Woo, new chapter! Fight scene time! But at least as dark as the previous chapter.
Chapter 9: Fight
"I don't recall swearing to do anything. You are a naive fool! Thanks to my own research, I've given this project a ten year leap forward! Just look at me! The process even works on adults!" Ruby responded, smirking despite the fact that she was still bound by Morgan's powers.
"You monster! What have you done to yourself!" the scientist exclaimed, running forward.
"I've done what you were too weak to even dream of! I am now more powerful than you could possible imagine! I am perfection embodied! And now, I have no more use for you," she said, her body beginning to glow. With a burst of flame, she broke free of the tendrils holding her, and rushed straight towards the scientist. Her fingers extended into claws as she flew forward, and Ruby smiled as she plunged the claws through the stomach of the scientist.
"Goodbye, old friend."
The scientist fell to the ground, a look of surprise on her face. Morgan rushed forward to catch her as she fell. As she lay there, bleeding, she managed to croak out a few last words. "I'm sorry... that it had to end like this... Just... don't let her win..." she said, before the last remnants of life left her. She died in Morgan's arms.
"A fitting end to an old fool. A sinner who attempted to be god," Ruby said, gloating.
Morgan simply kneeled there, silent.
"It's a pity that I have to kill you too. Do you know what your sin is?"
"I'm kind of partial to Wrath, myself," Morgan said, standing up, and staring straight at Ruby. Behind him, the shadows cast by the ceiling and the broken lights began to writhe and twist. "You call yourself perfect. I'm going to show you how wrong you are," Morgan said, as even Ruby's own shadow moved to attack her.
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X-Men! I'm picking up a huge mutant signature in the Savage Land! I'm relaying the co-ordinates now, the Professor said into the minds of the team currently in the Blackbird.
"Got 'em. We're on our way. Team, get ready!" Cyclops said, glancing back into the cabin of the jet.
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The battle between Morgan and Ruby raged like an inferno. While Pietro and the other Brotherhood members had regained consciousness by now, they didn't join Morgan, being completely awestruck by the sheer intensity of the fighters.
The two of them were almost evenly matched. It was more like a dance now, and if either one made a mistake, it would likely be their last. Both combatants were throwing everything they had at the other, and both of them were responding with unerring precision. They had now finally resorted to pure fisticuffs, and the battle became even more intense, if that was possible.
Morgan let out a scream of rage, and finally forced his way under Ruby's guard. He slammed both palms into her stomach, smirking in satisfaction as he heard the gasp of air being forced from her lungs. She went flying backwards, but Morgan wasn't about to let her rest that easily. A split second after his attack connected, he had leapt forward, not giving the woman a moment's rest. Now that he had landed the first hit, he wasn't going to let up.
He continued his assault, showering his foe with blow after blow, finally pushing her back far enough so that his powers could be used at close range. A thin jet of blackness shot forward, impaling itself through Ruby's shoulder, and pinning her to the wall. Morgan was ready to put a spike through her other arm, when he was stopped by a familiar voice from behind him.
"Morgan, STOP!" Kitty screamed at him, running in the door of the room, followed closely by Scott, Logan, Jean, Kurt, and Ororo. "We've got it from here," she added, putting her hand on Morgan's shoulder. Morgan was breathing heavily, his mind clouded with a mixture of adrenaline and rage.
"Kitty's right, kid. Leave her to us," Logan said.
"Yes, listen to your friends. You don't want to do this, do you?" Ruby said. Her demeanor had changed from arrogance to pleading. It's amazing what having a large spike pinning you to a wall will do for your personality.
"Shut up! You've got no right to talk!" Morgan said, knocking her out with a heavy blow to the side of the head. The spine pinning her to the wall dissipated, letting her fall to the ground. She was bleeding, but it wouldn't be fatal.
Morgan was finally starting to calm down, now the fight was truly over. He let out a deep sigh, before relief was replaced with another sensation. "Okay, feeling woozy," he mumbled, stumbling a bit. He nearly fell over, but Kitty was next to him, and helped him to steady himself. Not used to exerting himself to the degree that the fight had required, Morgan had worked himself to the point of exhaustion. He was lucky to even be upright at this point.
Sniffing the air, Logan quickly recognized the Brotherhood members. With a familiar SNIKT, he had popped his claws. "Hey, wait! We're not here to fight, yo!" Toad said, raising his arms in surrender. "Yeah, what he said. As much as I hate to say it, could you give us a lift home?" Pietro asked. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't even be considering it, but these were hardly normal circumstances.
"What do you think, kid? We give 'em a ride?" Logan said, turning to Scott.
"I don't like it. But this is a rescue mission, and the Professor would probably agree. Fine, but if you try ANYTHING on the flight home, I will personally shove you out of the plane," Scott said to the Brotherhood members, obviously not liking the idea of having to help them.
"So, what about her?" Morgan asked, pointing to the unconscious form of Ruby.
"I might have an idea," Maxis said, stepping forward. Held in his hands was one of the collars that had been used on Pietro and the others, and had nullified their powers. "This collar is designed to nullify the powers of the wearer."
"Okay, now what do we do about the rest of the people here?" Morgan asked, motioning to the now mostly empty cages.
"Oh, you don't need to worry about that. While you and that woman were fighting, you ended up wrecking most of the cages. The prisoners got out, and have pretty much overrun the facility. We can organize an evacuation when we get back," Scott said, reassuringly.
"We're done here, unless anyone has any objections," Logan said, looking around at everyone.
"There's one last thing," Morgan said, letting go of Kitty, and slowly made his way towards the scientist's body. "Good bye... mother," Morgan said, folding her hands over her stomach. At those words, Morgan could have sworn he saw the corners of her mouth turn up into an almost imperceptible smile, but that was probably his eyes playing tricks on him. "We're taking her with us. She deserves a proper burial," he said, getting to his feet, with Kitty once more helping him up.
"Let's get
back to the jet. I don't want to spend any more time here," he added,
making his way to the door with a bit of assistance from Kitty to make sure
that he didn't topple over.
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Later, at the mansion...
"Hank, how is the boy?" Xavier asked, wheeling his way into the infirmary where Morgan had been since returning to the mansion. "Exhausted, but otherwise in good shape. He's been sleeping since he came in here. He was out the moment his head hit the pillow, and I haven't the heart to wake him," McCoy replied, chuckling slightly.
"Let him rest, then. After the ordeal he's been through, he deserves that much," the Professor said, wheeling out of the infirmary.
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Elsewhere...
"Ma'am, we're receiving another data stream," the woman stationed in front of the bank of monitors called to a blue-skinned woman behind her.
The blue-skinned female casually walked up to the monitors, baring her fangs in a grin as she surveyed the new data. "My, this is certainly interesting. Our little mole is proving quite useful. Keep me posted," she said, before turning on her heel and walking off.
Well, that's Chapter 9! What do you guys think? Next chapter, I think I'll lighten the mood a bit. What do you think?
Until then, you know the drill!
Stay Snazzy!