God's Trumpet
Chapter 4: Vengeance
The woman called Storm drove the van out of New York City and towards Westchester. Throughout the trip, Raptor saw fewer and fewer people, but he was thankful for the tinted glass. The fewer people who saw him, the better.
Storm tried to make conversation. "So, Raptor. Tell us more about yourself."
"Like what?"
"Well…" Storm paused. Raptor was certainly shy. "What's your real name?"
"Max Elliot. What's yours?"
"Ororo Munroe. I teach history." More awkward silence.
"Professor," said Raptor, "why did you decide to make an all-mutant school?"
"I thought that would be obvious," Storm spoke up.
"In current society, there are those who fear mutants and some who try to attack them," said Xavier. "I'm sure you know that. This school gives young mutants a place where they can be with people like themselves. We also teach youngsters how to control their powers and to use them responsibly."
"What do you mean by responsibly?"
"Mutants have power beyond what normal people are capable of," said Xavier. "And as the old adage goes, power corrupts. My abilities include mind reading and mind control and I'll admit, I've been tempted to use them unscrupulously. Think of all the things I could get by taking another person's free will! I learned to resist that kind of temptation and I teach my students the same."
"We're here," Storm announced, driving through the front gate of the huge mansion and into the garage. She put the van into park and opened the sliding door, helping Xavier down the wheelchair ramp.
Out of habit, Raptor checked to make sure that the garage was deserted before exiting the car. "Are you sure I'll be okay here?"
"Yes," said Storm. "Everyone here's a mutant, just like you."
"Are any of them lizards?" Raptor asked sarcastically. He was startled by a loud "BAMF!" directly behind him. He immediately covered his nose from the acrid smell of sulfur.
"No," said an accented voice from behind him. A strong hand grabbed his shoulder and wheeled him around. Raptor was face-to-face with a blue-skinned mutant. "But some of us are demons!" The demonic mutant let out a loud hiss which ended in a playful laugh.
Raptor couldn't stop a smile from spreading across his face. He bared his own fangs, held out his claws, and gave his own reptilian shriek, which he had often used to frighten enemies away. Somewhat more at ease, Raptor held out his hand. "I'm Max Elliot, but you can call me Raptor."
The blue-skinned mutant grasped Raptor's hand with three thick fingers. "My name is Kurt Wagner," he said, "but…" Storm clapped a hand over his mouth.
Storm sighed in playful exasperation. "But in the Munich Circus, he was known as the Incredible Nightcrawler," she announced halfheartedly. Nightcrawler swatted her hand away.
"You don't say it right," Nightcrawler said. "The Incredible Nightcrawler!" he said grandly, demonstrating how he was supposed to be announced.
With an amused smile, Xavier turned his wheelchair around. "Come along, Max," he said, leaving Nightcrawler and Storm to their playful bickering. "We'll get you a room. After that, you're free to settle in, explore the mansion, and maybe meet some of the other students. Oh, and I should warn you about a little tradition the students have."
Raptor's mind was suddenly filled with images of the dangerous hazing rituals that college fraternities had. "Will I have to hold a cherry in my butt cheeks or something?"
Xavier laughed heartily before answering. "No, nothing like that. It's called the Book of Names. The pages are divided into two columns. On one side goes your first name and on the second goes a nickname you gave yourself based on your gifts. I mostly pretend to ignore it because I know how you young people hate us old farts interfering with your fun, but it has some very beneficial psychological effects."
"How so?"
"Well, when you took the name Raptor," said Xavier, "you weren't just thinking of a fun nickname. You were integrating your mutation into your identity, accepting it as a part of yourself."
Raptor had never thought of it that way, but he realized that it was true. Naming himself Raptor had helped him accept his mutation. It was a sign of acceptance. "Do you have a mutant name?"
"No," said Xavier. "I could never think of a good one."
As they continued to Raptor's new room, Raptor thought he heard Xavier mutter something. It sounded like "wheels."
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"Who are you?" Magneto asked the newcomer in the dark coat. "What did you do?" When he received no answer, he pulled the large knife out of Nightmare's hand.
"Don't bother," said Callisto. "This crazy bastard's…augh!" She never got to finish as Nightmare struck her in the stomach and pushed past her. With a wordless snarl, Nightmare tackled Crescendo, wrapping his hands around his throat. Crescendo made a futile effort to fight back. Deathstrike's hands with adamantium bones grabbed Nightmare's shoulders and tried to tear him off.
Then, Crescendo went limp. His blood ran cold as he was gripped by a sudden terror. He could still feel Nightmare's fingers tightening over his throat and his lungs burning for air. He felt the life draining out of him. He was dying. But all he knew was that if he fought back, something much worse would happen. Nightmare was holding him over the pits of Hell.
Then, it was as if an angel had come and burned the fear away. Crescendo saw as a blue shockwave blasted Nightmare right off his body. Deathstrike was shot into the air, did a graceful flip, and landed gently on the floor. Nightmare, however, was tossed high into the air and hit the floor with a loud thump. As he struggled the stand, Magneto levitated the Bowie knife towards him, pressing it against his throat. As Crescendo came to his senses, he could see the rage on Nightmare's face.
Callisto looked from Nightmare to Crescendo before realization dawned on her. Pointing at Crescendo, she exclaimed, "You're the one who blew out Nightmare's hearing!"
Crescendo looked at Nightmare, who didn't react to what Callisto said. He realized that the sound attack he had used on Nightmare had destroyed his hearing. "Yeah, I suppose so." He looked Nightmare over, thinking. "Does he know sign language?"
"No," said Psylocke.
"Then how does he communicate?"
"I can speak to him telepathically," said Psylocke.
"Then tell him," Crescendo said, his voice becoming steely, "that if the clinic still existed, they could have gotten him a hearing aid." A moment of silence passed while Psylocke transmitted the message. With another snarl, Nightmare dodged the knife and charged at Crescendo, only to be grabbed from behind by Deathstrike.
"Stop!" Magneto commanded. "No more fighting and no more taunts! Psylocke, stop him!" Lowering his voice, he whispered to Crescendo, "Do not be so belligerent in the future. Now, this mutant can manipulate fear?" Crescendo nodded. Magneto turned to Psylocke. "Stop him. Calm him down." Psylocke stared at Nightmare, ordering him to be still. Like a trained dog, Nightmare obeyed. His glare never left Crescendo.
Magneto whispered to Psylocke, "Tell Nightmare to use his powers on them." He motioned to the congregation of mutants surrounding them. "Make them fear the humans."
Nightmare did as he was told. But as he lost his concentration, Anne regained control of herself, not knowing why she had been so frightened. After a moment's hesitation she snatched up her fallen pistol, jammed in a fresh magazine and immediately started firing towards Nightmare. She had a quick trigger finger, managing to get two shots out before Magneto snatched away her pistol. Magneto stopped the second bullet, but the first struck Swarm in the arm. She collapsed from the pain, screaming as the bullet snapped her bone. The sobbing girl lay on the ground, curled in a pathetic fetal position. With a rage fueled by humiliation, Swarm lifted her face to the ceiling of the church, as if addressing God Himself. "Kill her!"
A huge swarm of little black hornets separated from the shadows of the ceiling and descended upon the Purifier woman. Anne stared in fearful fascination at the swarm as the Plagues of Egypt came to mind. The hornets sunk their stingers into her flesh. She felt each one tearing away at her skin. She rolled on the floor swinging her arms wildly, trying in swat them away.
Crescendo listened with a smile. He knew that when Swarm returned to her senses, she'd be glad to know Anne's screams were louder than hers.
Meanwhile, Magneto had pulled the bullet from Swarm's arm. "Psylocke, can you calm her?" Psylocke placed her hands on the sides of Swarm's head. Her shrieks and sobs faded. "Swarm?" Magneto asked gently, "I need you to call off your hornets." The bugs were lifted from Anne and returned to the rafters on the ceiling. Anne lie on the ground shuddering. The pain was terrible.
"Get a first aid kit!" Magneto commanded the mutant congregation. One mutant quickly hurried forward, holding out a large plastic box. Pyro took it and set it down by Swarm. Magneto lifted the pistol up to Anne's welt-covered face. "You're a nurse. Fix her arm." He pulled back the hammer.
Anne opened the first aid kit. "I-I can't fix a broken arm with this!" she said, still on the verge of tears.
"Bullshit," Midas spat, pulling out his switchblade.
"I can make a splint for her," Anne said fearfully. "It'll be good enough until she can get medical attention."
"And where would a mutant find that?" asked Crescendo. "I'm pretty sure you've heard that the clinic is gone."
"I don't know!" she cried.
"Crescendo, let her do her work," said Magneto. Anne continued making a splint for Swarm.
"There!" she said. "That's the best I can do. Keep it immobilized."
"Thank you, nurse," said Magneto. He looked towards the front of the church, with a metal image of Jesus nailed to the wooden cross. He pulled the image off the cross, eliciting gasps from the other mutants. He crafted the savior's arms into chains and bound Anne with them. "Crescendo, take your vengeance."
Crescendo emitted a simple sound, which echoed in the church. Anne began to shiver has her bones vibrated in resonance with the sound waves. She gasped as a bone snapped, then another, and another. Her screams grew louder as the deadly sound tore away at her skeleton. Her bones could no longer support her and she was reduced to a bleeding lump of flesh, limp and helpless. "God help me!" she cried.
"Midas," said Magneto, "finish her off."
With uncharacteristic bloodlust, Midas plunged his switchblade through Anne's ruined skull.
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