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.
~~ Pheonix ~~
Pheonix was elated. Even from ten city blocks away, she could sense the Sleeper, tossing restlessly. It was almost time for him to awaken. Pheonix intended to be there right when that happened. She refused to kill a sleeping... anything. That was murder. In her twisted, shattered mind, there was a difference, but it was as thin a line as was ever distinguished by humans. Redemption was at hand, soon she would be back in the Masters' favor and could exact her revenge upon Evan Daniels. Then she would find Haiden.
She stopped thinking then, uncomfortable with the images and emotions that the name brought to her attention. She missed him, more than she should and the small bit of moral fibre within her was apalled at the one memory of him that she welcomed.
Pheonix decided that she would have to do something about him eventually, if only because he remained her one weakness. But she kept seeing the look on his face as she walked away from him for the last time. He looked... broken. Haiden used to be so happy, but after a while, it was just too much. Pheonix had simply destroyed the last hope he had had.
Pheonix fought to avoid thinking about their last day together. So many memories...
Pheonix's attention mercifully snapped back to the present before she could delve too deeply into uncomfortable territory. The angel was moving.
~~ Pietro ~~
The movies always showed the President's Guards to be ever alert and almost impossible to trick. Pietro just ran past them, a blur of white. It was just that simple to get to the most powerful man in the United States, it was almost funny, except for the tiny problem of getting the nation to listen to him when he told them that a giant monster was underneath Bayville, preparing to escape and destroy them all. Yep, thought Pietro, that could definitely make things difficult.
Pietro raced right up the the President, stopping about three feet in front of him. Everything just paused for a moment. Pietro shrugged it off. "I am an envoy of the demon Valzinameku. He demands that you surrender your control of the people of this land and come with me."
"What? Is this a joke?"
"Not at all. I've been informed to tell you that you may bring as many guards as will make you comfortable. Valzinameku wishes to speak with you." Pietro kept his attention focused on the President, but was well aware of the dozens of guns pointed directly at him.
"You've got guts popping up like that and then telling me that I have to meet some demon." The look he gave Pietro made it clear what he thought of mutants, which Pietro obviously was.
"I don't want to force this on you. As a human, I'm teling you that something is very wrong. Not far from here is a small town called Bayville. Valzinameku lurks beneath the city, trapped. He's trying to escape. I think he wants your military to try to get him by blasting a hole in the cave, its like a prison of adamantium and he can't get out with just his claws."
"If that really is true, how could you possibly know?" The man's voice dripped with sarcasm and everyone nearby laughed.
"I'm a mutant, can't you tell? It's so easy to tell just by looking, you know..."
"Don't get smart with me boy."
"I am smart, I can't help that, and I won't act stupid just because you do. I have friends trapped in that cave with Valzinameku and I have friends trapped in your military base. They're all counting on me to help them and for once in my life, I just can't do it. I'm only human and no amount of superhuman speed can penetrate that fort now or blast through adamantium and kill that demon. That's why you'll help me by getting my friends out of the fort."
"Wh- what makes you think-"
"You're the adult here. Think about it, if I'm wrong, you've been tricked. If I'm right, and the demon gets out, you're dead. You can't even capture and contain a handful of mutants without nearly destroying an entire fort. What makes you think you can kill this demon? Besides, if you don't I'll just have to kill you. Or take you back to Valzinameku. I think you'd prefer the quick way though. I think he eats humans."
"This is-"
"I don't care. What'll it be?"
A burly man stepped forward out of the mass of soldiers who had surrounded the pair.
"What's your name?"
"Pietro Maximoff."
"Well, Fort Braddock just reported that it had a situation with a bunch of mutants getting loose and running wild inside. You know any names?"
"I'll even tell you where they are if you help me get to them before those people do."
"Names?"
"Charles Xavier, Magneto, Cyclops, Spyke, Avalanche, Toad, Jean... That enough?"
The man spoke the names into a cell phone and a moment later nodded. "All right, it's a deal, Mr. President, we need to get you inside."
"But-" He tried to protest, but was gently pushed into the limo that he had arrived in.
"Lead the way. We'll follow in the chopper." He jogged to a helicopter and was airborne a minute later.
Pietro shrugged. It was something at least.
~~ The Tunnel ~~
They had slept for no more than three hours before nightmares found them all sitting around, staring blankly at the walls.
"We still aren't ready to climb that rock face." Logan ran a hand through his hair as he paced. "Any ideas? Any at all?"
"No, I'm fresh out of 'em." Todd was exhausted. "I can't die here, yo, this ain't the place for me."
"It's not the place for any of us."
"Does it matter?" Lance was tired of listening to them go back and forth, saying the same thing in different ways. "Either we die or we don't. I'd rather be halfway up that damn cliff and fall than I would sit here and rot to death."
"Not everyone can move, much less climb, bub." Logan growled.
"What happened to your famous teamwork, huh? I guess the X-Men aren't as macho as they want everyone to think. You people don't function well under pressure. Even Summers just falls apart when things get chaotic."
Everyone snapped to attention at that. Logan let out a growl more feral than any before and crouched, ready to attack.
"C'mon shorty, let's see how many metric tons of rock you can lift." Lance taunted as he prepared to bring the roof down on all of them.
"Lance, man, chill. We'll get out." Todd whispered, not believing it, not even knowing if Lance heard.
"We'll die here, so lets get it over with fast."
"Lance. I've had enough. We'll go to the top and find a way to get the others up there too."
Lance whirled on Todd. "There you go, acting just like that da-"
Todd cut him off by pouncing on him. Lance felt a rush of wind as Wolverine's claws sliced through the air. He couldn't see a damn thing, Todd was in his way. He could hear though, and what sounded like a body hit the ground hard.
"What?" Lance tried to sit up. "Todd? Ohmigod, Todd, please tell me you're okay."
"I'm fine, how 'bout you?" Todd's voice sounded far away.
"Get off me, you idiot. Christ, I thought that bastard got you."
"Get off you? I'm over here."
"So who's laying on me? It better not be that damn Canadian."
"It ain't." The Canadian said, and suddenly the wieght was gone.
"M-Magneto?" Lance stared, dumbfounded at the Master of Magnetism. "Why isn't he moving?" Lance asked with a touch of panic in his voice. "Why'd he jump on me?"
"He jumped in front of you, and that's more than you deserve. He wasn't the best of men, but there was no need for him to die for you."
"You killed Magneto?" Lance repeated. "You killed Pietro's dad?" Then panic left Lance's voice almost as suddenly as it appeared.
"That ain't cool, yo. He wasn't much, but he was ours. We can't deal with people who run 'round killin' our people. There's only so many of us."
"Magneto got in the way."
"So is that your excuse? If you'd killed Lance, what would you have said? We're outta here. Get your own people out of here, X-Man. Hope its that much easier now that you're three people short." Todd looked down at Lance, who was cradling Magneto's head.
"How're we gonna tell Pietro?" he asked softly. "You know all he ever wanted was to make you proud. How could you ruin things for him like that? How?"
"Lance. We're going now."
"All of us?"
"Yeah, Magneto too."
"Good." Lance smiled absentmindedly as he stood with he man in his arms. "Why can we see?"
"That's what eyes are for, yo."
"But we're underground, right. There's no lights down here and Summers never did find a match, but we can see."
"Huh?" That threw Todd off completely.
"It's been getting brighter as we went deeper. Cool, huh?"
"Let's get out of here." Todd said, reaching down and picking Scott up. He threw him over his shoulder like a sack and glanced furtively around at the others. "This isn't right." He bagan walking in the opposite direction as fast as he could, fully expecting the other mutants to follow.
They did. Todd had led them wisely before. And there really wasn't anywhere else to go.
~~ Pheonix ~~
Pheonix was elated. Even from ten city blocks away, she could sense the Sleeper, tossing restlessly. It was almost time for him to awaken. Pheonix intended to be there right when that happened. She refused to kill a sleeping... anything. That was murder. In her twisted, shattered mind, there was a difference, but it was as thin a line as was ever distinguished by humans. Redemption was at hand, soon she would be back in the Masters' favor and could exact her revenge upon Evan Daniels. Then she would find Haiden.
She stopped thinking then, uncomfortable with the images and emotions that the name brought to her attention. She missed him, more than she should and the small bit of moral fibre within her was apalled at the one memory of him that she welcomed.
Pheonix decided that she would have to do something about him eventually, if only because he remained her one weakness. But she kept seeing the look on his face as she walked away from him for the last time. He looked... broken. Haiden used to be so happy, but after a while, it was just too much. Pheonix had simply destroyed the last hope he had had.
Pheonix fought to avoid thinking about their last day together. So many memories...
Pheonix's attention mercifully snapped back to the present before she could delve too deeply into uncomfortable territory. The angel was moving.
~~ Pietro ~~
The movies always showed the President's Guards to be ever alert and almost impossible to trick. Pietro just ran past them, a blur of white. It was just that simple to get to the most powerful man in the United States, it was almost funny, except for the tiny problem of getting the nation to listen to him when he told them that a giant monster was underneath Bayville, preparing to escape and destroy them all. Yep, thought Pietro, that could definitely make things difficult.
Pietro raced right up the the President, stopping about three feet in front of him. Everything just paused for a moment. Pietro shrugged it off. "I am an envoy of the demon Valzinameku. He demands that you surrender your control of the people of this land and come with me."
"What? Is this a joke?"
"Not at all. I've been informed to tell you that you may bring as many guards as will make you comfortable. Valzinameku wishes to speak with you." Pietro kept his attention focused on the President, but was well aware of the dozens of guns pointed directly at him.
"You've got guts popping up like that and then telling me that I have to meet some demon." The look he gave Pietro made it clear what he thought of mutants, which Pietro obviously was.
"I don't want to force this on you. As a human, I'm teling you that something is very wrong. Not far from here is a small town called Bayville. Valzinameku lurks beneath the city, trapped. He's trying to escape. I think he wants your military to try to get him by blasting a hole in the cave, its like a prison of adamantium and he can't get out with just his claws."
"If that really is true, how could you possibly know?" The man's voice dripped with sarcasm and everyone nearby laughed.
"I'm a mutant, can't you tell? It's so easy to tell just by looking, you know..."
"Don't get smart with me boy."
"I am smart, I can't help that, and I won't act stupid just because you do. I have friends trapped in that cave with Valzinameku and I have friends trapped in your military base. They're all counting on me to help them and for once in my life, I just can't do it. I'm only human and no amount of superhuman speed can penetrate that fort now or blast through adamantium and kill that demon. That's why you'll help me by getting my friends out of the fort."
"Wh- what makes you think-"
"You're the adult here. Think about it, if I'm wrong, you've been tricked. If I'm right, and the demon gets out, you're dead. You can't even capture and contain a handful of mutants without nearly destroying an entire fort. What makes you think you can kill this demon? Besides, if you don't I'll just have to kill you. Or take you back to Valzinameku. I think you'd prefer the quick way though. I think he eats humans."
"This is-"
"I don't care. What'll it be?"
A burly man stepped forward out of the mass of soldiers who had surrounded the pair.
"What's your name?"
"Pietro Maximoff."
"Well, Fort Braddock just reported that it had a situation with a bunch of mutants getting loose and running wild inside. You know any names?"
"I'll even tell you where they are if you help me get to them before those people do."
"Names?"
"Charles Xavier, Magneto, Cyclops, Spyke, Avalanche, Toad, Jean... That enough?"
The man spoke the names into a cell phone and a moment later nodded. "All right, it's a deal, Mr. President, we need to get you inside."
"But-" He tried to protest, but was gently pushed into the limo that he had arrived in.
"Lead the way. We'll follow in the chopper." He jogged to a helicopter and was airborne a minute later.
Pietro shrugged. It was something at least.
~~ The Tunnel ~~
They had slept for no more than three hours before nightmares found them all sitting around, staring blankly at the walls.
"We still aren't ready to climb that rock face." Logan ran a hand through his hair as he paced. "Any ideas? Any at all?"
"No, I'm fresh out of 'em." Todd was exhausted. "I can't die here, yo, this ain't the place for me."
"It's not the place for any of us."
"Does it matter?" Lance was tired of listening to them go back and forth, saying the same thing in different ways. "Either we die or we don't. I'd rather be halfway up that damn cliff and fall than I would sit here and rot to death."
"Not everyone can move, much less climb, bub." Logan growled.
"What happened to your famous teamwork, huh? I guess the X-Men aren't as macho as they want everyone to think. You people don't function well under pressure. Even Summers just falls apart when things get chaotic."
Everyone snapped to attention at that. Logan let out a growl more feral than any before and crouched, ready to attack.
"C'mon shorty, let's see how many metric tons of rock you can lift." Lance taunted as he prepared to bring the roof down on all of them.
"Lance, man, chill. We'll get out." Todd whispered, not believing it, not even knowing if Lance heard.
"We'll die here, so lets get it over with fast."
"Lance. I've had enough. We'll go to the top and find a way to get the others up there too."
Lance whirled on Todd. "There you go, acting just like that da-"
Todd cut him off by pouncing on him. Lance felt a rush of wind as Wolverine's claws sliced through the air. He couldn't see a damn thing, Todd was in his way. He could hear though, and what sounded like a body hit the ground hard.
"What?" Lance tried to sit up. "Todd? Ohmigod, Todd, please tell me you're okay."
"I'm fine, how 'bout you?" Todd's voice sounded far away.
"Get off me, you idiot. Christ, I thought that bastard got you."
"Get off you? I'm over here."
"So who's laying on me? It better not be that damn Canadian."
"It ain't." The Canadian said, and suddenly the wieght was gone.
"M-Magneto?" Lance stared, dumbfounded at the Master of Magnetism. "Why isn't he moving?" Lance asked with a touch of panic in his voice. "Why'd he jump on me?"
"He jumped in front of you, and that's more than you deserve. He wasn't the best of men, but there was no need for him to die for you."
"You killed Magneto?" Lance repeated. "You killed Pietro's dad?" Then panic left Lance's voice almost as suddenly as it appeared.
"That ain't cool, yo. He wasn't much, but he was ours. We can't deal with people who run 'round killin' our people. There's only so many of us."
"Magneto got in the way."
"So is that your excuse? If you'd killed Lance, what would you have said? We're outta here. Get your own people out of here, X-Man. Hope its that much easier now that you're three people short." Todd looked down at Lance, who was cradling Magneto's head.
"How're we gonna tell Pietro?" he asked softly. "You know all he ever wanted was to make you proud. How could you ruin things for him like that? How?"
"Lance. We're going now."
"All of us?"
"Yeah, Magneto too."
"Good." Lance smiled absentmindedly as he stood with he man in his arms. "Why can we see?"
"That's what eyes are for, yo."
"But we're underground, right. There's no lights down here and Summers never did find a match, but we can see."
"Huh?" That threw Todd off completely.
"It's been getting brighter as we went deeper. Cool, huh?"
"Let's get out of here." Todd said, reaching down and picking Scott up. He threw him over his shoulder like a sack and glanced furtively around at the others. "This isn't right." He bagan walking in the opposite direction as fast as he could, fully expecting the other mutants to follow.
They did. Todd had led them wisely before. And there really wasn't anywhere else to go.