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.
~~ Kitty, Storm and Mystique ~~
"I don't believe this. Now we're lost above ground. You X-Men have no sense of direction."
"Well, its not like you're helping either." Kitty shot back.
"We're near the city. You can see the search lights from here."
"But they're to our left."
"What, pray tell, is your point." Mystique asked Kitty, who was staring at the lights in confusion.
"Well, I remember that we could see the base from the Institute. It was always at our right. But now it's at our left."
"So?"
"We would have to standing on water to see it at out left. It's on a cliff, right? That's why it's so safe. The only way for people to get in or out is in one direction. Or if you're a mutant and can fly."
"So that's not the base." Storm whispered, a cold numb feeling weighing in her stomach like lead.
"No. It's the Institute."
"And how…"
"Because that's the base." Kitty turned around and pointed at a big black shape behind them.
"Why's it so dark?"
"I think because Valzinameku got here before us."
Storm and Mystique looked closer.
"Oh, no."
It was him.
"What is it about Bayville that attracts these kinds of things?" A voice muttered darkly behind them.
"Boys!" Mystique exclaimed.
"Hey, Boss-Lady. You okay?" Todd asked with a faint smile.
"What are you wearing?"
"Clothes, I hope."
She gave a frustrated sigh. "So who's left?"
"Funny you should ask." Todd answered in a deadpan voice.
"Just you…" Storm looked at Jean, Bobby, Pietro and Todd. "Just seven of us…"
"Scott's alive, but just barely. Evan's dead. Kurt's gone. The other blue guy is dead, too."
"No. Not Hank."
"Who cares? Right now let's worry about the living. There's still the chance that Kurt, Lance, Logan and Haiden are okay. Oh, fuck. Phoenix is still running around, too. Is there anyone else we forgot?"
"Remy." Kitty said.
"Huh? Oh yeah, the traitor. Well, good luck findin-"
"What's going on? Dis ting just popped out o' de ground an'…"
"Remy? Good to see you again. That makes eight of us and a bunch of humans with big guns. Think it's enough?" Pietro asked Todd.
"You're kidding, right? What good are you, Kitty and Mystique gonna be against that thing? We only have five people and a bunch of guns that wouldn't even work on us. We need a plan. How many of us have seen this thing up close?"
"We three have." Storm offered.
"Me, too." Remy said grimly.
"Does it have any weaknesses?"
"No." All three of them said at once.
"If this were a movie, there would be a sage or something who would show up and tell us the history of this thing and how to defeat it."
"Where is Evan?"
Phoenix stumbled towards them, clutching her side.
"Where is he?"
"He's dead."
"I know that, fool! Take me to him. I have to fix this, its my fault."
"What?"
The ground beneath them shook so violently that they were all knocked from their feet.
"Here she is…" A grating voice proclaimed. "Little human creature, thank you for keeping my body safe. I think I will take it now."
A great dark arm separated from the pitch black cloud and wrapped around Phoenix's waist. With a shout, Todd surged forward, a blade of dark metal grasped tightly. It connected solidly, but had no effect. Todd made a small, frightened noise before a tentacle shot out and knocked him straight into the wall of Fort Braddock. He slid to the ground and lay still.
"Fire!" General Matthias shouted to his followers. Immediately, a rain of metal showered the creature. "What the…"
Valzinameku laughed. With a shrug, all the bullets slid off his hide.
"This can't be happening." Jean whispered. She willed Todd to move, to do anything. He was their only hope. He promised…
"This is not how it will end!" Phoenix shrieked. "I must fix it, I must!" She began to glow with an eerie light and thrashing wildly to escape.
"Calm yourself, human. This will not last long." The light grew until she beamed like a star.
'Now, Jean. Now!' Todd's voice echoed in her mind. Jean looked at Bobby, he had heard it too. Remy drew an entire deck of cards from his pocket and Storm gathered energy for a massive lightning bolt. As one, they attacked.
~~ Phoenix ~~
She was back again, with the Masters. Somehow, they looked different. They looked… wasted away. Phoenix sighed and the image was blasted away. 'Poor Haiden. What he must think of me now…'
"Evelyn? Eve? What are you doing?" She turned around and saw him there.
"I'm fixing things."
"But-"
"I'm sorry."
Suddenly, she was aware of the world again. The pain, the power… "I'm fixing it."
There was a stroke of lightning and Evelyn died.
~~ Lucifer ~~
It had taken him a minute to regain his sense of direction. That was dangerous for someone flying in the air, but he managed to land safely, if not gracefully. He looked up at the girl that the imposter held in his hands. She was glowing like a Mage-light, and quickly absorbing all the magic from the area. Lucifer figured it would only be a matter of seconds before he couldn't stand anymore. 'Yet another downside to being a creature made of magic.' He hoped she wouldn't draw enough to kill him completely.
As Lucifer stood watching the spectacle, he noticed the clouds swirling ominously. He covered his eyes just as the lightening bolt snapped the sky in half and stabbed the imposter like a golden knife.
The magic vacuum stopped suddenly.
Lucifer clenched his teeth and looked up at the monster. Had it managed to transfer it's mind and powers, its former body would have collapsed… but something had gone wrong…
"Oh, shit. She said she was gonna fix it. Did she mean…" Lucifer turned to regard the human who had walked up beside him.
"What?"
"She performed an ultimate sacrifice to bring Evan back to life."
Lucifer gasped. It was never a good idea to play with the dead, but for someone as powerful as that girl to put all her power into a resurrection…
"He's gonna be a monster. There's no way Daniels can cope with that kind of power. He'll be at least as powerful as me, and if something goes wrong…"
"Fates preserve us," Lucifer murmured. There was always the possibility that he would go mad with the power. From what he had learned of the life that mutants were forced to endure, that would be a very bad thing. "We need help with this."
"Who would help us? No one likes Earth. That's why all the Mages left."
"They left? When?"
"About fifty years ago, there's no one left. Besides, what could they do that I couldn't?"
"Who are you?"
"Huh? Oh, Todd Tolansky. Earth Mage and Mutant."
"What?"
"Pietro! Find Evan! Take him to the Institute! Everyone else, retreat! Retreat!" Todd yelled as he dragged Lucifer away.
"What are you doing?" Lucifer demanded as they ran away from Valzinameku.
"Lance." was all that Todd said before the ground below them took on a life of its own.
"WHOOOOWHEEEEE!!! I ROCK!!" Came a cry from the jagged hole that opened not far from where the two Mages had been standing.
"Wuwe? What the hell is wuwe?"
"Aw, get off it, I'm tired."
"Where's Phoenix? She was here, I can sense it."
"How about worrying about how to get up there first. We're still underground, y'know."
"The Fates will not look kindly upon you for this."
"Seems to me that they can look all they want. They already decided I'm bustin' outta here and I'm gonna die, so what's it matter? All your Fates this and Fates that talk is givin' me a headache."
"TODD! PIETRO! MYSTIQUE! I KNOW ONE OF YOU IS UP THERE!!"
Todd sighed and then laughed weakly. "He's in a good mood."
"C'MON, LEMME OUTTA HERE! I'M HUNGRY! TODD? ITS YOU, I KNOW IT! I CAN SMELL YOU A MILE AWAY BUDDY…"
Todd peered over the lip of the hole. "Really?"
"Not really. The funny chick said you were up there."
"Ah."
Lucifer leapt into the hole and stared intently at the woman.
"OOOOh. Looks like he fell for her, too, eh, Haiden?" Lance asked while nudging him.
"Oh get over yourself, Lance. It wasn't even funny to begin with."
"That's what you say." Logan put in.
Lucifer snorted and placed one hand against the wall of the pit. The air around him crackled and with a muffled explosion, a ladder appeared in the wall.
"Nice… Can you teach me how to do that?"
"The Fates have delivered you to us?"
"The Fates can go the Hell for all I care. They aren't good for anything else."
Lucifer and Delvya glared at each other while the mutants climbed the ladder. Then he smiled and broke eye contact. "I'll leave this open, just in case."
Delvya watched them leave with the gold of the sunlight painted across their backs. Then she shook her head and returned to the caves. One could not escape the Fates. It was best not to try.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N
Sorry it took so long. Life happened, I guess. Now for my extremely belated and now very long Thank You note... (oh boy) Stars are for repeat reviewers, basically you get a star for every RR you send me. Just to let you know I read fan mail. ~preens~
Chrissie- wow, Chapter two was so long ago... just incase you're still reading, thank you, you were my very first reviewer.
Jayman- Dude, yo! I like Evan too. I didn't know he'd become such an important character, but I guess this story is all about him isn't it... (Note- extra coolness factor here, Jayman's a repeat reviewer (****)
Tomoyo714- ~Insert evil laugh~ Everyone's dying to know what happens. (Yes, I have issues with decent jokes. They make me break out)
Sniper67- I can't spell either. That's why I almost failed English. And because my teacher said I had no imagination. Go figure. My mom says I'm too imaginative. (Another repeater! (****)
Ziptango- Hello again, have we met? Just kidding, yo. I really hope all's well. (My number one fan ~and that's something when it reaches 100 degrees in the shade~ Donatello's cool though ;)
Acetoorion- Dude, you have no idea how long it took me to realize how to break your name down, I felt like the world biggest idiot, but that's nothing new. I revised the chapter, I'm posting it along with this, don't worry, Storm's phobia will kick in later (Repeater!! (****)
~~ Kitty, Storm and Mystique ~~
"I don't believe this. Now we're lost above ground. You X-Men have no sense of direction."
"Well, its not like you're helping either." Kitty shot back.
"We're near the city. You can see the search lights from here."
"But they're to our left."
"What, pray tell, is your point." Mystique asked Kitty, who was staring at the lights in confusion.
"Well, I remember that we could see the base from the Institute. It was always at our right. But now it's at our left."
"So?"
"We would have to standing on water to see it at out left. It's on a cliff, right? That's why it's so safe. The only way for people to get in or out is in one direction. Or if you're a mutant and can fly."
"So that's not the base." Storm whispered, a cold numb feeling weighing in her stomach like lead.
"No. It's the Institute."
"And how…"
"Because that's the base." Kitty turned around and pointed at a big black shape behind them.
"Why's it so dark?"
"I think because Valzinameku got here before us."
Storm and Mystique looked closer.
"Oh, no."
It was him.
"What is it about Bayville that attracts these kinds of things?" A voice muttered darkly behind them.
"Boys!" Mystique exclaimed.
"Hey, Boss-Lady. You okay?" Todd asked with a faint smile.
"What are you wearing?"
"Clothes, I hope."
She gave a frustrated sigh. "So who's left?"
"Funny you should ask." Todd answered in a deadpan voice.
"Just you…" Storm looked at Jean, Bobby, Pietro and Todd. "Just seven of us…"
"Scott's alive, but just barely. Evan's dead. Kurt's gone. The other blue guy is dead, too."
"No. Not Hank."
"Who cares? Right now let's worry about the living. There's still the chance that Kurt, Lance, Logan and Haiden are okay. Oh, fuck. Phoenix is still running around, too. Is there anyone else we forgot?"
"Remy." Kitty said.
"Huh? Oh yeah, the traitor. Well, good luck findin-"
"What's going on? Dis ting just popped out o' de ground an'…"
"Remy? Good to see you again. That makes eight of us and a bunch of humans with big guns. Think it's enough?" Pietro asked Todd.
"You're kidding, right? What good are you, Kitty and Mystique gonna be against that thing? We only have five people and a bunch of guns that wouldn't even work on us. We need a plan. How many of us have seen this thing up close?"
"We three have." Storm offered.
"Me, too." Remy said grimly.
"Does it have any weaknesses?"
"No." All three of them said at once.
"If this were a movie, there would be a sage or something who would show up and tell us the history of this thing and how to defeat it."
"Where is Evan?"
Phoenix stumbled towards them, clutching her side.
"Where is he?"
"He's dead."
"I know that, fool! Take me to him. I have to fix this, its my fault."
"What?"
The ground beneath them shook so violently that they were all knocked from their feet.
"Here she is…" A grating voice proclaimed. "Little human creature, thank you for keeping my body safe. I think I will take it now."
A great dark arm separated from the pitch black cloud and wrapped around Phoenix's waist. With a shout, Todd surged forward, a blade of dark metal grasped tightly. It connected solidly, but had no effect. Todd made a small, frightened noise before a tentacle shot out and knocked him straight into the wall of Fort Braddock. He slid to the ground and lay still.
"Fire!" General Matthias shouted to his followers. Immediately, a rain of metal showered the creature. "What the…"
Valzinameku laughed. With a shrug, all the bullets slid off his hide.
"This can't be happening." Jean whispered. She willed Todd to move, to do anything. He was their only hope. He promised…
"This is not how it will end!" Phoenix shrieked. "I must fix it, I must!" She began to glow with an eerie light and thrashing wildly to escape.
"Calm yourself, human. This will not last long." The light grew until she beamed like a star.
'Now, Jean. Now!' Todd's voice echoed in her mind. Jean looked at Bobby, he had heard it too. Remy drew an entire deck of cards from his pocket and Storm gathered energy for a massive lightning bolt. As one, they attacked.
~~ Phoenix ~~
She was back again, with the Masters. Somehow, they looked different. They looked… wasted away. Phoenix sighed and the image was blasted away. 'Poor Haiden. What he must think of me now…'
"Evelyn? Eve? What are you doing?" She turned around and saw him there.
"I'm fixing things."
"But-"
"I'm sorry."
Suddenly, she was aware of the world again. The pain, the power… "I'm fixing it."
There was a stroke of lightning and Evelyn died.
~~ Lucifer ~~
It had taken him a minute to regain his sense of direction. That was dangerous for someone flying in the air, but he managed to land safely, if not gracefully. He looked up at the girl that the imposter held in his hands. She was glowing like a Mage-light, and quickly absorbing all the magic from the area. Lucifer figured it would only be a matter of seconds before he couldn't stand anymore. 'Yet another downside to being a creature made of magic.' He hoped she wouldn't draw enough to kill him completely.
As Lucifer stood watching the spectacle, he noticed the clouds swirling ominously. He covered his eyes just as the lightening bolt snapped the sky in half and stabbed the imposter like a golden knife.
The magic vacuum stopped suddenly.
Lucifer clenched his teeth and looked up at the monster. Had it managed to transfer it's mind and powers, its former body would have collapsed… but something had gone wrong…
"Oh, shit. She said she was gonna fix it. Did she mean…" Lucifer turned to regard the human who had walked up beside him.
"What?"
"She performed an ultimate sacrifice to bring Evan back to life."
Lucifer gasped. It was never a good idea to play with the dead, but for someone as powerful as that girl to put all her power into a resurrection…
"He's gonna be a monster. There's no way Daniels can cope with that kind of power. He'll be at least as powerful as me, and if something goes wrong…"
"Fates preserve us," Lucifer murmured. There was always the possibility that he would go mad with the power. From what he had learned of the life that mutants were forced to endure, that would be a very bad thing. "We need help with this."
"Who would help us? No one likes Earth. That's why all the Mages left."
"They left? When?"
"About fifty years ago, there's no one left. Besides, what could they do that I couldn't?"
"Who are you?"
"Huh? Oh, Todd Tolansky. Earth Mage and Mutant."
"What?"
"Pietro! Find Evan! Take him to the Institute! Everyone else, retreat! Retreat!" Todd yelled as he dragged Lucifer away.
"What are you doing?" Lucifer demanded as they ran away from Valzinameku.
"Lance." was all that Todd said before the ground below them took on a life of its own.
"WHOOOOWHEEEEE!!! I ROCK!!" Came a cry from the jagged hole that opened not far from where the two Mages had been standing.
"Wuwe? What the hell is wuwe?"
"Aw, get off it, I'm tired."
"Where's Phoenix? She was here, I can sense it."
"How about worrying about how to get up there first. We're still underground, y'know."
"The Fates will not look kindly upon you for this."
"Seems to me that they can look all they want. They already decided I'm bustin' outta here and I'm gonna die, so what's it matter? All your Fates this and Fates that talk is givin' me a headache."
"TODD! PIETRO! MYSTIQUE! I KNOW ONE OF YOU IS UP THERE!!"
Todd sighed and then laughed weakly. "He's in a good mood."
"C'MON, LEMME OUTTA HERE! I'M HUNGRY! TODD? ITS YOU, I KNOW IT! I CAN SMELL YOU A MILE AWAY BUDDY…"
Todd peered over the lip of the hole. "Really?"
"Not really. The funny chick said you were up there."
"Ah."
Lucifer leapt into the hole and stared intently at the woman.
"OOOOh. Looks like he fell for her, too, eh, Haiden?" Lance asked while nudging him.
"Oh get over yourself, Lance. It wasn't even funny to begin with."
"That's what you say." Logan put in.
Lucifer snorted and placed one hand against the wall of the pit. The air around him crackled and with a muffled explosion, a ladder appeared in the wall.
"Nice… Can you teach me how to do that?"
"The Fates have delivered you to us?"
"The Fates can go the Hell for all I care. They aren't good for anything else."
Lucifer and Delvya glared at each other while the mutants climbed the ladder. Then he smiled and broke eye contact. "I'll leave this open, just in case."
Delvya watched them leave with the gold of the sunlight painted across their backs. Then she shook her head and returned to the caves. One could not escape the Fates. It was best not to try.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N
Sorry it took so long. Life happened, I guess. Now for my extremely belated and now very long Thank You note... (oh boy) Stars are for repeat reviewers, basically you get a star for every RR you send me. Just to let you know I read fan mail. ~preens~
Chrissie- wow, Chapter two was so long ago... just incase you're still reading, thank you, you were my very first reviewer.
Jayman- Dude, yo! I like Evan too. I didn't know he'd become such an important character, but I guess this story is all about him isn't it... (Note- extra coolness factor here, Jayman's a repeat reviewer (****)
Tomoyo714- ~Insert evil laugh~ Everyone's dying to know what happens. (Yes, I have issues with decent jokes. They make me break out)
Sniper67- I can't spell either. That's why I almost failed English. And because my teacher said I had no imagination. Go figure. My mom says I'm too imaginative. (Another repeater! (****)
Ziptango- Hello again, have we met? Just kidding, yo. I really hope all's well. (My number one fan ~and that's something when it reaches 100 degrees in the shade~ Donatello's cool though ;)
Acetoorion- Dude, you have no idea how long it took me to realize how to break your name down, I felt like the world biggest idiot, but that's nothing new. I revised the chapter, I'm posting it along with this, don't worry, Storm's phobia will kick in later (Repeater!! (****)