Disclaimer: Furor Paxx and VulgateOfEarth do not own the X-Men or any affiliates. All are the property of Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc and its various affiliates and partners. Phoenix Malcolm, Haiden Malcolm and all irregular characters are the sole property of Furor Paxx and are being used with permission.
~~ Pietro ~~
He caught up with Mystique, Storm and Kitty at the entrance of the skate park. Mystique nodded her welcome to him and Storm smiled, obviously relieved. Kitty didn't even bother hiding her joy at seeing another mutant, even if he was a member of the Brotherhood. She grabbed him in a bear hug that left Pietro literally gasping for breath. When Storm and Mystique finally pried Kitty off of him, he straightened his hair, glared at the teen and disappeared into the shadows. He was back in a minute, though, with flashlights and backpacks and rope.
Pietro set off carefully, weaving his way through the deep skateboarding pits and shattered glass, making sure the women kept an eye on him. They moved with all the grace of a buffalo herd and stepped on glass whenever they weren't slipping into the pits or running into walls. Pietro sighed and wished Freddie wasn't such a do-gooder. If he had been there, he could have carried the three women and still have kept up with Pietro.
Mystique searched the darkness for Pietro. She was moving clumsily and her eyes weren't adjusting properly to the darkness of the abandoned building. There was a flash of silver directly infront of her and she stopped abruptly to keep from running into him.
"Watch it. There's something about this place that makes it hard to use your powers. Follow my every move, if you shift to the side even an inch, you might fall and I'm not going after you." Pietro warned as he handed his flashlight to Storm. She pointed it down on the ground and Mystique saw that there was a sharp drop of about four feet to a ledge and a catwalk that led from there. There were bright, fluorescent footsteps painted on the floor and the lithe Quicksilver dropped onto the set painted on the ledge. He peered up at the three mutants and then called up. "Put the bags on and stuff the lights in your pants. Then just hop over the side and I'll catch you."
They looked at each other and then at Pietro, doubting that the slender mutant could manage the feat at all, much less in the dark. Sensing their hesitation, Pietro tapped his foot impatiently. Mystique decided to give Pietro a chance, after all, she had seen a nearby ledge that she could jump to if the first one gave way. She looked Storm in the eye, shrugged and stepped over the side.
Before her body realized it was falling, Pietro caught her. He was stronger than she had thought and for a moment the contact brought someone else to her mind, someone she had tried hard to forget. But a split second later he had plopped her on her feet on the next set of footprints and beckoned her to move forward. Kitty went next and grabbed hold of Pietro's neck in desperation. Mystique rolled her eyes at the look Kitty gave Pietro, even as his eyes were turned upward to catch Storm. If they got out of this alive, Kitty would definitely join the million other girls who fought to see who could keep the womanizer's attention longest. Mystique smirked, far more spectacular girls than Kitty Pryde had lasted less than a week with the cocky Pietro, and he boasted that not one of his girlfriends ever dumped him. Indeed, Mystique thought, after all the trouble they go through to get his attention it would be senseless to break up with him. Mystique thought back to the many telephone calls she had gotten about Pietro and the things he pressured his girlfriends into doing as she followed the glowing footsteps. It wasn't that he was a pervert, as far as anyone could tell he wasn't even interested in sex. He made the girls shoplift, disobey their parents, run the streets at night and basically see just how far he could push them to do his bidding. It was obvious that he just let them wear the title of his girlfriend because he was bored.
The catwalk led them to another ledge and Pietro inched past the women and pulled a trapdoor open. There were no translucent footsteps here and Pietro handed his flashlight to Kitty, who was closest, and she shone it down the ladder for him. Mystique noticed how slowly and carefully he chose his hand and footholds. Impatient Pietro was afraid of a misstep and his fear spelled Mystique's fear. Storm noticed as well and her smooth face creased with worry. Pietro reached the bottom and Kitty tossed the light to him. He shone it around for a moment, deciding where to go next and then shook his head.
"Without Freddie it's near impossible to go this way. You guys have no idea what to avoi-" he was cut off by a deep rumbling deep within the ground. He stood perfectly still, even closed his eyes and mouthed a prayer. When nothing more happened, he prepared to jump back to the ladder.
While Pietro was in midair, the ground shifted again. his hand brushed the intended rung and slipped to the next. For a moment it held and he breathed a sigh of relief. He smiled up at Mystique, who had shoved her way to the front, but the smile froze just as quickly as it appeared.
Tink.
The rung Pietro held on swung dangerously and everyone held their breath. Mystique tried to venture further down to help him, but the look in his eyes told her to keep her distance.
"Go back, tell Freddie it's not safe." There was a painful screeching sound as the metal rung bent more under Pietro's weight and with a final protest the last screw twisted and he lost his grip.
Pietro listened, blankly, as the other mutants called out to him. He waited for the ground to rush up to catch him, waited to feel the air pounded from his lungs and the ground to collapse beneath him, but he felt no impact at all, as if the ground had disappeared. Kitty was frantically screaming and Storm was trying to calm her. Mystique… she simply couldn't believe that he had actually fallen.
Pietro heard a clicking sound and then hit the ground. It wasn't at all as hard as he thought it would be, and he was up in a flash to get his bearings. He looked straight up in an effort to gauge how far he had fallen and saw a giant eye blink at him. Then giant pillars rose out of the ground and closed loosely around his slight frame. There was a rush of wind as Pietro was elevated by his small section of earth and the next thing he knew, he was staring into the face of a giant monster. The jolt of fear he got when he realized that he was doomed more surely than if he had run in front of a train, shook his nerve completely.
Storm had coaxed Kitty and Mystique halfway out of the skate park when Pietro's desperate cry rang through the early morning. It was halted abruptly and Storm forcefully pushed Mystique and Kitty to the exit. The bright sunrise greeted them, a mockery of the suffering they had all endured since it last abandoned them.
Then the floor vanished from beneath them, and they tumbled, finally coming to rest on a patch of spongy earth. Kitty landed right on top of Pietro and came up screaming, not caring whether she was heard by humans or not. Mystique rushed to Pietro, checking his pulse and breathing while Storm just stared straight ahead.
"Who are you?" She asked, not really expecting an answer.
"I am the last friendly face you shall ever see, I'm afraid. Whatever possessed you to enter the Immortal's Prison?"
"What?" Mystique looked up, satisfied that Pietro was merely unconscious.
"If he doesn't eat you, he will enslave you. You will probably make better slaves than meals, though, not that I envy you."
"Speak clearly. Why are you in that thing?"
A harsh, grating noise seemed to come from everywhere at once.
"I hope your friend died of fright, otherwise he'll suffer too. The Immortal is very generous with pain and humiliation." In answer, the ground sprung up beneath the mutants, forcing them to their knees. They were tossed in a cage with bars that looked like angels' wings in the half-light, but may as well have been adamantium.
"Slaves, no doubt about it." The voice said again, somehow managing to be heard through the awful noise.
"Maybe you will get sick and die. I will speak to the fates, though I doubt they will listen to me. They didn't listen all the other times."
The Immortal One curled up again, forcing itself to sleep so that it may better enjoy the entertainment of the mutants later. It had plans and the little food creature knew what they were.
After all, it only needed one messenger of the universe's new transfer of ownership, the boy moved quicker than the others, and they were women, after all. The food creatures had killed all their women and children long ago, leaving only the seasoned warriors. Yes, thought the monster. It would be nice to have female company again.
~~ Pietro ~~
He caught up with Mystique, Storm and Kitty at the entrance of the skate park. Mystique nodded her welcome to him and Storm smiled, obviously relieved. Kitty didn't even bother hiding her joy at seeing another mutant, even if he was a member of the Brotherhood. She grabbed him in a bear hug that left Pietro literally gasping for breath. When Storm and Mystique finally pried Kitty off of him, he straightened his hair, glared at the teen and disappeared into the shadows. He was back in a minute, though, with flashlights and backpacks and rope.
Pietro set off carefully, weaving his way through the deep skateboarding pits and shattered glass, making sure the women kept an eye on him. They moved with all the grace of a buffalo herd and stepped on glass whenever they weren't slipping into the pits or running into walls. Pietro sighed and wished Freddie wasn't such a do-gooder. If he had been there, he could have carried the three women and still have kept up with Pietro.
Mystique searched the darkness for Pietro. She was moving clumsily and her eyes weren't adjusting properly to the darkness of the abandoned building. There was a flash of silver directly infront of her and she stopped abruptly to keep from running into him.
"Watch it. There's something about this place that makes it hard to use your powers. Follow my every move, if you shift to the side even an inch, you might fall and I'm not going after you." Pietro warned as he handed his flashlight to Storm. She pointed it down on the ground and Mystique saw that there was a sharp drop of about four feet to a ledge and a catwalk that led from there. There were bright, fluorescent footsteps painted on the floor and the lithe Quicksilver dropped onto the set painted on the ledge. He peered up at the three mutants and then called up. "Put the bags on and stuff the lights in your pants. Then just hop over the side and I'll catch you."
They looked at each other and then at Pietro, doubting that the slender mutant could manage the feat at all, much less in the dark. Sensing their hesitation, Pietro tapped his foot impatiently. Mystique decided to give Pietro a chance, after all, she had seen a nearby ledge that she could jump to if the first one gave way. She looked Storm in the eye, shrugged and stepped over the side.
Before her body realized it was falling, Pietro caught her. He was stronger than she had thought and for a moment the contact brought someone else to her mind, someone she had tried hard to forget. But a split second later he had plopped her on her feet on the next set of footprints and beckoned her to move forward. Kitty went next and grabbed hold of Pietro's neck in desperation. Mystique rolled her eyes at the look Kitty gave Pietro, even as his eyes were turned upward to catch Storm. If they got out of this alive, Kitty would definitely join the million other girls who fought to see who could keep the womanizer's attention longest. Mystique smirked, far more spectacular girls than Kitty Pryde had lasted less than a week with the cocky Pietro, and he boasted that not one of his girlfriends ever dumped him. Indeed, Mystique thought, after all the trouble they go through to get his attention it would be senseless to break up with him. Mystique thought back to the many telephone calls she had gotten about Pietro and the things he pressured his girlfriends into doing as she followed the glowing footsteps. It wasn't that he was a pervert, as far as anyone could tell he wasn't even interested in sex. He made the girls shoplift, disobey their parents, run the streets at night and basically see just how far he could push them to do his bidding. It was obvious that he just let them wear the title of his girlfriend because he was bored.
The catwalk led them to another ledge and Pietro inched past the women and pulled a trapdoor open. There were no translucent footsteps here and Pietro handed his flashlight to Kitty, who was closest, and she shone it down the ladder for him. Mystique noticed how slowly and carefully he chose his hand and footholds. Impatient Pietro was afraid of a misstep and his fear spelled Mystique's fear. Storm noticed as well and her smooth face creased with worry. Pietro reached the bottom and Kitty tossed the light to him. He shone it around for a moment, deciding where to go next and then shook his head.
"Without Freddie it's near impossible to go this way. You guys have no idea what to avoi-" he was cut off by a deep rumbling deep within the ground. He stood perfectly still, even closed his eyes and mouthed a prayer. When nothing more happened, he prepared to jump back to the ladder.
While Pietro was in midair, the ground shifted again. his hand brushed the intended rung and slipped to the next. For a moment it held and he breathed a sigh of relief. He smiled up at Mystique, who had shoved her way to the front, but the smile froze just as quickly as it appeared.
Tink.
The rung Pietro held on swung dangerously and everyone held their breath. Mystique tried to venture further down to help him, but the look in his eyes told her to keep her distance.
"Go back, tell Freddie it's not safe." There was a painful screeching sound as the metal rung bent more under Pietro's weight and with a final protest the last screw twisted and he lost his grip.
Pietro listened, blankly, as the other mutants called out to him. He waited for the ground to rush up to catch him, waited to feel the air pounded from his lungs and the ground to collapse beneath him, but he felt no impact at all, as if the ground had disappeared. Kitty was frantically screaming and Storm was trying to calm her. Mystique… she simply couldn't believe that he had actually fallen.
Pietro heard a clicking sound and then hit the ground. It wasn't at all as hard as he thought it would be, and he was up in a flash to get his bearings. He looked straight up in an effort to gauge how far he had fallen and saw a giant eye blink at him. Then giant pillars rose out of the ground and closed loosely around his slight frame. There was a rush of wind as Pietro was elevated by his small section of earth and the next thing he knew, he was staring into the face of a giant monster. The jolt of fear he got when he realized that he was doomed more surely than if he had run in front of a train, shook his nerve completely.
Storm had coaxed Kitty and Mystique halfway out of the skate park when Pietro's desperate cry rang through the early morning. It was halted abruptly and Storm forcefully pushed Mystique and Kitty to the exit. The bright sunrise greeted them, a mockery of the suffering they had all endured since it last abandoned them.
Then the floor vanished from beneath them, and they tumbled, finally coming to rest on a patch of spongy earth. Kitty landed right on top of Pietro and came up screaming, not caring whether she was heard by humans or not. Mystique rushed to Pietro, checking his pulse and breathing while Storm just stared straight ahead.
"Who are you?" She asked, not really expecting an answer.
"I am the last friendly face you shall ever see, I'm afraid. Whatever possessed you to enter the Immortal's Prison?"
"What?" Mystique looked up, satisfied that Pietro was merely unconscious.
"If he doesn't eat you, he will enslave you. You will probably make better slaves than meals, though, not that I envy you."
"Speak clearly. Why are you in that thing?"
A harsh, grating noise seemed to come from everywhere at once.
"I hope your friend died of fright, otherwise he'll suffer too. The Immortal is very generous with pain and humiliation." In answer, the ground sprung up beneath the mutants, forcing them to their knees. They were tossed in a cage with bars that looked like angels' wings in the half-light, but may as well have been adamantium.
"Slaves, no doubt about it." The voice said again, somehow managing to be heard through the awful noise.
"Maybe you will get sick and die. I will speak to the fates, though I doubt they will listen to me. They didn't listen all the other times."
The Immortal One curled up again, forcing itself to sleep so that it may better enjoy the entertainment of the mutants later. It had plans and the little food creature knew what they were.
After all, it only needed one messenger of the universe's new transfer of ownership, the boy moved quicker than the others, and they were women, after all. The food creatures had killed all their women and children long ago, leaving only the seasoned warriors. Yes, thought the monster. It would be nice to have female company again.