Shout outs:
Winblades: Pretty much yeah it will, and that sounded like a nice comic, whish I saw it.
Ldypebsaby: Not sure if you'll see him again, maybe much later but I'm not sure.
Mark C: You may see him again but I'm not sure. You have no idea how worse it will be. Yeah there's going to be a huge Logan/Deathstrike confrontation later on.
Lil Jean: Don't worry there will be more Jean in this and later on. We can't focus on just her all the time but hopefully there will be enough for you.
Damn-my-name-was-taken: From what I remember you may be too young for future chapters they get kind of graphic in this hence the R rating just a warning to ya.
The Uncanny R-Man: You know what, I never really read anything about Selene I just went by her looks and acts and write what I think she would be like. Either I'm very lucky or insightful. Look for more Piotr/Kitty and Kurt/Wanda later on. Glad you liked the Deadpool stuff, and I wanted to have Deadpool's face and Scott was the only one to do it. Well there is no Phoenix in this story but what happened to her will basically happen too.
Thanks to: X00001, fireinu, Wenl, TheLegendaryManHimself, Episodic, Whisper, X00001
HELLFIRE AND BRIMSTONE
CHAPTER 5: DARK THOUGHTSJean was back at the Institute walking the halls. She was back in her jeans and yellow shirt and opened the door to Scott's room. He was sitting there on his bed looking depressed, but when he saw Jean his face lit up. "Jean!" He ran to her hugging her close. "Oh God Jean, I was so worried!" He pulled back and cupped her face looking into her eyes.
She smiled at him. "Don't worry Slim. Everything is fine now."
"How did you get away?"
Jean gave him a curious look. "Who said I got away." He was about to ask what she meant when he suddenly found himself flung to the far wall with her powers.
"Jean…W-what…" He tried to ask her what was going on, but the force was too great on him. He saw her face change into someone with pure hatred. It was a look he had never seen before.
"You let them take me! You were supposed to be there for me Scott and you weren't! But now I understand. You and the others…You were holding me back!" She walked up to Scott and used her powers again. "The only way I can go forward…Is to destroy you all. And you're the first Scott, for making me so weak." She spat out the word weak like it was a dirty word and Scott screamed out as he felt the pressure in his head increase.
He screamed as blood started to flow out of his nose, ears and eyes, but his shades kept it all in blinding him. Then he stopped screaming and she let his now limp corpse fall to the ground. She smiled looking down at him and kicked the body. She walked out of the room and saw Logan running towards her.
"Red! What's going on I heard screaming!" Logan said to her but thought something wasn't right with her, with how she was looking at him. "Jean…What's wrong?"
"All of this! That's what's wrong, but I can fix that." She said smiling cruelly at him. "You know…I always wanted to see what the adamantium skeleton of yours looked like." Logan felt his body float up and a pain he had never felt. He roared out in pain, but in a few seconds Jean had ripped all the flesh from his body leaving a gory blood covered metallic skeleton.
"What's going on here-OH GOD!" Ororo screamed out seeing Logan's remains covering her mouth. Jean flicked her hand and Logan's arm extended and the claws came out right before it shot out across the room impaling itself into Ororo's chest. Jean went through the entire mansion killing everyone in there.
She finally came to the foyer and found Xavier there. "Jean...What have you done?" He asked horrified.
She smiled down at him. "Getting rid of all the dead weight. Like you…Old fool." She lifted him by his neck with her powers and he tried to fight her, but she was too strong. She was stronger then ever now. "Time for you to die like your pathetic dream!" She snapped his neck and he fell to the floor.
She walked out to the gates and looked back at the mansion and extended her arms and slowly brought her arms together. As she did this, the mansion crumbled and fell into itself. "Very good." She heard a voice and clapping. She turned and saw the Inner Circle there. She saw Shaw was the one clapping. "You are truly worthy of the title of Red Queen."
"Thank you my king." Jean bowed.
It was at that point that Jean bolted up in bed in a cold sweat on the verge of screaming. She looked around and they were still in the prison room of the Hellfire Club. For the past three days, Jason Wyngarde had been implanting those nightmares into their heads. She knew it was a way of mentally breaking them and she wouldn't let him fool her. But it was taking a toll on her and Rogue. They were growing very tired from the lack of sleep and she knew once they were weakened enough, they would try a mental assault on them so they couldn't fight back.
She turned to see Rogue tossing and turning and knew she was having the same nightmare.
In Rogue's dream it was basically the same. Only she had complete control over her powers and absorbed everyone to death and had their powers. But the scary part was that she was enjoying the power she felt. The more she had, the better she felt. She killed them all, even her brother Kurt. He had pleaded with her and tried to get her to stop, but she had killed him in the end.
She was in front of the mansion watching it burn in the fires she made from Amara's powers. "You've done well." She turned to see Mystique walking to her. "You've made me proud…My sweet little Rogue. You truly are my daughter now. You have done what I never could." She looked at Rogue with a proud expression and smiled. "You are just like me."
Normally that would have hurt Rogue more than anything to hear those words, but now she smiled. "Thank you mama, that means a lot to me."
"Come Rogue, there's a lot we have to do." Mystique said and turned.
Rogue smirked. "A few things though, first I am the Green Knight and second…" She used Scott's power to blow a hole right through the blue shape sifter so that her lower torso was blown away, cutting her in half. Rogue looked down at the body of her 'mother' and laughed. "I am more than you ever were."
That was the point when Rogue woke up with a scream and found Jean next to her. "Rogue, it's alright. It's over." Jean said trying to comfort the girl. Rogue no longer had on any of her Gothic makeup on, for it had been washed off days ago and it wasn't like she had anything else to replace the make up with.
"Oh God, this is gettin' too much." Rogue said softly hugging her knees to her chest.
"I know, but we have to hold out. The others will find us. We just have to hold out." Jean said with tears in her eyes, but she wasn't sure if she was trying to convince Rogue or herself.
Xavier Institute Infirmary – Gambit
Remy Lebeau wasn't sure whether or not he was alive or dead. It was all just one big mess of pain to him. He felt unable to move any of his limbs and his stomach felt like it was burning from the inside. He kept his eyes shut and tried to reorient himself. Gradually, the memories of what happened began to filter through his mind. He remembered the fight, he remembered Deathstrike, and he remembered Rogue. He heard faint voices in the background, but he couldn't make them out just yet. He was too weak even to open his eyes, but he managed to listen in on what was being said.
"First Jean, now Rogue?" said Charles Xavier to his long time friend Hank McCoy as they remained outside the open door to the infirmary where Remy was recovering, "Something is definitely going on here. These are without a doubt no isolated incidents or random kidnappings."
"Judging by the level of skill the captors had in apprehending them and in nearly killing whomever stood in their way, I would not refute that assumption Charles," replied Hank, not liking this situation anymore than the Professor.
"Yes…They seemed quite formidable. And if the individual whom attack Storm and I while we were carrying Scott out is any indication, the captors have quite a disturbing array of resources."
"But who could carry out such deeds?" thought Beast as he scratched his chin and pondered this grave issue.
"I'm not sure…" Xavier stated with a noticeable amount of frustration, "I could not detect the slightest presence of Jean or Rogue with Cerebro and I could not find any trace of the individual who assaulted us. It's as if they just disappeared along with their captors."
"Not a trace at all? How is that possible? The only kind of organization that could manage such psychic protection would be SHIELD, and I highly doubt that they would be behind this. Otherwise they would have used their own men. I never figured Fury to be the one to trust mercenaries."
"We can't worry about that now Hank," replied Xavier, "Our main focus is to find Jean and Rogue. We can worry about the details later."
"Agreed Charles…But where to we begin?"
The Professor rested his tired head in his hands after using Cerebro at such high levels only to find no trace of his two missing students.
"I don't know Hank…I really don't."
As the voices outside became clearer, Gambit began to stir. Although he felt like every limb of his body was still under a tremendous weight, he managed slightly move his arms and legs. He was still woozy and incoherent, but he fought the feeling and managed to open his eyes to the blinding fluorescent lights. Immediately, he let out a pained groan.
"Aw hell…Too bright."
But as his vision adjusted, he suddenly realized that he was not alone. Somebody was by his bedside.
"You were in bad shape comrade," said a familiar Russian voice, "Hank says you're lucky to be alive."
"Peter…Is dat you homme?" said the injured Cajun as he squinted to make out the large figure before him.
"In the flesh…Or metal," joked Colossus with a grin.
"How long has Gambit been out?" He noticed the IV in his arm and that he didn't have a shirt on but didn't see the stitches with the sheet covering his torso.
"Three days." Piotr told him.
"Three days!?" He sat up and winched as he felt the stitches in his stomach give him a stabbing pain.
"I would not advise you to sit up Gambit," said Colossus as he helped his friend lay back down, "You took two deep stab wounds in the stomach. They did a lot of damage, but you should heal."
"Remy's survived worse…" grunted Gambit as he struggled to catch his breath from the pain.
"I don't doubt that. But either way, you should rest now and recover your strength."
"No…Gambit can't do that! Dey got Rogue!" grunted Gambit with determination.
"Who…Who has Rogue?" came a new voice from the doorway.
Just then, three new figures entered the room. It was Professor Xavier, Beast, and Logan. Immediately, the Cajun began to tense up. To them, he thought he was still an enemy, especially with Logan in the room after he had still been suspicious of him earlier despite the obvious stab wounds in his stomach. But after kidnapping Rogue a while back, he could hardly blame him.
"Please Gambit," coaxed the Professor, trying to portray his sincerity towards the weary Cajun despite Logan's continuous scowl, "We only wish to find her."
Gambit let out a pained sigh as the feeling in his stomach grew worse as if he had just eaten something Kitty had baked.
"Gambit don't know who exactly dey were…But dey were definitely no ordinary kidnappers. Dey all had some strange voodoo dat didn't seem natural. Half human, half machine."
"You mean cybernetically enhanced humans?" inquired Hanks.
Not being all too fluent on technical terms, Gambit was pretty sure that the good doctor was right.
"Probably. Dey were strong and dey just wanted Rogue. Remy tried to step in…But I failed. Remy got distracted when dey grabbed her and dat crazy leader lady o' dere's stabbed me an' left me for dead."
"Crazy lady…Who was she?!" demanded Logan in a tone that surprised his friends.
Remy rubbed the temples on his head as he recalled the painful experience all over again, but knew that it would be best to tell them what he knew, that way Rogue would have a better chance at being rescued and he could make up for his failure to save her.
"Some Japanese lady," Remy answered, and he described her as best he could. Suddenly, a brief image flashed before Logan's eyes and he stood paralyzed as the strange, fuzzy memory.
"She was one crazy bitch," continued Gambit, "She had dese strange claw hands dat sliced through anythin'. Adamantium from de looks of it."
Again, another image appeared before Logan, this time more clearly than all the previous ones before. He clearly saw the face of a distinct, Japanese woman. Every feature was so clear, so vivid, it was almost as if he could reach out and touch her. However, the others seemed oblivious to Logan's predicament as Xavier pressed onward.
"Can your remember anything else Mr. Lebeau? Anything at all that may help us find Rogue?"
Gambit once again sighed in defeat as he festering pain in his stomach continued to sting. He had come to Bayville in hopes of reconciling with Rogue, but instead had let some psycho lady kidnap her and take to who knows where. It seemed he carried the burden of his bad luck wherever he went and only spread it to those least deserving of it. There was little he could do now as he once again felt himself at a loss.
"No…Dat's all Professor. Gambit's sorry he couldn't help her. It's Gambit's fault she's gone."
Xavier could sense some genuine sincerity in the Cajun thief's mind. Normally, it was rare that somebody with a mind like Remy would project his thoughts and emotions so loudly, but in this case that mental control seemed to falter the more he thought of Rogue. There was a great deal of guilt on his part and Charles Xavier couldn't help but sympathize for the man's predicament, despite his past dealings as an enemy.
"Do not blame yourself Gambit. I believe you," said Xavier much to the Cajun's surprise, "You nearly died trying to protect her and you nearly died simply trying to warn us. I assure you, we will find Rogue. And we'll inform you something come up. But in the meantime, you're welcome to stay as long as you like so you can recover from your injuries."
Gambit didn't know what to say. It was more than he ever could have hoped for knowing his luck in the past. But deserving or not, he knew he couldn't leave in his state. And for his help and acceptance, the Cajun was grateful.
"T'anks Professor. And you have Gambit's word…As soon as you find out where Rogue is, Gambit will help bring her back safe and sound. Thieves honor."
The Professor gave the Cajun one last smile and made his way out with Hank and Logan while Piotr was left to monitor Gambit's health in case something went wrong. As soon as they were out, Hank quickly questioned the Professor's willingness to accept Gambit's pleas.
"Are you sure it is wise to trust him so quickly Charles?" asked Hank.
"From what I can sense, he is not a bad man at heart," assured Xavier to his long time friend as they headed back down the hall, "He's simply been dealt a bad hand in life, he may have done things that may not have been entirely honorable, but I get the feeling he wants to change. I don't doubt his sincerity. That choice is mine. Besides, I feel we owe it to him after nearly sacrificing his life trying to protect Rogue."
Xavier's word was good enough for Beast, for he didn't question the Professor any further. As they slowly wheeled down the metallic hallway, they looked back to notice Logan still standing outside the doorway in a strange daze. He looked as though he was now lost in his own world.
"Logan, are you okay? You seem troubled," said Xavier.
Logan didn't respond. He merely kept thinking about the strange images caused by Gambit's description of the woman that attacked him and Rogue. He still remembered the faint scent of cherry blossoms and the more he thought about these hazy memories, the crazier they drove him. He still didn't know what they meant. He knew that they had some deeper meaning, but he just couldn't pinpoint what exactly that meaning was.
"Logan?" asked Xavier again upon not receiving a response.
"I'm fine…" Logan quickly responded as he made a quick dash to the elevator before he could ask any more questions.
"What was that about?" inquired Hank as both he and the Professor watched Logan run off.
Once Logan was assured that nobody else was around, he clutched his head and growled at the confusion he felt. He wanted to just scream and make it all go away, but at the same time he wanted to know. However, the only thing that hung strong in his mind was that one name.
'Yuriko…'
Xavier Institute Infermiry – Scott
There was darkness around him, yet he could make out strange, fuzzy images before him. Scott Summers didn't know whether or not this was a dream, if he was in a coma, or stuck in some tortured limbo. But the images soon cleared up…And he was able to make out his surroundings, or rather lack of.
Everybody around him seemed either dead or unconscious. Before him stood endless amounts of rubble and the ground around him was smoldering. Looking around the immediate area, Scott let out a gasp of horror as he recognized this place and knew then where he was standing.
'The institute…' he though as he took in the ghastly sight.
It was unmistakable…This was the institute. And it was all gone. Scott's heart rate began to soar as he tried to tell himself that this was a bad dream…Then suddenly, he saw something out of the corner of his eye. Quickly, he turned around and gasped.
"Jean!" he yelled out to her.
But she didn't respond. She was floating above the ruins of the front step of the mansion. Her eyes were closed, her body was still, and there were tears streaming down her face. As fast as he could, Scott ran up to her. Something was wrong…He could feel it.
'Jean! Jean it's me!" urged Scott as he approached her.
Then, Jean opened her tear-stained eyes. The sight was almost too much for Scott to bear, for the pain he saw within her was just too overwhelming. She was hurting, he could feel it through their link. Then, she suddenly heard her speak in a weak voice.
"Scott…Please help me…" she cried.
"I'm coming Jean!"
Then suddenly, he heard a horrible laughing sound echo from all directions. It was a sound that made his skin crawl and sent a shiver up and down his spine. He tried to run up to the woman he loved, but was suddenly blocked by the appearance of a strange man in a cloak. Then, a strange barrier surrounded him and he was unable to go any further. The laughter continued as the strange man, stood beside a crying Jean. Each sob burned like a red hot needle in Scott's soul, but he was powerless. He tried using his optic blasts, but nothing came. He tried to shut out Jean's cries, but he didn't have the strength.
"The girl is under my power now! You cannot help her!" taunted the stranger.
"No!" yelled Scott as he banged upon the strange barrier as he hear Jean cry more.
Then suddenly, the ground began to shake violently, and a new presence appeared before him. This time, it was dark haired man in old style clothing. His presence now dominated as he approached Jean and slid his hand down Jean's face with a sinister grin. Scott kept raging onward, trying to break out but to no avail.
"Jean is mine now Mr. Summers. Take one last look…For she belongs to me and nobody else now!" bellowed the man as his fingers turned into strange tentacle-like structures and engulfed Jean's body.
Scott tried to reach out to her, but he remained trapped. Then, the last thing he heard over the sickening laughter was one last cry from Jean.
"Scott!!!"
"NO! Jean!!!"
Then suddenly, everything went black.
"Scott! Scott wake up!" urged a familiar voice.
Suddenly, Scott bolted up out of the hospital bed he was laying in and felt a cold sweat engulf his weakened body. For the past few days he had been plagued by nightmares of Jean in trouble. The Professor, Hank, and Kitty were present and the fell back in shock upon seeing Scott's sudden reaction. He tried to catch his breath now as he rested his aching head within his hands. Xavier could sense his disposition and slowly wheeled over towards him.
"Scott…Are you okay? You looked as though you were having another nightmare," said Xavier as he wheeled next to his bedside.
Scott didn't respond. He just kept thinking of the dream he had just had and Jean's desperate cries that echoed in his head like a constant reminder of his failure to protect her.
"Scott," said Kitty as she approached her friend with Hank, "What, like, happened? You were acting like something right out of the twilight zone."
As Scott managed to catch his breath, the memory of what happened began to clarify. It hurt to think about and it only compounded his current state of being. But never-the-less, he kept managed to speak.
"It's Jean…" said Scott weakly, still feeling fatigued from his injuries and the still fresh nightmare he had just experienced, "She's in trouble…She's in pain. I can feel it. They're doing something to her…They're using her…They're hurting her! We have to help her!"
"Easy Scott," said Hank as he saw him start to get a little hysterical, "You're in no condition to do anything. You must rest and regain your strength if you are to help Jean."
"No…" retorted Scott, not wanting to sit by while somebody tortured his soul mate, "I felt it. I know she's in pain. Somebody's hurting her…I can feel it." At least he thought it was, they had told him it might be because of his worry about Jean…They may be right he had to admit that, but there was a part of him that was worried that what he was dreaming about was real and he couldn't take the chance of that.
Xavier tried to comfort his first student, but he knew that there was only so much he could do for him. A full blast of Cerebro and an exhaustive search had led to no traces of Jean. Yet somehow, Scott was convinced that he knew what was happening to her and knew that somebody was hurting her. The Professor had always known about the strange bond that linked his first two students. Over the years, it had proved to be quite strong, such as the case when Jean managed to sense him all the way in Mexico when he couldn't. Yet Xavier could never fully explain it. But he knew to the extent of what they felt for each other, that much was clear. And it pained him to see Scott like this and it pained him even more to think about what could be happening to Jean right now.
"We'll find her Scott…I promise you," assured the Professor.
Jean's cries still echoed in his mind. It drove him crazy, being stuck in a bed while she was out there suffering. He couldn't take it anymore and collapsed once more Hank applied more sedative to help him rest.
"Poor Scott," mused Kitty as she saw the pained look on his face when he talked about Jean being in trouble, "I've never seen him like this before."
"Yes…I know Kitty. He's just worried for Jean, that's all," said Xavier as he looked over the sleeping form of his surrogate son, "He just blames himself for her capture. The guilt he's feeling is just so great…I truly wish that he would stop blaming himself for this."
"But do you think what he said is true Charles?" asked Hank as he finished applying Scott's medications, "Could Jean really be suffering as Scott so believes?"
Xavier bowed his head in defeat, not wanting to think about Jean being in such pain while he stood powerless to save her. But if the bond Scott and Jean shared was any indication, then he greatly feared exactly where this situation would lead.
"I don't know Hank…But given the gravity such events, we cannot rule anything out. I just hope we can find Jean and Rogue before they suffer any more undeserved wrath."
-Hellfire Club-
Jean and Rogue were waiting now, for it was the only thing they could do. Besides the two meals a day, there wasn't much in the way of activities. The door opened and they saw guards drag in the Canadian boy. He didn't look so good. He had more bruises and a few cuts along with some nasty marks and a few red stripes on his body. The guards flung him to the cold floor and just left him there, not even bothering to acknowledge the girls.
They went to him and turned him onto his back and he groaned. "Are ya alright?" Rogue asked him.
"Uh…I…really…really, hate that woman." He weakly got out. They helped him onto a bed and placed him gently on it.
"God how long are they going to do this to ya?" Rogue asked. She had no clue what they wanted or why he was putting up with all of this.
He groaned. "Until I talk, but I sure as hell don't want to give in to them." The two girls nodded know full well they didn't want to make this easy for these people. They heard the door open and Emma walked in with a med kit.
She came over to the bed and looked down at him. She tried to keep a neutral expression on her face, but her eyes said otherwise. "Damn that woman." She hissed out seeing him like this. She opened the kit and started to bandage and clean him up. "Well, I got good news and bad news." She told him. "The good news is that you're going to get a break so you can heal up a little."
"Let me guess…Then it's back to the fun room." Vincent said sarcastically. Emma didn't say anything, she just went on patching him up. He winched from her putting some alcohol onto the strip marks.
"God what the hell did those." Jean asked seeing the strip marks.
"A whip." Both Emma and Vince said at the same time and their eyes locked. They both knew what the other had gone through with that woman and that they both had had the 'pleasure' of that device.
"What about those?" Rogue asked seeing a few marks close together.
"Tazer." Both Emma and Vince said.
"Jinx." Vince said to Emma and despite herself, she couldn't help but smiled a little.
The door opened again and Harry Leland, the large redheaded man, walked in with a few guards. "You two ladies have an appointment now." Both girls looked at each other wondering if it was with Selene. "Don't worry, it's not the witch." He said smiling seeing the looks in their eyes.
"You, Jean, have a little personal meeting with Shaw." He looked to Rogue. "Tessa is ready for you too. You'll go under her manipulation of your powers and see if we can make some use of those abilities of yours after she's finished."
Rogue wanted to say something, but the last time she and Jean had tried to prevent them of grabbing Vincent their collars had shocked them into submission. It took them five minutes to just stand after that. So they both reluctantly went with him through the lower levels and up an elevator. They walked out onto one floor and as they reached an intersection, the guards took Jean one way and Leland took Rogue the other way.
Both girls gave the other a supportive glance. Jean was led down a hall as she briefly considered taking on the guards, but there were three of them with weapons and she was couldn't think of a way to disarm them all without one of them get a shot off. But without her powers and considering how tried she was, her odds weren't that good. She was led to a large door, but in front of it was the handsome man Jason Wynguarde. She glared at the man and he only smiled. "Having any interesting dreams lately?" He asked her and she was tempted to attack him collar or no collar.
The guards opened the door and she was led in.
Rogue was led in the opposite direction and was thinking of taking on Leland. He chuckled at her. "If you're thinking of attacking, let me give you some advice…Don't. Even if you did have your powers it would be difficult and now it would be impossible for you to even hurt me."
Rogue was tempted to try him anyways, but they reached an open door and saw it was a lab of some sort and she saw the pale looking Tessa there with her dark hair still up in a bun. "Lie down on the table please."
Rogue just stood there until Leland pushed her forward. "Do it, or else!" He said coldly and she laid down on the cold table. There were no windows in the room and there was machinery all over the place. They strapped her in and she looked as Tessa loomed over her. "This shouldn't hurt so just relax and look on the bright side. If this works, even without the collar you should be able to touch again."
That was one of Rogue's dreams, but this wasn't the way she wanted it to happen. But there was nothing she could do at the moment. She felt the woman press her hands to her head and Rogue closed her eyes as Tessa began to alter her mutation. However, there was a part of her that wished this would work, despite her current conditions.
NEXT UP CHAPTER 6: ESCAPISM