'find your way back to me'?" Scott asked as he and Jean stepped into the room.
"It means to wait and see Scott. All will be revealed in time." Hack did not even spare a glance at the team leader before his fingers found the keyboard again. He fingers flew as if they were the wind, the keyboard the grass, shaping, bending to his very will…Scott and Jean looked on surprised on how his fingers moved on the keyboard. Then as he had just begun, he stopped. Everyone was a little surprised at this; it had seemed that he would go on forever. Meanwhile The Shadow team was making there way across the large expanse of the enemy's land as they sought the entrance that had appeared before their eye, from the viewer/ scanner eyepiece. But before they could reach it, they had some inference. A group of soldiers came around the corner just as they were slipping by it. They had been caught, like a deer in a trap. The soldiers seeing them began to open fire. MN and Shadow immediately reacted setting up barriers so their bullets would not penetrate through them. Nova closed her eyes and concentrated. She placed her fists together and slowly spread them apart. A colorful vortex slowly came from her hands. She picked it up with one hand and threw it toward them. It had the effect of a well-placed grenade, blowing some men to bits, injuring some men, and blowing away the rest. Unfortunately, someone had called for back-up and a new volley had arrived, stepping over the dead and wounded to begin firing and sending their own grenades to the team.
Suddenly, shots were fired from behind them and an unexpected wave of grenades were sent there way, from both sides. Since they had their shield, it did not blow them to bits but it blew everyone away except Shadow. Everyone gasped still seeing everyone alive and well and seeing that Shadow still had to deal with the armed men. Shadow seeing that everyone was gone became angry and her power rose, attacking the men mercilessly. Screams were heard as MN and the rest came to.
"SHADOW!!" Nova screamed and rose to take flight but a hand on her wing stopped her.
"No Nova, we cannot." The rest of the group rose and followed MN, Nova looked back once and followed.
Everyone who heard this stood silent. No one moved, no one spoke, and no one even coughed. Everyone eyes were on the screen willing them to turn around, willing them to change there minds, willing them to help. MN and the group found the entrance way and MN smiled.
Wait here and stay out of sight. I'm going back for her; we all know it is not safe to confront her when she is angry.
Nova almost smiled but following the trick, did not. Yeah, we know she's scary when she is angry, at first I thought those screams were hers, then I thought again. She never screams.
I know. And MN disappeared into the shadows.
Well that is the end of my double update, I hope you enjoyed those two chapters.
Hopefully I will able to update sooner.
Mystery Child
1 Thank you – In German
2 Beautiful woman – In French