Gifts and Curses
By Todd Fan
Disclaimer: "Magic, you fickle bitch"
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Chapter 33 – Family reunions
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"Don't be dead, don't be dead, don't be dead, don't be dead"
Logan gave Storm a glare as she paced back and forward, apparently oblivious to the hurricane currently making mincemeat of the Institutes garden.
"Ororo, ya not helping", he said.
"That's the point, isn't it?", she said with a sob, "if I hadn't of intervened, he wouldn't have had to fight, and he wouldn't be underapileofrubbleandproabablydead"
Magneto rolled his eyes, shifting another huge pile of debris.
"Well, you could be using your abilities to help us move this stuff", he muttered.
Storm narrowed her eyes, thunder crackling.
"You can just shut up", she snapped, "you have no say in this, you don't even know Forge!"
"Ororo, please, calm down", said Xavier, "we'll get him out"
"Found him", said Piotr, in his metallic form as he pulled Forge's unconscious form out of the rubble.
"He's alive", said Logan, sniffing the air, "but barely"
"We'll get him down to the Infirmary now", said Hank, motioning Hank to follow him.
Storm narrowed her eyes as she trailed after.
"Forge, I forbid you to die", she said, "you hear me? No!"
"…That woman goes from manic to sad to angry in a second", said Magneto.
"Yes", Xavier cleared his throat, "that's Ororo for you"
He frowned.
"….I don't know how she'd react if we lose Forge", he said, "he's one of the few people she'll open up to….and vise versa"
"Even if they do save Forge", said Rogue, "what about Imara?"
"Amanda vill save her", said Kurt, "I'm sure of it"
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In the dark depths of Limbo, Amanda and Roma stepped through the porthole.
"Where will we find this thing?", asked Amanda.
"No doubt, he will show himself", frowned Roma, "though I'd rather we had the element of surprise"
There was a scuffling sound as something in the shadows moved towards them. Roma nodded towards it, forming a magical blast in her hand. Within moments, S'ym came out, looking panicked. He stopped in his tracks when he saw the two women, giving a whimper, crawling over to them on his hands and knees.
"Please, help S'ym", he said, "the Adversary is after him"
"You, demon, freed the Adversary", growled Roma, "you deserve no help from me"
She smirked.
"I should give you the same fate as N'sarith" (1)
S'ym's eyes widened in terror.
"Oh, please no", he begged, "anything but that".
"Then tell us where the Adversary is", said Roma with darkened pleasantly in her voice.
S'ym whimpered, glancing around worriedly, before pointing down one of the many tunnels.
"He is there", he said, "with a mutant child"
Roma frowned.
"You better not have tricked us, demon", she said, leading Amanda down the tunnels.
S'ym watched them leave, before whimpering, running off down a different tunnel system. Amanda and Roma followed the dark tunnel, Amanda forming a ball of light in her hands, giving a little light in the tunnel, which opened into the throne room that once belonged to Belasco. There, the Adversary, clearly weakened, was holding Imara in one hand, his free hand held by her head, claws deadly close to the youngster.
"Come any closer, and I kill her", he snarled.
"Aren't you going to do that anyway?", asked Roma.
"Lemmie go!", snapped Imara, squirming in his grasp, "put me down, fight fair! You hurt my Daddy, you meanie!"
"She has spirit, I have to give her that", smirked the Adversary, "she has a great potential. It is a pity I have to waste it. I can not chance that potential being something turned against me"
"She's a kid!", snapped Amanda, "you're going to kill a defenseless child?"
"I'm not a child, I'm a kid!", snapped Imara, then promptly bit the Adversary's hand.
"Damnit", he hissed, tightening his grip on her, "little brat"
Amanda narrowed her eyes, throwing off a blast of magic at him, causing him to stagger back a bit.
"Put her down and fight a real threat", she said.
"Oh, how precious, I know you now", smirked the Adversary, "you're the keeper of the way. How is Margali? She dead yet?"
"Leave my mother out of this", snapped Amanda.
"Why not?", he smirked, "she's stayed out of everything of her own free will already"
Amanda was about to retort when something smacked against her foot. She looked down, seeing the soul sword. Hiding in an alcove was S'ym, who blinked at her, then vanished into the darkness.
"Treachery!", snapped the Adversary.
Amanda smirked, picking up the sword, pointing it as the Adversary
"Bring it on, Cuddle-Me-Elmo"
The Adversary smirked, putting Imara down.
"Not alone", he said, "I am not suicidal. I know I don't stand a chance against the sword in my weakened state"
He chuckled.
"But….with an army", he gave a sinister smirk, "perhaps, one close to your heart, my dear"
He opened a porthole with a cackle, a swarm of small creatures pouring out. Little blue demonic creatures…
"Little…Kurts?", Amanda blinked.
One of the 'Kurts' growled at her, showing sharp little fangs.
"We are not 'Kurt'", he said, "we are the Bamfs! And toots, you're in trouble!" (2)
Several of them teleported at once, landing on her back and head, trying to wrestle her to the ground. Roma narrowed her eyes, firing off blasts of energy, the Bamfs laughing as they teleported out of harms way. The Adversary smirked, turning to Imara.
"And now, to finish you off", he smirked, before crying in pain as something hit him in the side.
He snarled, turning to see Naze standing to one side, a smirk on his face, his beloved shotgun aimed at the demon.
"I killed you", snarled the Adversary, "I watched you die!"
"I got better", said Naze, "this is what I do" (3)
The Adversary growled, clutching his side.
"Nice play, old man", he growled, "but it is too late for you. Your beloved 'Maker' is gone"
"Wrong again", said Naze, "Forge is very much alive. Tut tut, you're getting sloppy"
The Adversary snarled, stalking over to him.
"You will not win", he said, "I am the Adversary, I cannot be beat…."
He trailed off as he felt something dig into his back. He gave a hiss, turning to see Amanda, having drove the soul sword into his back.
"You little…", he chocked out, before slumping to the ground.
Roma walked over quickly, forming a porthole, pushing the Adversary inside as she pulled out the sword.
"You should have let me finish him!", said Amanda.
"No", said Roma, "as evil as he is, the world cannot exist without him. He allows change to happen, without him, the world would never progress. He just needs to be reigned in"
She smiled, handing the sword to Amanda, inclining her head.
"As is now your scared duty, Guardian of the Way"
Amanda blinked, taking the sword watching it glisten in her hands. In the other side of the room, Naze picked up Imara, giving her a smile.
"You okay?", he asked.
"He tastes like rotten pickles", she grimaced, then blinked curiously at him, "who're you?"
Naze coughed, shifting uneasily.
"Umm….I think it's best we get you back to your father", he said, then looked at Roma, "stop at my reservation, will you, Roma? There's a young lady there that wants to see her brother very much"
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Back at the mansion, the X-Men could do nothing but wait and worry. The weather, at least had clamed, which hopefully was an indicator that Storm herself had calmed. The rain, however, still beat down heavily.
"This waiting is driving me crazy", complained Magneto, resting his hand on his helmeted head, with much discomfort.
"Erik, you don't have to wear that helmet here", said Xavier with a patient sigh, "I'm not going to do anything to you"
"It's not you I'm worried about", muttered Magneto, "it's the telepath-illusionist that wants to fry my brain from the inside out that I'm worried about"
"Oh, I'm sure Jason wouldn't do that", said Xavier.
"Oh yes, Jason would", said Jason.
"Okay, I apologize for blackmailing you", said Magneto, "why do you insist on being so hostile?"
"It's a way of saying 'thank you' for giving me less time to spend with my daughter before she died", said Jason, giving a dry smirk, "thanks for that"
"Your daughter died?", blinked Magneto.
"Yeah, she died giving birth to Celeste", said Jason, "I actually knew her properly for a grand total of about a year".
"Oh", Magneto frowned, "I'm sorry"
"Sorry", Piotr shook his head, "as if that makes it better. I don't even know where Illyana is. You remember her? The little girl you kidnapped?"
"He was not that bad, brother", came a little voice, "he was being quite nice to me actually"
Piotr blinked, confused, then turned to look behind him. Standing there was Illyana. Now freed from the influences of the sword and limbo, she had reverted back to human, to her seven year old form. She gave him a small smile.
"Hello bratt", she said. (4)
Piotr blinked in shock, unsure if she was real, before running over to her, pulling her into a hug.
"Illyana!", he said, hugging her close, speaking in Russian, "I was so worried about you, Snowflake"
"Squeezing…hard", squeaked his sister in Russian.(5)
"Oh…sorry", coughed Piotr, loosening his hold, reverting back to English, then brushed a hand through her hair, "where were you, Snowflake?"
"Causing havoc in Limbo", said Roma, crossing her arms.
"He should not have tried to kidnap me", sniffed Illyana, "he got what he deserved"
Rogue chuckled walking over and ruffling her hair with a gloved hand.
"There's hope for you yet", she teased.
"Rogue!", giggled Illyana, hugging her, "you kept Piotr from getting too worried, yes?"
"A'h tried, Hon", chuckled Rogue, "it's good to see you back, Kido"
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In the infirmary of the mansion, Forge woke groggily to the sound of rain lashing at the windows.
"Whatever I did, I didn't do it", he groaned, putting a hand to his head tenderly.
Storm looked up from where she'd been sitting miserably in a chair, giving a teary smile.
"Forge", she said, getting up kissing his forehead, "I thought I'd lost you"
"Nah", said Forge, "you know me, 'Ro. It'll take more than a demon to get rid of me"
He tried to sit up and winced, lying back down.
"Okay, remind me not to try that again"
Storm looked away sadly, closing her eyes. Forge frowned, looking at her worriedly.
"Ororo?", he asked, "…What is it? 'Ro?"
He paled suddenly.
"It's not Imara, is it?", he asked, "….nothing happened to her…."
"No", said Storm with a chocked sob, "she….she was saved. She's sleeping right now…your grandfather brought her home"
"Oh", Forge sighed, then looked at her, "so…what is it?"
Hank cleared his throat from where he'd been standing in the corner.
"Forge, Josh managed to heal you up well enough to save your life…though I'm afraid there was a problem"
"What problem?", said Forge, trying to sit up again, "oww…..wait….I know that pain"
He gave the sheet covering him a prod, his finger going right through where his right leg should have been.
"…Oh"
Storm sighed, curling up on the bed next to him.
"I'm sorry, Handsome", she said, "we tried, but…Elixir can't regrow limbs. I…I wish I could do something.." (6)
"Don't' worry about it", said Forge giving her a hug, or as close to one as he could manage.
"…..But…this is awful…", whispered Storm.
"I've already lost on limb, 'Ro", said Forge, "I went through all the angst and crap when I lost my arm. Besides, I can make a new leg"
"We can rebuild him. We have the technology", started Hank, then paused as the two glared at him, "too insensitive?...Sorry" (7)
Forge chuckled, shaking his head, then arched a brow as Roma walked in, followed by Naze.
"You did well, Maker", commented Roma.
"No thanks to you, you slacker", said Forge.
"I'm impressed" said Roma, with a smile, "it took the other Forges years to figure the one about combining talents out"
"The other Mes didn't have 20 years worth of thinking time", shrugged Forge, then looked at Naze, "Is Imara okay?"
"She's fine", said Naze, "as is your mother. Perhaps I'm not so doddering after all, mm?"
"Maybe", said Forge, then sighed, "thank you..Gramps"
Naze smiled softly.
"You haven't called me that for years", he said, then smiled at Storm, "hello"
Forge glanced at the pair, then sighed defeatedly.
"Ororo, my grandfather, Gramps, my wife"
"It's a pleasure to meet you at last", said Storm, holding out her hand.
"The pleasure is all mine", said Naze, kissing her hand and smirking at Forge, "whooo, is she gorgeous. If I were a few years younger, I'd give you a run for your money" (8)
"Okay, do you want to go back to being ignored?", asked Forge
"…..I'll stop now", said Naze sheepishly.
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Kurt had been sitting on his balcony, as he was prone to do whenever anything got him down. It gave him somewhere to think, and most people knew to leave him alone when he was there…..well, most people. There was a pop as Amanda stepped out of a porthole, carrying a small cage in one hand, the soul sword tied to her back.
"Kurt?"
Kurt turned to look at her with a sad smile.
"Amanda", he said, then sighed, "that uniform looks good on you"
"Thanks", she smiled, blushing slightly, walking over to him, "how're you holding up?"
"Okay, I guess", he said, "I mean, everyone's fine, and Piotr got his sister back…"
"I didn't ask how everyone else was doing, I asked how you were doing", said Amanda pointedly.
Kurt sighed, glancing out at the grounds.
"Vishing things vere different", he said, "or rather, that they never changed. But I know they're never going to be the same again, are they?"
"Afraid not, Blue", she sighed, then held the cage up at him, "lookit what I found"
"Mein gott!", squeaked Kurt, backing away form the little creature in the cage, "vhat is that"
"It's a Bamf", said Amanda, "I figured, if I couldn't keep the real Nightcrawler, I could have a cheap knock-off. I call him Bert"
Kurt grimaced at the little version of himself, who began swearing profanities at Amanda, her mother, and her second-aunts-sister-in-laws-cousin.
"….Um…..", he paused, giving Amanda a look normally reserved for crazy people.
Amanda smirked.
"Kurt, I'm kidding", she said, "I'm keeping this one to try and figure out more stuff about his home dimensions. Besides, his name isn't Bert, it's Ernie"
"Lovely", said Kurt as 'Ernie' gave him the finger.
Amanda smirked, putting the cage to down give the real deal a hug.
"Kurt, I'm gonna miss you so much", she said, "you're the only person I've cared about more than anything in the world"
She sighed, burying her face in his fur.
"But we can't go on like this", she said, "we need a clean break. I have to go and live in Limbo, keep everything running….I don't want you sitting here miserably, missing out on any opportunity for love again"
Kurt looked down sadly.
"I doubt that vould happen much for me, Amanda", he said quietly.
"Are you kidding?", said Amanda, "you're one hell of a catch. You're sweet, and thoughtful, and gentle, you have a prehensile tail…big bonus, by the way"
Kurt's fur turned a light indigo.
"Amanda"
"Sorry, couldn't resist", she chuckled, hugging him, "I'm gonna miss you, Blue, but promise me you'll move on, when the chance comes"
Kurt sighed, hugging her close.
"I promise", he whispered, "…I'll miss you Amanda"
"I know", she said, "hey you can visit if you want. As friends?"
"Ja", said Kurt quietly, "…as friends"
"I'm sorry, Kurt", she said, "It's not fair. But…I've learned a lot since working with Doctor Strange. I…I know where I belong now. I got the whole world to look out for"
"I don't think the vorld vould be in better hands", he said with a sad smile.
Amanda smiled, kissing his cheek.
"See you around, Blue", she said, picking up 'Ernie' in his cage, "I'll be keeping an eye on you, so don't be too miserable"
With that, a porthole opened in front of her, and she stepped inside, vanishing with a pop. Kurt, sighed, looking at the empty space, before plodding into his room.
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(1) - N'sarith is a cannon character. Tried to take over Limbo. Can't be bothered to go into too much detail with him, as it involves the Goblyn Queen, and there's no way I'm opening that can of worms.
(2) – The Bamfs are another cannon thing. Originally created by Kitty's imagination, they live in the Well at the Centre of Time. Evil little buggers, even if they're cute as buttons.
(3) – Naze is like, well over a hundred in the comics, and seems to die a lot, only to come back. If I didn't know better, I'd say he was a mutant with immortality.
(4) – Russian phonetic spelling for brother.
(5) – Normally, I got out of my way to have other languages spoken properly, and just translated in footnotes. Sadly, I can't find a phonetic Russian dictionary that does sentences. Alas.
(6) – Sorry. It annoyed the crap out of me that Evo Forge didn't have a bionic leg, which is one of the main features of his character. So, I fixed…or rather, unfixed it.
(7) – The opening of the Six Million Dollar Man. A 70's show about a bionic man, if you didn't know.
(8) – Naze is a womaniser. These are the words he thinks to himself when he first meets Storm. Dirty old man.
Yeah, as if I'd kill Forge. That's crazy-person talk! If you didn't guess, we're coming close to the end of this chronicle. Only three chapters left, a bachelor party, a wedding and a tie up. Do review. Until next time…