I've noticed the levity is starting to leak away from the story like mucus from the nose of an allergy stricken human. Or maybe like that weird clear ooze that leaks out of cracked eggs. Or something. Anyway, just so you know, this is a great compromise for me. Sacrificing lotsa deaths and stuff for humor. Continuity for a story line that actually goes somewhere... It's more than I can bear. I'll just have to take my frustration out on my other stories...
Anyway. The story.
"I Tried"
Furor Paxx (VulgateOfEarth@hotmail.com)
Chapter 23- The Knock on the Door
Todd moaned and put his hand on his head. He looked around and saw lots of dark shapes that looked kind of like people, but may have just been figments of his damaged mind. He became aware of a strange noise that was echoing through his skull. Todd thought about that for a second. It wasn't that the sound was strange, it was kind of familiar, but the fact that he heard it now that he was- or should have been- dead, really confused Todd.
The noise stopped and Todd nodded breifly. That was enough to send a sharp burst of pain into his head that made him wish he was dead. After a few minutes, though, the pain stopped and Todd sat in the quiet dark.
It was great, he could almost breath without seeing bright purple and pink butterflies in front of him. Of course, something had to go wrong. Something always went wrong. This time it was light. It started as a tiny line of brightness zigzagging its way across Todd's line of sight. It was interesting, even though it started up a dull ache right between his eyes. Then the line got bigger and brighter. That was bad, since the ache got worse. Todd turned onto his other side to avoid the light, but it was really, really bright.
'Why me?' Todd thought as the light- and pain- got worse and worse. 'Why not someone I don't like, like... the blue freak?'
Todd sighed heavily. There wasn't anything to do but deal.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kaysin woke up with a start. He took several deep breaths and tried to get his bearings. He looked around, expecting to be in the Control Room. Unfortunately, he wasn't. In fact, he was on a couch that looked suspiciously like one that was at Wanda's house. Kaysin sat up slowly. Interesting. Maybe he had been sleep-walking. But...
"I thought the house was gone..." He said out loud.
There was a yelp somewhere to his left. Lance straighten up his hair and blinked sheepishly. "Uh, did he call?"
At Kaysin's blank stare, Lance scowled and picked up a cushion from the couch. He hurled it across the semi-dark room, where it hit someone who muttered a long string of profanity.
"Summers..." Lance's jaw dropped. "Summers, I think you've been around us for too long. I never knew those words were in your vocabulary."
"They aren't Lance," Scott shot back, but not from the corner that Lance had thrown the pillow in. "But you better believe that they're in Logan's."
"So did everyone fall asleep?" Lance asked, trying to change the subject and hoping that Logan hadn't fully awoken.
"I didn't." Scott said. "And neither did the Professor or Jaysin. We haven't gotten a word from Todd yet. It's been almost 24 hours now."
"Huh? Only 24?" Kaysin asked, totally lost. Hadn't they just found Todd? Didn't he fall from the ceiling? And why was the house still standing?
"Yes, but it really does feel like more. The professor decided that if he couldn't find Todd, he could try to find some of the other mutants who might try to hurt one of us." Scott handed Lance a cup of coffee and, after a second to weigh the risks, he gave one to Kaysin as well.
"And?" Logan asked. He felt a twinge of satisfaction as Lance winced, but decided to save his punishment for later.
Scott shrugged. "And, there's no trace of anyone even near Bayville, except the X-Men and us." From his corner on the floor, Logan tightened his fist as he realized what Scott had said. 'the X-Men and us.'
"So. What are the chances that he's still alive?" Logan asked, more out of spite than anything.
"They're still 50%, Logan. He either dead or alive." Scott answered, managing to keep his cool even though Logan was pushing him a bit too far.
"Don't stress it, Summers. He's just mad cause you're with us now." Lance smirked. "Okay, it'll be light soon, so we might as well get ready to search for him again. Once 'Tro gets up, we'll let him search inside the house again. He's probably got some kind of trick he can do with those computers to find Todd. The rest of us will look for him outside." Lance stood up and stretched. Scott nodded and headed back to the kitchen. "Hey, Logan... step outside, please. I need to talk to you."
Kaysin watched them both leave. "Well, now I'm confused."
"Kaysin," the Professor called from the kitchen. "would you mind coming in here? I have a problem I think you can help me with."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So, what's up?" Logan asked Lance. Lance sat on the piano bench and offered Logan a seat across from him. Logan sat down warily. There was something about Lance's attitude that set warning bells off in Logan's head.
"I don't know whether we just got off on the wrong foot, or whether we've actually got some deep rooted hate of one another, but either way, you and I have a problem." Lance leaned back and propped his elbows up on the piano cover. Logan gave the boy his coldest, most bored look. He had never noticed a problem between them and had no clue what Lance was talking about.
"What problem might that be?" Logan asked.
"Scott and Kurt."
"Meaning?"
"You never bothered to get to know us before they joined our ranks, Logan." Lance stared hard at Logan. "But since they switched teams, you give them nothing but grief. In the Brotherhood, we're family. We're all we've got and if you mess with one of us, you mess with all of us. Neither Scott nor Kurt would ever complain about the way you and your X-Men treat them, but we notice and we're getting pissed. You have every right to hate them for leaving your team for ours, but keep it to yourself. If you intend to harass my Brotherhood, then I don't need or want you here and you can just go back to your perfect little X-Men."
Logan sat still for a minute after Lance stopped talking. He understood what the kid was saying. "What do you mean by my X-Men?"
"I mean that you run the X-Men the same way that I run the Brotherhood. Xavier and Magneto are the ones that everyone gives the credit, but we know who's in charge. I'm telling you, one leader to another, that I don't let my people diss yours on your turf and I don't expect yours to diss mine on my turf. It's just that simple. I appreciate what you guys are doing for us, but if you're only here to cause trouble, you'd better leave."
"And if I don't?"
"Then things will happen, Logan. Things that don't have to happen. You aren't the only one who remembers Valzinameku. We all learned the depths of our strength in that fight. Don't make me show you how far those depths reach."
Logan snorted and pulled out a cigar. "We'll see, Sport. We'll see." He walked out of the room and into the kitchen, smiling as if it was all a big joke.
Lance didn't mind though. He knew that the Brotherhood was safe.
His Brotherhood.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Anyway. The story.
"I Tried"
Furor Paxx (VulgateOfEarth@hotmail.com)
Chapter 23- The Knock on the Door
Todd moaned and put his hand on his head. He looked around and saw lots of dark shapes that looked kind of like people, but may have just been figments of his damaged mind. He became aware of a strange noise that was echoing through his skull. Todd thought about that for a second. It wasn't that the sound was strange, it was kind of familiar, but the fact that he heard it now that he was- or should have been- dead, really confused Todd.
The noise stopped and Todd nodded breifly. That was enough to send a sharp burst of pain into his head that made him wish he was dead. After a few minutes, though, the pain stopped and Todd sat in the quiet dark.
It was great, he could almost breath without seeing bright purple and pink butterflies in front of him. Of course, something had to go wrong. Something always went wrong. This time it was light. It started as a tiny line of brightness zigzagging its way across Todd's line of sight. It was interesting, even though it started up a dull ache right between his eyes. Then the line got bigger and brighter. That was bad, since the ache got worse. Todd turned onto his other side to avoid the light, but it was really, really bright.
'Why me?' Todd thought as the light- and pain- got worse and worse. 'Why not someone I don't like, like... the blue freak?'
Todd sighed heavily. There wasn't anything to do but deal.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kaysin woke up with a start. He took several deep breaths and tried to get his bearings. He looked around, expecting to be in the Control Room. Unfortunately, he wasn't. In fact, he was on a couch that looked suspiciously like one that was at Wanda's house. Kaysin sat up slowly. Interesting. Maybe he had been sleep-walking. But...
"I thought the house was gone..." He said out loud.
There was a yelp somewhere to his left. Lance straighten up his hair and blinked sheepishly. "Uh, did he call?"
At Kaysin's blank stare, Lance scowled and picked up a cushion from the couch. He hurled it across the semi-dark room, where it hit someone who muttered a long string of profanity.
"Summers..." Lance's jaw dropped. "Summers, I think you've been around us for too long. I never knew those words were in your vocabulary."
"They aren't Lance," Scott shot back, but not from the corner that Lance had thrown the pillow in. "But you better believe that they're in Logan's."
"So did everyone fall asleep?" Lance asked, trying to change the subject and hoping that Logan hadn't fully awoken.
"I didn't." Scott said. "And neither did the Professor or Jaysin. We haven't gotten a word from Todd yet. It's been almost 24 hours now."
"Huh? Only 24?" Kaysin asked, totally lost. Hadn't they just found Todd? Didn't he fall from the ceiling? And why was the house still standing?
"Yes, but it really does feel like more. The professor decided that if he couldn't find Todd, he could try to find some of the other mutants who might try to hurt one of us." Scott handed Lance a cup of coffee and, after a second to weigh the risks, he gave one to Kaysin as well.
"And?" Logan asked. He felt a twinge of satisfaction as Lance winced, but decided to save his punishment for later.
Scott shrugged. "And, there's no trace of anyone even near Bayville, except the X-Men and us." From his corner on the floor, Logan tightened his fist as he realized what Scott had said. 'the X-Men and us.'
"So. What are the chances that he's still alive?" Logan asked, more out of spite than anything.
"They're still 50%, Logan. He either dead or alive." Scott answered, managing to keep his cool even though Logan was pushing him a bit too far.
"Don't stress it, Summers. He's just mad cause you're with us now." Lance smirked. "Okay, it'll be light soon, so we might as well get ready to search for him again. Once 'Tro gets up, we'll let him search inside the house again. He's probably got some kind of trick he can do with those computers to find Todd. The rest of us will look for him outside." Lance stood up and stretched. Scott nodded and headed back to the kitchen. "Hey, Logan... step outside, please. I need to talk to you."
Kaysin watched them both leave. "Well, now I'm confused."
"Kaysin," the Professor called from the kitchen. "would you mind coming in here? I have a problem I think you can help me with."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So, what's up?" Logan asked Lance. Lance sat on the piano bench and offered Logan a seat across from him. Logan sat down warily. There was something about Lance's attitude that set warning bells off in Logan's head.
"I don't know whether we just got off on the wrong foot, or whether we've actually got some deep rooted hate of one another, but either way, you and I have a problem." Lance leaned back and propped his elbows up on the piano cover. Logan gave the boy his coldest, most bored look. He had never noticed a problem between them and had no clue what Lance was talking about.
"What problem might that be?" Logan asked.
"Scott and Kurt."
"Meaning?"
"You never bothered to get to know us before they joined our ranks, Logan." Lance stared hard at Logan. "But since they switched teams, you give them nothing but grief. In the Brotherhood, we're family. We're all we've got and if you mess with one of us, you mess with all of us. Neither Scott nor Kurt would ever complain about the way you and your X-Men treat them, but we notice and we're getting pissed. You have every right to hate them for leaving your team for ours, but keep it to yourself. If you intend to harass my Brotherhood, then I don't need or want you here and you can just go back to your perfect little X-Men."
Logan sat still for a minute after Lance stopped talking. He understood what the kid was saying. "What do you mean by my X-Men?"
"I mean that you run the X-Men the same way that I run the Brotherhood. Xavier and Magneto are the ones that everyone gives the credit, but we know who's in charge. I'm telling you, one leader to another, that I don't let my people diss yours on your turf and I don't expect yours to diss mine on my turf. It's just that simple. I appreciate what you guys are doing for us, but if you're only here to cause trouble, you'd better leave."
"And if I don't?"
"Then things will happen, Logan. Things that don't have to happen. You aren't the only one who remembers Valzinameku. We all learned the depths of our strength in that fight. Don't make me show you how far those depths reach."
Logan snorted and pulled out a cigar. "We'll see, Sport. We'll see." He walked out of the room and into the kitchen, smiling as if it was all a big joke.
Lance didn't mind though. He knew that the Brotherhood was safe.
His Brotherhood.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~