Gifts and Curses
By Todd Fan
Disclaimer: "The shit hath hitith the fan... ith"
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Chapter 25 – Beast within,
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The weeks past and December soon arrived. Lucas had been dragged off to the Guthrie's with Lizzie, making sure first to let it be known he wanted to be buried at sea. Lizzie told him not to be such a drama queen, and whisked him off to Kentucky. The other members of Nightshift were less than happy at the loss of their leaders. Sammy sighed bored, as he half-heartedly tossed a ball, Eanie and Meanie crawling after it happily as Maggot dozed on the grass.
"Hey there, Mr Grumpy Gills", smirked Kyle, sitting next to Sammy. (1)
"Shut up, Kyle", said Sammy, rolling his eyes.
"What's the matter?", chuckled Kyle, "missing Lizzie?"
"Leave him alone, Wildchild", said Lorna, walking over, her hand son her hips.
"Why did Lucas put you in charge?", moaned Kyle.
"Because I can kick all your asses, that's why", said Lorna.
"She has you there", commented Maggott, his eyes still closed as Eanie and Meanie returned, the ball between them, dropping it at Sammy's feet.
"I thought she was too distracted with Alex", said Kyle with a smirk.
"Do you want a slap, Kyle?", asked Lorna, "'cause you'll get one"
She frowned.
"Besides, I haven't seen him all day"
"Maybe he had sense and made a run for it", said Kyle, picking up the ball and tossing it into the reservoir.
The slugs blinked at it sadly, unable to follow it.
"Oh, that's nice, Kyle", said Maggott dryly
"I'll get it", sighed Sammy, getting up and walking towards the water, just as a huge BANG came from just outside the village, "what was that?"
"Lorna!".
The green haired woman glanced up as Syrin flew overhead.
"It's Alex", she called down, "I dunae know what happened. Some kind 'o power surge, or something. He just took a chunk out of the mountain and collapsed"
Lorna frowned, taking to the air.
"Japheth, keep an eye on things", she said, "I'm getting him to the Institute. I should have dragged him there long before now. I don't care what he says, he needs this sorted out"
"Now Maggott's in charge?", whined Kyle, "slug-man?"
Meanie crawled over and began chewing on Kyle's foot.
"Ewww, gross!", yelped the feral mutant, pulling his foot away.
"Oh yes, big scary Wildchild", said Maggott dryly, "make those slugs tremble in fear"
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Miles away in Cumberland, Kentucky, unknowing to the events unfolding, Lucas looked at the Guthrie home with more than a little nervousness. All those Guthries….the thought itself was frightening. AT least he wasn't completely alone, Rahne had arrived with Sam a couple of days earlier, so at least he wasn't the ONLY one there that wasn't part of the Guthrie clan.
"Lucas, will you chill out?", asked Lizzie, "nothing's gonna happen to you"
"Easy for ye tae say", he muttered.
"Lizzie!"
The twins, Lewis and Nell, now ten years old came running over to their sister, hugging her legs.
"You came home!", said Lewis happily, then blinked at Lucas, "so…that's Lucas"
"He looks weird", said Nell, then grinned, "we can have fun with you later"
"…Nice tae meet you too", he muttered.
"He sounds like Rahne too!", said Lewis.
"Yeah, yeah, you can all have a laugh about it later", said Lizzie, rolling her eyes as the twins ran off, "come on, Lucas"
Lucas sighed defeated, following her as Melody, now 15 flew over them, her mutant abilities manifesting only a year after her sisters miscarriage. From what Xavier could determine, she could create a sort of force field, which propelled her through the air, making yet another Guthrie for whom gravity wasn't a big deal.
"He's a cutie, Lizzie", she giggled.
"Get your own!", snapped Lizzie, giving her younger sister a glare, "he's mine"
"She can't get her own because no boys want to go out with her"
Lucas blinked at the now 13 year old Jeb, with his ginger hair and glasses, as always, looking well out of place.
"They do to!", said Melody, landing, "nobody wants to go out with you, weirdo!"
Lucas arched a brow at Jeb.
"Where did the ginger haired one come from?"
"He's a throwback", said Lizzie.
"We like to call him 'fed-ex'", chuckled Melody. (3)
Jeb removed his glasses, a shot of what appeared to be electricity shooting out of them, hitting Melody's feet.
"Momma, he's doing it again!", screamed Melody, taking to the sky.
"She asked for it!", shouted Jeb, running for cover
"What have a'h told you about using your powers close to the house?", sighed Lucinda, walking out, then smiling at her daughter, walking over to give her a hug, "hi sweetheart, a'hm glad you came"
"Hey, a'h promised you, didn't I?", she said, "….did Paige…"
Lucinda nodded, giving a surprised Lucas a hug, then sighed.
"No", she said, "Paige still doesn't want to mend her bridges….We still haven't seen hide nor hair of Joelle, either"
"Good", said Lizzie with a frown, "Joelle fed us to the hounds, we could have all been killed before of her"
Lucinda sighed, shaking her head.
"…A'h still worry", she said softly, leading the pair inside, "come on in, you both need feeding up"
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Lorna had flown Alex's unconscious form to the Institute quickly, and never left his side as he was taken to the Infirmary.
"Why didn't he tell anyone?", frowned Scott, looking over his younger brother worriedly.
"You know what he's like", said Lorna, "he was too proud to say anything. I didn't realize how bad it was until today"
Hank sighed, checking his vitals, Alex's hands still glowing.
"It seems he has lost control of how much cosmic energy his body absorbs, and with it, how to control it's output", said Hank.
"In English", said Lorna
"He has about as much control of his abilities as his elder brother", sighed Hank.
Scott's brow furrowed above his visor.
"No…", he said quietly.
"We can't be sure until I run some tests", said Hank, then sighed, "but it looks like we have to find a way of containing the energy…though I doubt this will be as simple as ruby quartz glasses"
"Once we know what we're dealing with, we can think of something", said Xavier, then glanced up as Logan came in, ushering Karl with him, trailed by Jamie, "but first, we have to deal with the main problem at hand"
"….I…I don't know how I can help", frowned Karl.
"I want you to drain some of his energy", said Xavier, "only enough to keep him stable until we can create something to stabilise him properly"
Karl faltered.
"I..I don't know", he said, "I haven't done anything like that before"
"Look, if Rogue was here, we'd get her to do it, but she isn't and you are", growled Logan, "if you don't do this, he'll die"
Karl frowned, before sighing, nodding quietly. He moved over to when Alex lay on the bed, unconscious, his hands glowing bright red.
"Here goes nothing", muttered Karl.
He too a deep breath, putting his hands on Alex's shoulders, starting to absorb his life energies. His eyes began to flicker.. this was not like when he'd absorbed people or animals ..no.. this was different. The raw power that he was tapping into felt amazing, as if it became his own power. He didn't know what it was, but he wanted more, much more. A hand suddenly pulled him away, denying him his wish.
"Hey, that's enough, Twitchy, we don't want you killin' him", said Logan.
Karl gave a snarl, his eyes glowing red.
"I want MORE!", he screeched.
"…..Charrrlees", said Logan, "something's goin' wrooong"
Karl cried out as his skin began to turn green, his head elongating, his face becoming a beak. Leathery wings sprouted from his arms, the hands on them becoming claw like, a green tail emerging as his eyes stayed a blood-red. After it was over, a pterodactyl-like being stood before them.
"Karl?", tried Xavier
"Not Karl", he hissed, "I am Sauron!"
With a screech, he flapped his wings, sending Scott and Lorna out of the way, making a dash for the door. Logan growled, moving to jump at him before being stopped by Xavier.
"No, Logan, if you touch him, he'll just drain more of you!", he said, "It seems this…Sauron was trigger by him absorbing Alex's mutant energy…I never thought it could give a different effect than any normal life-energy"
"This is like fightin' Rogue all over again", grumbled Logan as Sauron crashed through a window, taking to the sky, "plan of action?"
Scott winced, standing up.
"I'm staying with Alex", he said, then looked at Jamie, "Besides, he's on Multiple's team, it's his call"
Jamie blinked at Scott, surprised, before nodding.
"Okay", he said, "We'll head him off, keep him from any other mutants until he cools down…maybe he'll go back to normal once he's burned it all off"
"Then you'd better hurry", frowned Xavier, putting a hand to his temples, "he's heading straight for Dark Hollow. Perhaps you should have a few Senior X-Men with you just in.."
"We can handle it alone", said Jamie, "it's what we've been trained for"
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In the Morlock tunnels, X23 had settled in to being an 'official' Morlock quite well…or as well as to be expect, anyway. Though most of the Morlocks, bar Callisto, Evan and Lucid (who most assumed had acquired himself a death wish) gave her a wide berth, she had been accepted as one of their own. Of course, she still had a lot to learn about living with others. Lucid had been dozing for a few hours, having been on the 'graveyard watch' the night before, his sleep, as was always the case in the tunnels, didn't last long as something heavy landed close to his head. Lucid groaned, expecting one of Torpids evil tricks, opening one eye, instead to find X23 blinking back at him.
"Arrrghhh!", he yelped, falling back out of the alcove, hitting the ground with a thump.
X23 cocked her head at him, looking at him curiously from where she crouched in the alcove.
"You fell off", she said.
"You have a talent for stating the obvious", grumbled Lucid, rubbing the back of his head, "you do know watching people while they sleep is generally frowned upon"
"Really?", she asked, "…how odd. Why? It's not like they know…until they wake up"
She paused to consider.
"I assume it is to avoid people falling off alcoves and banging their heads?"
"Close enough", sighed Lucid, choosing to give up, then smirked at her, "it's nice to see you're setlting in, though. You even smiled at Torpids latest 'Let's Torture Caliban' prank"
"This is merely a safe place where I no longer have to run", sniffed X23 haughtily, "It doesn't mean anything else"
"Yeah, right", smirked Lucid, "You love it here. I can see right through your 'I don't need anyone' tough chick leather jacket and commando gear"
X23 blinked, before covering her chest with an arm, using the other to smack Lucid across the head. (4)
"Oww!", yelped Lucid, rubbing his head with a wince, "It was a metaphor!"
"What's a metaphor?", asked X23, then frowned, crossing her arms, "and you're the one with X-Ray vision, Bub"
"Bub?", blinked Lucid, then shook his head, "I don't make it a habit of looking through people's clothing, than you very much, no matter how beautiful the person may be"
X23 blushed, which was of course, an unknown reaction for her.
"I….I should go and take up my watch", she said, making a hasty retreat.
"Way to go, Lucid", he told himself, with a sigh, watching her go.
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Over in Dark Hollow, the residents were unaware of the looming danger heading their way. Syrin was flying in lazy circles above the reservoir, watching as Sammy continues throwing the ball from Eanie and Meanie, while Maggott watched. She winced as Kyle started plying badly on his guitar, before looking up, hearing a screech. Above her flew Sauron, his red eyes glowing.
"Come to me", he called to her, beckoning with a clawed hands, "come"
Syrin frowned, before her eyes caught his….a hypnotic trance falling upon her. She nodded numbly, flying up towards him. This did not go unnoticed form the ground.
"Hey, who's Syrin's new date?", asked Kyle.
Maggot frowned, standing up, calling his slugs into him, gaining in height and strength.
"I don't think he's a date", he said, then called up, "Syrin, get away form there!"
Syrin, however, was far too enthralled by Sauron's gaze, flying into his waiting arms. With a screech, he began to drain her of her life force, the hypnotised girl not even putting up a struggle. Within moments, it was over, and he dropped her lifeless form, leaving it fall into the water with a slash.
"Theresa!", yelped Kyle, then blinked at Maggot, "he killed her!"
"I noticed", frowned Maggott, then watched as Sauron started towards them, "and it looks like she was only the starter"
Sauron screeched, making a dive towards Sammy.
"Sammy, get in the water, NOW!", shouted Maggot.
Sammy ran for it as Sauron flew after him, jumping into the safety of the reservoir moments before Sauron caught up to him. The pterodactyl squawked in rage, flapping above the water. He turned his attention to the other two members of Nightshift, giving a hiss as he flew towards them. He didn't get far, however, when Paige, in a metallic form much like Colossus, barged into him, knocking him to the ground. Sauron snarled, throwing her to the side and getting to his feet, advancing on her.
"Stay in that form, Husk", said Jamie, "if he's anything like Rogue, he can't hurt you!"
"No problem there, Multiple", said Paige, standing her ground as Sauron stalked towards her, his eyes glowing again.
"Yes, stay exactly where you are", he said, "don't put up a fight, Paigey"
Paige blinked into his eyes, before shaking her head.
"Guy's…he…he's got", she trailed off again, getting lost in his eyes, before smiling stepping towards him.
"Husk, what are you doing?", shouted Jamie.
Paige had almost reached Sauron when Maggot grabbed her, pulling her to one side.
"He's hypnotising them!", he shouted.
Sauron, angered by his loss, knocked Maggott aside with his beak, making a grab for Paige. Despite being in a metallic form, Sauron began to drain her life-force. Now out of his hypnotic command, Paige screamed in pain, trying to wrench herself away.
He won't be able to do it in that form, huh? snapped Jono at Jamie, before racing forward, PAIGE!
By the time Jono got to her, however, it was too late, Sauron dropped her to the ground, Paige giving a pained exhale, before her world went black.
No, whispered Jono, tears forming in his eyes, before turning to glare at Sauron, you killed her!
Without waiting for an answer, he pulled off his scarf, revealing the void that should have been his lower jaw to his torso, and let rip a huge fiery blast at Sauron. The pterodactyl screeched in pain, backing away, holding a leathery wing to shield his face.
"Chamber, back down!", shouted Jamie, pressing a button on his com-link, "we need to get the other X-Men in, we can't fight him on our own!"
The hell we can't, snapped Jono, he killed her! You may not have given a toss about her, bit I did! He's gonna burn for what he did!
Josh, meanwhile, had dropped to Paige's side, trying to revive her, frowning.
"Come on, you gotta heal", he said, his golden hands glowing.
"Jono's right", said Kevin with a frown, taking his gloves off, "by the time the X-Men get here, we'll all be finished anyway. If I'm going out, I'm going with a fight!"
"Wither, get back…", Jamie sighed as he ran off, "yeah...great. Nice to know you appreciate my input"
As Jono sent another blast at Sauron, the huge mutant took to the sky, kicking out with his legs at the pyrotechnic. Jono dodged him, then gasped, his flame getting a little less powerful. They were still too young, their powers were not trained enough for this…He winced, the fire dying completely as he sank to his knees, Sauron hovering over him with a screech.
I'm sorry, Paige, he said, glancing over at her still form, Josh still trying to heal her, I tried, Luv... I tried.
He sighed, closing his eyes, tears trickling down his cheeks as Sauron fell upon him. By the time Kevin reach them it was over, and Sauron turned to look at his new prey, a smirk on his beak.
"This is too easy", he said
"Wanna bet?", growled Kevin, jumping on him, putting his bare hands on Sauron's chest.
Kevin's touch was like acid, causing Sauron to screech in pain as his body began to turn to dust. The pterodactyl retaliated, grabbing hold of Kevin's shoulders, trying to drain him. The pair struggled on the ground, each trying to kill the other. It was Kevin who eventually succeeded, Sauron's body crumbled into dust as he dropped to the ground. He let out a shuddery breath, giving a weak smile at the pile of ash that was once his team-mate, then let out a final breath…perhaps they had both succeeded in their goal. Too late did the Velocity land, a group of the senior X-Men climbing out.
"Oh God", whispered Jean, looking at the scene in horror, "what happened"
"He..he was too strong for us", said Jamie in an almost whisper, then frowned, looking at the ground, "He and Kevin…they killed each other….It's my fault…I shouldn't have thought we could take him on our own"
"Kid…", started Logan, but Jamie only shook his head, walking into the Velocity, his head hung low.
Kurt frowned, watching as Sammy walked onto the shore, carrying Syrin's body in his arms, placing her on the ground, standing by Maggott and Kyle.
"Five kids dead, Logan", he said sadly, "….that's horrific, even for us"
"Make that four"
They glanced over to where Josh sat next to Paige. Though she was still unconscious, her chest rose and fell, beathing steadily. Logan walked over, checking her over.
"She'll be fine if we get her ta the Infirmary", he said, then looked at Josh, slapping him on the shoulder, "well done, Kid. You're gonna make on hell of an X-Man"
Josh nodded weakly, his efforts had exhausted him.
"…She was the only one….with a bit of life in her", he said, "…couldn't do….others"
Jean sighed, walking over to lift him with her TK, looking once more at the death left behind.
"Lets get these guys home", she whispered.
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(1) – Dory quote, I love it, I love her little fishy face and little fishy voice as she says it. Dory rocks!
(2) – As I've mentioned before, all Guthrie names are the proper ones, except for Nell, who I named myself, as she has never been named in the comics. The powers are all the same too. Yup.
(3) – From Cheaper by the Dozen.
(4) – A altered Mushu quote from Mulan. I've wanted to use that one with Lucid forever!
Oh death, oh disaster! Do review. Until next time…