(Seven)
Kyle and his gang materialized in the livingroom of Cameron Bishop's safe house only to find themselves mired in another battle. Their home had been rudely invaded while they were gone and they now found themselves surrounded. It wasn't SHIELD or the X-men though they were keeping watch outside.
The mighty Sabretooth and his gang had chosen their moment to collect on Jael's bounty. They had broken into the safehouse and were now here, patiently waiting for Kyle and his gang to return. Like Remy, Sabretooth was not without his resources. He wanted Kimble badly and had gathered enough intelligence on Kyle's gang to decide now was the time to collect Jael's prize. He knew Kyle would be a mess from the botched robbery and wouldn't be able to handle the intrusion. Creed wouldn't walk away empty handed this time.
Sabretooth had spread out his large body across Bishop's sofa and was lounging comfortably, his men in an offensive formation behind him. He had brought his top crew. Davis was here as well as Mary, a plasma producer like Leon. He had also brought along several others, big heavy hitters that were invulnerable or telekinetic, the strongest of mutants.
Sabretooth was ready when Kyle's gang winked into view inside the house and stood slowly, taking his time. He was in control of this situation and not the least bit intimidated by the guns the new arrivals were carrying. His healing factor made him reckless and arrogant while his military experience gave him the advantage. There would be no way he was going to lose this fight, not this time.
The moment Kyle had shown back up, Creed had given a signal and all hell broke loose outside as the rest of his crew began to deal with the SHIELD assholes Fury had brought here and the small band of X-men outside. He could smell the blood of battle and hear the screams of the soldiers outside dying and it sent a thrill right through him. He hoped some of those X-geeks would get taken down as well.
Kyle barely had time to register that Lakotashay was missing when they were suddenly attacked by their uninvited guests. Michael tossed him a spare gun and they went to it. The skirmish was brief and quite loud. Spikes and sparks went flying from both sides, but Creed's group had the element of surprise and larger numbers. Even as they fought, Sabretooth had a teleporter bringing in reenforcements. Kyle and his men had no chance.
Michael tried to even the odds with a small explosive. He let fly with one of his homemade little bombs and the explosion rocked the house, blowing out one of the walls. A couple of Creed's extras had a nice flight out into the street and lay groaning and twisted on the ground, burnt and ripped apart by debris. Davis was tossed away from the blast and into the next room, out cold on his back. Some of the threat had been removed, but it wouldn't be enough.
Creed himself had been standing next to Davis the whole time, and wasn't even budged by the blast. It was as if it couldn't even touch him, he was so unafraid. He slid a small black box from one of his many pouches, it was a bomb not unlike Michael had used, but everyone there knew he was far more skilled in this than Michael. He waved it at the crowd.
"Two can play that game, darlin's. Wanna see who's gonna win?" he snarled happily, showing his fangs. His device was by far the strongest and he wouldn't hesitate to use it, even if his own people got injured. His only concern was winning the game.
Kyle retreated, throwing up a defensive shield around his crew. It shimmered blue and powerful in front of him. Unfortunately, the team had been separated and he didn't get everybody. Leon was grabbed from behind by Mary and when he let go with a defensive burst of plasma, found it had no effect. She laughed in his ear, "Sorry, little one. I've got the plasma, same as you. You can't hurt me, but my knife can hurt you."
Leon squealed as he was pricked from behind. Mary may have been a woman, but she was no less skilled than the army of men around her. She could slice and dice with the best of them, she wouldn't be on Creed's team if she couldn't. The knife had found Leon's back, just under his ribs. He had learned enough from Michael to know she could kill him instantly from this position. "Help me!" he squeaked, terrified.
Kyle paced restlessly, the rest of his team behind the defensive shield on the other side of the room. They were all injured and bleeding, bewildered from this sudden turn of events. He knew he wasn't in control of this, not even close and it angered him.
Creed laughed. "Okay, Kyle. This's been fun and all. Now tell me where the pilot is."
"Never!" Kyle snarled, unwilling to admit he had lost.
Leon screamed loudly as the woman cut him. It wasn't enough to kill him, but it made him howl. Blood poured down his legs and she twisted him, making sure Kyle knew it.
"What was that?" Creed said, cupping his ear in Kyle's direction. "You best be speakin' up 'r yer boy's gonna be toast. Mary ain't got no more patience than me."
Kyle felt a great weight come crashing in on him. They were all wounded, barely hanging on here and he had no doubt Mary would slice Leon open wide. He turned to Franklin. "Bring him here."
Franklin nodded. There was a moment of understanding. Franklin would bring Kimble here, sure. But he knew something Sabretooth didn't. Zander had completed his training with skill and had already proven himself in a real fight, Zander was the best weapon they had. A serious ass kicking was in order.
(break)
Remy landed outside of Cameron Bishop's safehouse, coughing from the smell of Nightcrawler's smoke. Kurt was a powerful teleporter and could move a small group along, but he would never be stealthy. The smoke and the smell of brimstone gave him away every time. Remy had no time to breathe before they were attacked.
Creed was all done fooling around and had brought a large team this time, full of heavy hitters. He had telekinetics and pyrokinetics and folks flying around in the air. The ground was littered with the shredded and smoking bodies of SHIELD agents, normal humans were no match for these guys but they weren't the only ones fighting. Both Storm and Warren were up in the sky, battling for supremacy of the skies around them. They were tangling with what looked like a humanoid dragon and another telekinetic. The battle was raging loud and fast and Gambit's teammates were winning. Remy ducked as water poured down on him, Storm had used a small thunderstorm to drench the fires of her lizard like opponent.
Gambit tossed some cards, adding to the confusion and scrambled away, trying to get to the safehouse without being noticed. He ducked behind a patrol car and activated his radio. He spoke with Fury, demanding assistance, and cringed when a loud clap of thunder almost made his ears bleed. A body flew over the top of the car and the lizard guy landed on his back in front of him, his body smoking. Storm was all done fooling around, too, it seemed.
Gambit put his radio away and peeked over the hood of the car. Everyone around him was busy. Rogue had vaulted up to the sky and was helping Storm and Warren finish off the telekinetic guy. Iceman and Trevor were down on the street, blocking off two more of Creed's goons who had come with guns, pushing them back with huge walls of ice and rock. Remy could see they had also blocked off the street, trying to limit the amount of casualties. Kurt was off to one side, helping innocent bystanders to safety. He was wounded and in no condition to fight.
Remy used the moment to move up to the house. One wall had been torn away and he could see inside. He wasn't prepared for what he saw.
(break)
Zander had been warned by Franklin before he arrived that things weren't going well at the house. They had jumped twice, once to get out of the bank, the second time they paused at an empty street corner so Franklin could take a second to give him the layout of the damaged house and who was there. When they reappeared at the house, Zander acted quickly and decisively.
Zander landed, spikes ready. He let go with his crystalline weapons and Creed and his people went flying. Sabretooth gave a twisted cry of pain as he was tacked to the wall, run through without mercy. Zander had shown Nightcrawler greater kindness back at the bank. For Sabretooth – whom he recognized from when Kimble had been melted - there would be no holding back. The rest of Creed's men were killed instantly except for Mary who still held her hostage.
"Let Leon go!" Zander demanded, his body tall and straight, showing no fear whatsoever.
"Kiss my ass, fucker!" she snarled and pricked Leon again.
Zander came forward to fight but was stopped by a man who jumped in through the open wall. "Wanna dance?" the newcomer challenged. He was large and heavily muscled, easily three times Zander's size. He carried no weapons but his hands were stained with the blood of Fury's men.
Zander launched spikes at him and was stunned when they shattered against the man's body without penetrating.
"Gonner hafta do better than that, mate!" the guy cackled with a grin.
"Way to go, Seamus!" Mary laughed. "Show him who's boss!"
Zander pushed with a shield and Leon howled as Mary cut him again. Leon was at his end. He was trembling with shock and loss of blood.
Zander ignored him but faced his enemy, a man who continued to taunt him. "Fight me like a man, eh? I promise I won't hurcha... Not too bad anyway!" Seamus challenged with another belly shaking laugh.
Zander howled in rage and produced his sword.
Remy was frozen in place when he saw that sword come out of nowhere. It sparkled and twinkled like a magic talisman and he felt a shudder pass through him. Since when could Kimble do that and why did it look like it belonged there? Anya had certainly never said anything about this!
Zander charged, swinging his blade. Seamus wasn't afraid of any little crystal sword, his mutant power was invulnerability, no weapon or blow could possibly hurt him, he had nothing to fear. He used his arms as shields, swinging them about and blocking Zander's blows.
Zander never faltered. He moved swiftly and gracefully, hitting his opponent from all sides, testing him for weaknesses. He tried everything - he struck Seamus from the front, a direct slicing blow, but the sword only shattered uselessly against the big man's impenetrable skin. Zander wasn't the Quitter, he wasn't about to give up so quickly. He reconjured a new sword and went at him again. This time he tried short jabs from all sides, constantly circling Seamus and forcing him to keep turning, making the big man dizzy. The sword chipped and broke away as before, but Zander's will was strong, he repaired it just as quickly, always focusing on the blade and his opponent. His only hope came from the fact that Seamus was starting to huff a little. Like most big men, Seamus was a brawler, not an endurance fighter. Zander smiled. All right, then. He would wear this bastard down and then they would see.
Remy had recovered from the shock of the blade's appearance only to be stunned again by Zander's grace. The pilot had been trained well and used all of that knowledge now. He was swift and sure, ducking away from all of Seamus' attacks and keeping the big man constantly on the defensive. He was never struck and he never gave any sign of tiring in spite of dodging all around and taking the shock of his deflected blows time and time again. He was liquid grace personified and Remy wasn't sure if even he could take Zander down in a fair fight. It was station Nine all over again and Zander was just as beautiful now in this pilot's body as he had been then.
Remy wasn't the only one to take notice. Sabretooth tore himself away from the wall, growling complaints from the pain. This wasn't the first time he had been run through by spikes and he was getting rather tired of it. He hadn't been informed Kimble shared this particular ability of Kyle's and was a little put out over it. His legs buckled from the pain of his shredded insides and he slid down to his ass. His body would heal, but he needed a moment.
At least he was getting some entertainment while he waited. The sword fight in front of him was impressive, now he could see why Jael wanted this guy. He had seen a few sword fights in his time, but thought that blades were rather useless. He'd take a nice big loaded gun anytime. Take the target down from a distance, then save the best for last with his claws. He could see Zander was holding his own rather well against Seamus, a bit of a surprise. Between the little guy's endurance and his telekinetic ability, Sabretooth vaguely wondered how he was supposed to contain Kimble for shipment back to Jael.
His question was answered when he saw Davis approach. The man had come from the back room, recovering from the earlier toss. Davis remembered as Creed did how badly Kimble reacted to a nice big shot of electricity, the Siskan had gone down quickly and put up little fuss. Confident that the same would hold true here, Davis came up to Kimble from behind, but stopped when Creed signaled him to wait. Creed wanted to see how the fight was going to play out first.
Zander was wearing the big guy down. Seamus' face was all red and he was heaving for breath as he dripped with sweat. He was pissed off that he hadn't been able to hit Zander, not even once. Every time he lashed out, the white winged, fairy bastard seemed to see it coming and ducked or flew out of the way. The faster Seamus charged, the more quickly Zander was gone and left only empty air where the target should have been.
Zander was evading the guy, sure. The problem was, he couldn't cut him. Zander wondered if he would have to resort to clocking the guy with the flat of his blade in an attempt to stun him, but he was worried that it might not be enough for them to get away. He was filled with a moment's panic, unsure of what to do. The panic made him angry and his hands started to glow faintly orange as his temper caused a flow of plasma to his fingers. To his surprise, the blade responded eagerly to the plasma and it flickered orange with hunger.
"Leon! Hit me!" Zander snarled, his eyes wide with sudden understanding.
Leon obeyed without question, he had seen the orange flickers himself. He tossed a ball of plasma before Mary could respond and Zander caught it, grabbing it telekinetically and guiding it over without missing a beat of the battle he was in. He absorbed it quickly, shivering from the sudden influx of power and the sword burst into bright orange plasma flames.
Zander next launched himself up into the air and plunged the glowing weapon down into Seamus' chest. He didn't know if this would work, but he had to try. The newly empowered blade cut through the man's defenses like they didn't exist. Seamus screamed as he was impaled and his body caught fire, flooded with plasma as if Leon had fired a blast at him himself. Difference was, he was invulnerable on the outside, not on the inside like this. He was being roasted inside and out by the burst of plasma that ripped through the blade and down into him. His body couldn't take it, he exploded violently, throwing chunks everywhere.
Remy ducked, he couldn't help it. He was still outside but close enough to be sprayed with blood and gore, Seamus was a large man. He couldn't believe what he'd seen. It just wasn't possible that Kimble could have done such a thing. He watched in numb amazement as Davis surged forward and risked all to zap Zander from behind with a huge bolt of lightning.
Zander never saw it coming. He was just as amazed as Remy was at what he had done. He had acted on instinct. Channeler. The word flashed before his eyes and he understood now what it meant, then the world went crazy. There was a blinding flash of light and he was on the floor, trembling violently and unable to make his body move on his command. The sword evaporated into thin air and he was left drained and helpless.
Kyle had watched the sword fight and the explosive conclusion, shocked silent. He realized that this moment was the one Cameron had prepared the pilot for. This was why Joshua had wanted the pilot trained in the swords and he had an idea now that Kimble's first melting might not have been an accident. Kimble hadn't used the plasma before then, the pilot had said as much. Kimble was the ShaRain, the wielder of that magnificent sword and their valiant defender. Nothing could stop him. His heart surged with pride and then it was over.
He watched as Zander was taken down by the electrical surge and their great defender was a quivering mass of mush on the ground. He came forward with a cry, having caught a second wind from the battle. He dropped the protective shield, launched spikes and lay a protective bubble over Kimble.
Remy came in from the street, jumping through the hole in the wall and tossing cards. He wasn't alone. Iceman and Trevor were right behind him.
Kyle couldn't fight on two fronts. His job was to keep Kimble from both the X-men and Sabretooth. He never had a prayer - in a flash, Michael was ripped to shreds before he could phase, too distracted by the goings on to see Creed come up from behind. Sabretooth had no idea this was Jael's spy, but it wouldn't have mattered. The guy was carrying two automatic weapons, prudence demanded he be the first to go down. Franklin was next, Davis wasted hardly a second and fried him right after Zander went down. Kyle sent a shield forward and it was met by a bolt of lightening. The electricity licked around it and sparks arced through the electrical systems of the house. There was a pop and hiss and the walls caught fire.
Creed dropped his victim and took his guns. He sprayed bullets over Remy and his friends, howling with maniacal laughter. Mary barely had time to duck out of the way, still carrying her hostage. She was given special orders not to kill him, he was going to be leverage against Kimble if and when they ever got out of this. She cursed the impetuousness of her boss, she shouldn't have to be dodging his fire as well as their enemy's.
Remy skidded to a halt, ducking as a clear wall of ice appeared in front of him without warning. Iceman had come to his rescue, acting swiftly. Gambit saw it chip and shatter as the bullets hit it, but none came through. Kyle wasn't so lucky. He screamed as he was ripped apart and crashed to the ground. With so many opponents, he simply couldn't cover himself well enough and it cost him.
Creed reached for his radio when he ran out of bullets. "Let's check out, boys," he growled and stepped over to where Zander lay trembling on the ground. He grabbed the pilot and hauled him up over his shoulder like so much meat.
"I don't think so, Creed!" Iceman challenged.
"What ya gonna do about it, Iceboy? You come closer and everybody buys it," he said. He unclipped a small black box from a strap on his belt. It was the same one he had threatened Kyle with earlier. He clicked a small button with a claw and a flashing light came on. "Logan ever teach you dweebs 'bout explosives? Believe me, son. You don't wanna find out what this fucker can do."
"You'll be killed yourself!" Bobby snarled, not wanting this to end.
Creed just laughed. "Are ya sure? I just got me a belly full of spikes an' I'm standin' here fuckin' you in the ass. How about that?"
Iceman hesitated, he couldn't help it. The house was wrecked, on fire, but there were just too many bodies in here. Kimble wasn't worth it to him.
"Don' let 'im go!" Remy wailed, still trapped behind his wall of ice. He began to smash at it with his fists, trying to get at Creed. It couldn't end, not like this.
Creed noticed him there and laughed, amused by Gambit's distress. "Hey, there Cajun. I see ya found yerself some ice again. How's it feel, son? Is it colder than ol' Rogue's heart when she dumped ya in the Antarctic? Heh, you never did know a thing 'bout women. They're cold as hell, boy. Cold as hell."
"Disparaissent la baise vous-meme, Creed! Fuck you!" Remy shouted, getting nowhere fast. Bobby's ice wall was quite thick. He stepped back and charged two cards, ready to blast his way. He tossed them and the wall shattered without breaking. He began to smash at it again.
"My, what language!" Creed laughed. "What would yer Tante say?"
"What are we doing?" Trevor asked Bobby nervously. He could still hear the sounds of battle outside and now there was some kind of standoff here. He was new to all this and looked to the most senior man for guidance. The exchange between the killer and the thief was ignored as irrelevant. Everyone knew those two had a dark and unpleasant history.
Bobby frowned. "We let him go."
"Non!" Remy howled. He had managed to chip a hole in the ice and had two more cards charged and ready. He tossed them just as Creed brayed laughter and winked out of view.