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.
~~ Remy ~~
He was in an alley.
Somehow, it always came bcak to an alley.
Rogue...I'm sorry. I couldn't do anything. I couldn't save you. What should I do? he pleaded with a ghost of a memory.
'If you ever need anything, the Professor will help.'
"Thank's, love." Remey said out loud.
He picked himself up and began the trek to the Institute.
The ghost followed him.
~~ Lucifer ~~
Lucifer was tired of waiting. It was boring, and the imposter wasn't doing anything in particular.
So Lucifer squeezed out of its grasp and flew away, laughing mockingly.
That was when he sensed two things.
Number one was that he shouldn't have been able to escape.
Number two was that there was a very powerful magic that was coming from the far end of town.
The imposter noticed too, because it took off after the wielder. Lucifer did too. There was no way that the monster would reach that person first.
~~ Pheonix ~~
Her mind was made up. A terrible mistake had been made and it was all her fault. She had betrayed her master and because of her, he was dead. She would fix it. First she had to get to him.
She knew where he would be. She summoned her magic and sped up. Things would be set to right. She had betrayed everyone around her, and the one person who only wanted to make things better for her was dead because of her damn decietfulness.
"I'm coming and I'm sorry I failed you the first time."
Then the world around her erupted in a flurry of feathers and arms.
~~ Todd ~~
"Are we ready?"
"Yes, sir." a young woman in uniform saluted him and he uncomfortably returned the gesture.
Pietro had gone back to the mansion and picked up his uniform. His real uniform.
Gone was the baggy green cotton, gone was the flimsy metal guard. Todd, the Toad was now Todd, formerly known as the most wanted man in Canada.
It was incredible how fast everyone recognized him once he put his uniform on.
It was a deep green color, this armour of his, and fit only him. It had cost a fortune, but in the days when he had been Slay- a mercenary- the cost had been a mere drop in the bucket. How carelessly he had earned money back then... thinking about it made him wonder why he was still alive. Surely he had made enemies, and how does a teenager become a mercenary anyway?
As much as it confused him now, Todd couldn't help but be thankful for those years of hunting mutants. No one else here knew just what they were doing.
"I'm ready." Pietro was back at his side. He was the best thing that had happened to Todd. Pietro was the reason he had quit hunting mutants. Todd hadn't even known that he was a mutant at the time. Then he had been commissioned to kill Eric Lensherr, or Magneto as people called him. Insead of finding the Master of Magnetism, he had found his son.
They hit it off perfectly. Pietro told Todd everything he needed to know about Magneto's weak spots and how to find him. Long after they had spoken, Todd realized something that Pietro had said.
"I can't believe that someone out there doesn't care. I mean, look at you. You don't know me, or anything about me, yet you're willing to sit here while I spill my guts. It's kinda funny though, I never talk about important stuff to anyone, so why you? Who knows? It's like one of those cliches or something, don't you agree? Do you believe that some people are destined to meet? I think I can see into the future sometimes, we're gonna be a lot closer than you'd think to look at us."
"Hey, what's up?" Pietro nudged Todd with his elbow.
He would never know, of course. That was a secret that Todd planned to take to the grave. He had come back to Bayville after things cooled down and no one was seriously looking for him.
Who should he meet there, but Pietro.
His disqise had been so complete that it was a full year before Pietro noticed that Todd was familiar.
"You ever regret meeting me?" Pietro asked, just to fill the silence.
"I regret that it took so long. I regret that you feel you need to ask that dumb question just to say something. Haven't you ever heard of a comfortable silence?"
"Never figured out how it can be comfortable."
Todd smiled. What was there to regret? Pierto had discovered what he really was not long after he figured out that he had met Todd before. Mages were rare in this world, and even less welcome than mutants since there was no gene to tell who was one and who wasn't.
Todd Tolansky had the grand luck of being a mutant and a mage.
He summoned his power and channeled it through Pietro. They had found that channelling it through Pietro made it stonger for some reason. Maybe one day they would know. Until then...
"Let's go, then."
Toad, Quicksilver, Jean, Iceman and several dozen soldiers began their sweep of the city, searching for any other mutants and for Valzinameku.
Remy reached the Institute just as they were nearing the place where Valzinameku had surfaced.
As he raced to follow them, Phoenix arrived, only to find that Evan's body had been moved to the base along with all the other mutants.
Valzinamku and Lucifer fought their way to the Institute just in time to feel another surge of magic from the Eastern side of the city.
It was like a cosmic game of phone tag.
Everyone was headed in the same direction.
Everyone was headed towards Kitty, Mystique and Storm.
They were standing right over the place where Logan, Haiden and Lance were.
It's a small world, after all.
~~ Haiden, Lance and Logan ~~
They finally made it to the end of the stairs and met up with the guide.
She was hot, in that weird, inhuman creature with wings way, Lance thought. Logan looked like he agreed. Haiden... the poor guy was stunned.
Lance chuckled and nudged Logan with his elbow. They both watched the guide and Haiden stare at each other, highly amused by the spectacle.
"What are you?" Haiden finally asked.
"I am a Vulgate. My name is Delvya. What are you?"
"I'm a Mage-Mutant. What is this place? And why are you here? I heard that the Vulgates were all dead."
This is the home of the last Vulgates. We are mostly women and children. We are here because we vowed not to leave until a great evil was vanquished, however, no one who has gone out to defeat it has returned. We cannot leave because all the exits are blocked.
Lance and Logan glared at Haiden, who winced.
"How long have you been down here?"
"Several eons."
"So... let's see these closed up exits. Maybe we can open them again."
"Why would you do that?"
"So we can leave." Logan beat Haiden to it.
"You cannot."
"Why not?"
"The Fates have prescribed that you be trapped with us in this cave. To rebel against the Fates is death."
The three men looked at each other.
"Ri-i-i-ight." Lance drawled. The chick sounded crazy now.
"So, which way?"
She turned without another word and led them away from the stairs into the village.
~~ Remy ~~
He was in an alley.
Somehow, it always came bcak to an alley.
Rogue...I'm sorry. I couldn't do anything. I couldn't save you. What should I do? he pleaded with a ghost of a memory.
'If you ever need anything, the Professor will help.'
"Thank's, love." Remey said out loud.
He picked himself up and began the trek to the Institute.
The ghost followed him.
~~ Lucifer ~~
Lucifer was tired of waiting. It was boring, and the imposter wasn't doing anything in particular.
So Lucifer squeezed out of its grasp and flew away, laughing mockingly.
That was when he sensed two things.
Number one was that he shouldn't have been able to escape.
Number two was that there was a very powerful magic that was coming from the far end of town.
The imposter noticed too, because it took off after the wielder. Lucifer did too. There was no way that the monster would reach that person first.
~~ Pheonix ~~
Her mind was made up. A terrible mistake had been made and it was all her fault. She had betrayed her master and because of her, he was dead. She would fix it. First she had to get to him.
She knew where he would be. She summoned her magic and sped up. Things would be set to right. She had betrayed everyone around her, and the one person who only wanted to make things better for her was dead because of her damn decietfulness.
"I'm coming and I'm sorry I failed you the first time."
Then the world around her erupted in a flurry of feathers and arms.
~~ Todd ~~
"Are we ready?"
"Yes, sir." a young woman in uniform saluted him and he uncomfortably returned the gesture.
Pietro had gone back to the mansion and picked up his uniform. His real uniform.
Gone was the baggy green cotton, gone was the flimsy metal guard. Todd, the Toad was now Todd, formerly known as the most wanted man in Canada.
It was incredible how fast everyone recognized him once he put his uniform on.
It was a deep green color, this armour of his, and fit only him. It had cost a fortune, but in the days when he had been Slay- a mercenary- the cost had been a mere drop in the bucket. How carelessly he had earned money back then... thinking about it made him wonder why he was still alive. Surely he had made enemies, and how does a teenager become a mercenary anyway?
As much as it confused him now, Todd couldn't help but be thankful for those years of hunting mutants. No one else here knew just what they were doing.
"I'm ready." Pietro was back at his side. He was the best thing that had happened to Todd. Pietro was the reason he had quit hunting mutants. Todd hadn't even known that he was a mutant at the time. Then he had been commissioned to kill Eric Lensherr, or Magneto as people called him. Insead of finding the Master of Magnetism, he had found his son.
They hit it off perfectly. Pietro told Todd everything he needed to know about Magneto's weak spots and how to find him. Long after they had spoken, Todd realized something that Pietro had said.
"I can't believe that someone out there doesn't care. I mean, look at you. You don't know me, or anything about me, yet you're willing to sit here while I spill my guts. It's kinda funny though, I never talk about important stuff to anyone, so why you? Who knows? It's like one of those cliches or something, don't you agree? Do you believe that some people are destined to meet? I think I can see into the future sometimes, we're gonna be a lot closer than you'd think to look at us."
"Hey, what's up?" Pietro nudged Todd with his elbow.
He would never know, of course. That was a secret that Todd planned to take to the grave. He had come back to Bayville after things cooled down and no one was seriously looking for him.
Who should he meet there, but Pietro.
His disqise had been so complete that it was a full year before Pietro noticed that Todd was familiar.
"You ever regret meeting me?" Pietro asked, just to fill the silence.
"I regret that it took so long. I regret that you feel you need to ask that dumb question just to say something. Haven't you ever heard of a comfortable silence?"
"Never figured out how it can be comfortable."
Todd smiled. What was there to regret? Pierto had discovered what he really was not long after he figured out that he had met Todd before. Mages were rare in this world, and even less welcome than mutants since there was no gene to tell who was one and who wasn't.
Todd Tolansky had the grand luck of being a mutant and a mage.
He summoned his power and channeled it through Pietro. They had found that channelling it through Pietro made it stonger for some reason. Maybe one day they would know. Until then...
"Let's go, then."
Toad, Quicksilver, Jean, Iceman and several dozen soldiers began their sweep of the city, searching for any other mutants and for Valzinameku.
Remy reached the Institute just as they were nearing the place where Valzinameku had surfaced.
As he raced to follow them, Phoenix arrived, only to find that Evan's body had been moved to the base along with all the other mutants.
Valzinamku and Lucifer fought their way to the Institute just in time to feel another surge of magic from the Eastern side of the city.
It was like a cosmic game of phone tag.
Everyone was headed in the same direction.
Everyone was headed towards Kitty, Mystique and Storm.
They were standing right over the place where Logan, Haiden and Lance were.
It's a small world, after all.
~~ Haiden, Lance and Logan ~~
They finally made it to the end of the stairs and met up with the guide.
She was hot, in that weird, inhuman creature with wings way, Lance thought. Logan looked like he agreed. Haiden... the poor guy was stunned.
Lance chuckled and nudged Logan with his elbow. They both watched the guide and Haiden stare at each other, highly amused by the spectacle.
"What are you?" Haiden finally asked.
"I am a Vulgate. My name is Delvya. What are you?"
"I'm a Mage-Mutant. What is this place? And why are you here? I heard that the Vulgates were all dead."
This is the home of the last Vulgates. We are mostly women and children. We are here because we vowed not to leave until a great evil was vanquished, however, no one who has gone out to defeat it has returned. We cannot leave because all the exits are blocked.
Lance and Logan glared at Haiden, who winced.
"How long have you been down here?"
"Several eons."
"So... let's see these closed up exits. Maybe we can open them again."
"Why would you do that?"
"So we can leave." Logan beat Haiden to it.
"You cannot."
"Why not?"
"The Fates have prescribed that you be trapped with us in this cave. To rebel against the Fates is death."
The three men looked at each other.
"Ri-i-i-ight." Lance drawled. The chick sounded crazy now.
"So, which way?"
She turned without another word and led them away from the stairs into the village.