Take the Long Way Home
Well, chapter 13. And I think its going to be pretty unlucky for Shawn and Maria. *Shawn storms in waving my manuscript containing ideas for future chapters* "What the HELL are you thinking?!" Something wrong? "You bet your ass! I just read one of the ideas you had for an upcoming chapter and…" Draco, if you would be so kind? "THWACK!" Shawn slumps down as Draco slings his quarterstaff, now complete with a Shawn head shaped dent, back over his shoulder. Thank you. *Draco nods* "Actually, I've been wanting to do that since I met the guy." *He eyes the new shape his staff is in* "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to find a blacksmith."
Ally- trust me, you'll find out what happened soon enough.
marie lebeau- HEY! *peers out of the computer screen* you still with me here? You were one of my favorite reviewers ya know!
L1701E- I'm crankin' em out as fast as I can man!
Chapter 13- Hey; Can't Win Em All, Right?
Disclaimer-All X-Men and related characters are NOT mine! But if Marvel is willing to sell the copyrights for a couple of old baseball cards and some loose change…
"AAA"-talking
'AAA'-thought
AAA-telepathy
AAA-self debate or conversation with "feral side" in Shawn and Rahne's case.
Shawn wiped his forehead off as he and his uncle unloaded the trailer Tom had brought with him. "I still can't believe that Hack grabbed his drum set on his way out!" he said as he hoisted the main drum onto his shoulder. Tom shrugged.
"You know as well as I do how he did it. And I think the shock his dad got from seeing him doing it gave him enough time to get away before his dad reacted." He grabbed one of the smaller drums and their stands and followed Shawn into the mansion.
-Bayville Third National Bank-
"I still don't see why I had to come with you to the bank mom," Amanda Sefton scowled. Margali Sefton just ignored her daughter as she filled out the checking form. Both looked up though, when a sudden commotion sounded at the doors. A figure, enshrouded in a black cloak and holding a black walking staff, had just entered the bank. The security guard intercepted him, blocking his way with one arm.
"Okay buddy, I th-UGHHH!" The guard's condescending tone was cut off as the figure expertly whipped the butt of his staff into his stomach. The man stepped over the prostrate form, knocking the guard out with a negligent flick of the end of his staff to the other man's head.
"Fool, taking on a mutant of my caliber without even drawing your weapon," he remarked. He turned and regarded the bank with flashing green eyes. Amanda and her mother were the only patrons, with two female tellers behind the counter. The man held out his staff and pointed to the tellers. "If you have not already tripped the alarm, would you please do so now?" he asked in a calm, almost friendly voice. The women nodded slowly, indicating the alarm had already been tripped. "Very good. Now would the four of you please get down on the floor behind the counter?" he continued in the same voice. As he spoke, a silver glow began at his hand and worked its way up the staff. When it reached the end, it extended into a long, curved, cruel looking blade of shimmering silver energy.
"Aren't you robbing the bank?" Amanda asked in a puzzled voice, still not comprehending the seriousness of the situation. The figure shook his head sadly.
"Little girl, this is about something far more precious than money. This is about vengeance!" he hissed. Outside, sirens began to wail.
-At the Institute-
"Well, that's the last of it," Tom said, closing the doors on the trailer. He and Shawn had unloaded Hack's drums and also the bass and guitar that had belonged to Slash. The only other thing that his friends had left Shawn was a computer program CD from Hack. It was red and had the words "Only to be used in an extreme emergency requiring the skills of the Triad" printed on it.
"Are you sure that they said to find good homes for them?" Shawn asked his uncle, referring to the instruments. Tom nodded as they headed in to get some water. Mozart, who had been hiding under the trailer to avoid Scott, trailed after them, looking nervously over his shoulder for the spectacled mutant. Scott hadn't figured out exactly who had put the rotten eggs and dead mice in his favorite pair of shoes (AN: you probably thought it was something else didn't you? C'mon people, this is the original trickster here, would he leave evidence that he committed the crime?), but he did know who had shredded his second, third and fourth favorite pairs of shoes and had promised terrible vengeance. Thus, Mozart was just a tad jumpy.
After the two of them got their drinks, Tom wandered off to flirt with Storm and annoy Logan, basically the same thing, and Shawn plopped down on the couch, Mozart lying down near his feet. School had let out for summer a few days ago, so the other students at the Institute were currently engaged in different activities.
Maria was lounging in one of the armchairs, nose buried deep into another fantasy novel. Kitty was lying in another chair, writing in her diary. The rest of the students were scattered throughout the Institute. Shawn grabbed the remote and flicked on the TV. He began to channel surf at a pace that would have made Pietro jealous. A flash of some interest caught his eye and he backtracked to the channel in question. It was a live newscast showing Bayville Third National, surrounded by police cars. A swat van was visible in the background. On screen, a pretty reporter began her dialogue.
"This is Trish Tilby, reporting live from downtown. An unknown mutant has taken four people hostage for unknown reasons inside this…" Trish turned around as one of the bank doors opened. "Wait a moment; it appears that the mutant is going to make his demands. He's using one of the captives as a human shield!" The camera panned in to show a frightened Amanda clutched in front of a robed and hooded figure. A blade of energy extended from the sleeve of the figures cloak, poised over his captive's neck.
"Alright, keep those guns down or I put this child to sleep permanently," he called out in a voice that shocked Shawn to his core. It can't be him! he thought to Bahumut. It sure looks like it kid the other presence 'said' back. But he's DEAD!!! Shawn thought in panic. He looked back at the screen as the figure began to speak again; not noticing that Kitty and Maria had noticed what was going on and were staring intently at the screen. "I only have one demand. Meet it and you get your precious hostages. Fail to meet it within the time I set; and I send out a body, starting with this one!" the figure called, pressing his blade tighter against Amanda's throat. "I want the boy known as Shawn O'Reily to face me. We have unfinished business to attend to. That is the only demand I will make. You have one hour to comply." With that, he backed slowly into the building. The camera panned in for another close-up.
"Who is that? Is that Amanda!?" Kitty shrieked. Maria looked at Shawn.
"You know him." It wasn't a question. Shawn nodded.
"Adam Krupner," he said, getting up. He looked at Kitty. "Kitty, go get Kurt and come with me. Maria, you stay here." That really pissed Maria off. His tone left no room for argument, but Kitty argued anyway. Maria on the other hand, stalked away, muttering under her breath about not giving a damn if the girl got sliced six ways to Sunday.
"Why don't I like, get the Professor? He…" Shawn cut Kitty off.
"It's my fault she's in this mess, I'll get her out. I need you and Kurt to get the hostages out while I hand Krupner's ass to him on a silver platter." With that, he stalked out the door, Mozart at his heels. As soon as they were out of earshot, Shawn spoke to Mozart. "I want you to stay out of this too." He said sternly. Mozart shook his head.
"I make no promises kid. If you get in too deep, the Coyote is gonna pull ya out, even if you're kickin' and screamin' the whole time." Shawn nodded as they went up the steps to his room. He grabbed his staff and stepped out onto the balcony.
"Fair 'nough," he grunted, growing out his wings and tail. He took off into the sky, his mind churning like his stomach after eating one of Kitty's pizza rolls. Mozart took a flying leap off the balcony, landed and broke into a loping run, following Shawn's flight path. When he reached the wall, he simply seemed to go transparent, ghosting through any obstacle in his way.
-Back at the Institute-
"AMANDA"S VHAT!?" Kurt's shout echoed throughout the entire mansion. Kitty rubbed at her ears for a second before she answered.
"She's like, being held hostage by some weirdo who wants to like, kill Shawn, or something like that."
"And what exactly is this weirdo's name?" Tom asked from behind them. Kitty started in surprise. But Maria, who had come running at the shout, answered for her.
"Adam Krupner," she said. Tom's face turned serious.
"So the 'Angel of Death' wasn't dead after all," he mused. He turned back to the kids. "Kurt, teleport Kitty there and get those hostages out of the line of fire. I've gotta go pull Shawn's ass outta the fire before he gets burned. Maria, you're with me." With that, he turned and sprinted towards the garage. Kurt grabbed hold of Kitty, and the two of them disappeared in a puff of sulfurous smoke as Maria followed after the older martial artist. As the smoke cleared, the rest of the X-Men arrived on the scene.
-At the Bank-
Shawn landed in front of the bank, ignoring the police and reporters. He turned and yelled to Krupner. "C'mon out Krupner! Your fight's with me! Leave these people out of it!" A silver arc of energy crashing through the plate glass was the only response he got. He dodged out of the way, barely. His opponent leapt through the window frame, landing in a pool of black robes. He stood up then, scythe at the ready.
"My name isn't Krupner anymore, O'Reily" the man spat. "I am now truly the angel of death, Thanatos!" He threw back his hood, giving the assembled people a good long look at his face. The entire right portion of his face surrounding his eye was destroyed, muscle tissue and even bone showing through in some places. "This is what you did to me O'Reily!" he shrieked.
Shawn shook his head. "I wasn't the one who attempted to use a grenade to win the championship of the rookie tournament division. You got what you deserved." He readied his staff. "And now we're apparently going have to repeat the experience. Unless of course, you let the hostages go," he added.
Thanatos laughed; the sound as harsh as a Russian winter. "Do you take me for a fool?" he sneered, "Those four are my 'get out of jail free' pass. I would be a true simpleton to hand them over." He readied his scythe then. "And now to finish what was began four years ago," he said.
The two martial artists rushed at each other, weapons at the ready. But to Shawn's surprise, Thanatos was much faster that even six years of intense training should have made him! 'How did he get so fast?' he asked himself. He went to dodge a swipe from the staff, but felt the blade clip his hair. "I'll just take a little off the top," Thanatos cackled.
Unknown to them, the fight was now being broadcast live on the local and even one national, news stations.
'I don't get it; he wasn't nearly this strong when I faced him in the tournament!' Shawn thought to himself. Think about it kid, he's probably been training his ass off in preparation for this, both physically and with his powers. You on the other hand have been concentrating on improving your control of your powers. You slacked off and now ya gotta pay the price Bahumut explained. Shawn could only think of one answer. I'm gonna get my ass handed to me, aren't I? Oh yeah, big time
Shawn rose shakily back to his feet, shaking his head to clear the cobwebs. He attempted to form up a defensive position, but was kicked in the stomach, followed by a punch to the back of the head. A final kick sent him flying through the empty window, and crashing through the tellers counter. He landed heavily against the wall near the hostages. He shook his head to clear it, looking around as he did so. "Urgh…Oh, hey Amanda," he gave a small wave to the girl, whose mother had grabbed on to her when he made his 'entrance'. Outside, there was the sound of several police cars exploding, Thanatos' cackle ringing out over it all. "Ya know, for someone obsessed with killing me, he sure likes to spread the damage around," Shawn remarked to no one in particular. Amanda's mother shot her a look.
"Amanda, who is this and how does he know you?" she asked, her tone dangerous.
"Umm…he's…he's…mumble mumble"
"What was that?"
"He's a friend of Kurt's" she said in a near whisper.
"I thought I told you to stay away from that…that freak!" Her mother shouted.
"Please ma'am, freak is such an ugly word. I prefer 'humans with a crackerjack surprise in their DNA'," Shawn quipped. He made a move to get up, as Thanatos finally made his appearance via the window, but failed. "Uh oh." He tried once more, but his back was stuck to the wall, held there by the spikes that ran the length of his back. "This will not end well," He muttered
"That doesn't sound good." One of the tellers whimpered. Thanatos stopped his advance, a sadistic smirk plastered over his face.
"I believe that I'll use both my blades to carve you like a turkey," He grinned. He waved one hand so that his wrist was exposed. There was some sort of band on his wrist, with a short rod of metal sticking up from it. An identical silver glow began to emanate from both his hands. The glow traveled the length of his staff and onto the band as well. When he was through, he had two silver energy blades of equal length crossed in front of him. "Let's cut to the chase, shall we?" he laughed manically. Suddenly, Kitty emerged from a wall next to the tellers. Kurt ported in at the same time, right next to Amanda and her mother. Kitty took in the situation with a single glance.
"Let's like, get out of here!" she cried. She grabbed onto the two women and pulled them with her through the wall as brakes squealed outside. Kurt attempted to grab hold of his girlfriend so he could port them out of harms way. Her mother however, was not helping, attempting to keep herself and her daughter out of his reach.
"Keep away!" she shrieked. Kurt pulled back, a look of hurt and misery crossing his fuzzy face.
"LADY, WOULD YOU PUT A LID ON IT?!" Shawn yelled. He took a deep breath as Margali stared at him in shock. Even Thanatos had stopped at the force behind his voice. "Listen, I don't know what you have against Kurt, but have you ever considered the fact that maybe, just maybe, he truly loves your daughter? Trust me, I've seen the look he wears around her before, and the guy that was wearing it was one sick puppy, let me tell you." Thanatos interrupted at that point, swinging his scythe blades experimentally.
"This is all very nice, but it's time for you to…," Thanatos stopped and turned round as a snarl erupted from behind him. He turned, blades at the ready, and clashed with Wildcat's claws. "Fiery little thing, aren't you?" he said, blocking each blow with the practiced ease that marked the true martial artist. She grinned.
"I was just the distraction. Your real opponent is right there," she said, gesturing with her head behind him. While she distracted the psycho, Kurt grabbed Amanda and her mother by the hands and 'ported them out of there. Shawn was still stuck in the wall though. Thanatos looked in the direction she indicated as he kicked her away from him. She landed next to Shawn.
There was Tom O'Reily, standing in the shattered window frame. He had on his mirrored sunglasses, his headphones, and had his Sais at the ready. He also wore a clone of the smirk Shawn sported on occasion. "You've called down the thun-dah, now prepare to reap the whirlwind," he called out as a challenge. Thanatos looked at him like he had just asked him to play dress-up and come to a tea party. Shawn just palmed his face.
"Does your uncle take anything seriously?" Maria asked in a conversational tone.
"Training and women, and sometimes I'm not even sure about the women," Shawn sighed. "I heard that!" "I just wish I could unstick myself from this damn wall!" Maria looked at him for a moment.
"Have you tried changing back to your human form?" she asked as if it were the most obvious ting in the world. Shawn looked at her for a moment, flushing with embarrassment while Bahumut cracked up in his head.
-At the Institute-
Wolverine shook his head as he watched the newscast. "Doesn't he take anything seriously?" he asked no one in particular. Storm and Beast chose this moment to wander through.
"Logan, have you seen Mr. O'Reily?" Storm asked. Logan wordlessly gestured to the TV. Storm looked at the screen for a moment, looked at Wolverine in confusion, and then did a double-take. "Is that…?" Logan nodded. "Beast, alert the professor, we have a situation downtown." Logan held up a hand as the other instructors began to leave the room.
"Hold on a minute 'Roro, it looks to me that O'Reily has things under control. Let's just let him handle it." Beast looked at him for a moment, then laid a hand on Logan's forehead. "He doesn't seem to have a fever," the blue scientist announced. "Hank," the feral mutant growled, "You had better have a damn good reason for doing that."
"As long as I've known you, you've never passed up a fight. Why start now?"
Logan leaned back in his chair. "It's my day off," he said, then turned his attention back to the screen.
-Back at the Bank-
Blades flashed as "The Wiley O'Reily" and "The Angel of Death" clashed. They struggled against each other for a moment, each seeking to overpower the other, and then separated. Tom reached down with a hand and hit play on his cd player. Shawn palmed his face in embarrassment as fast-paced fiddle music started. "My nephew likes rock n' roll, but I prefer country m'self," Tom grinned. Then he began to sing with the music, his voice blending seamlessly with the song.
"The Devil
went down to Georgia, he was looking for a soul to steal.
He was in a bind, 'cause he was way behind, he was willing to make a deal.
When he came across this young boy sawing on a fiddle and
playing it hot.
Well the Devil jumped up on a hickory stump, said, "Boy let me tell you
what.
I guess you didn't know it, but I'm a fiddle player too,
Now if you care to make a dare, well I'll make a bet
with you.
Now you play pretty good fiddle boy, but give the Devil his due,
I'll bet a fiddle of gold against your soul 'cause I think I'm better than
you."" As he sang, he matched
Thanatos blow for blow, move for move.
All the while, Tom kept singing
"The boy said, "My name's
Jonny and it might be a sin,
But I'll take your bet, you're gonna regret, 'cause I'm the best there's ever
been."
Jonny rosin up you bow and
play your fiddle hard.
'cause hell's broke loose in Georgia
and the Devil deals the cards.
And if you win you'll get this shiny fiddle made of gold,
But if you loose the Devil gets your soul. Hey!"
"So the Devil opened up his
case, said, "I guess I'll start this show."
And fire flew from his finger tips as he rosined up his bow.
When he drew that bow across the strings, it made an evil hiss.
Then a band of demons joined in, it sounded something like this." As the fiddle and bass played, Tom was being
slowly driven back by Thanatos. Maria
made a move to help him, but Shawn held her back. He shook his head when she shot a look at
him.
"He's
toying with him," he said in a low voice.
As he spoke, Tom's retreat began to slow. Once again he began to sing.
"As the Devil finished, Jonny said, "Well you're pretty good old son.
Sit down in that chair out there, let me show you how it's done."" Tom
sang, speeding up his attack.
"He played Fire on the
Mountain, run, boys, run.
The Devil's in the house with the rising sun,
Chicken in the breadpan picking out dough,
Granny does your dog bite, "No, child, no."" Thanatos was the one on the retreat now,
sweat beginning to bead on his cloaked forehead. He hissed as one of Tom's whirling blades
found flesh beneath the concealing volume of his cloak.
"So the Devil bowed his head because he knew that he'd been beat.
He laid that golden fiddle on the ground at Jonny's
feet.
And Jonny said, "Devil, just come on back if you
ever want to try again,
'cause I've told you once, you son of a bitch, I'm the best there's ever
been."" Thanatos pulled back as
Tom's other blade scored on his other side.
"He played Fire on the Mountain, run, boys, run.
The Devil's in the house with the rising sun,
Chicken in the breadpan picking out dough
Granny does your dog bite, "No, child, no.""
As the song came to an end, Tom pushed Thanatos' blades out of the way and dropped his own blades. 'Time to finish this with a bang' he thought, seeing his opponents eyes widen, then narrow in thought at the new development. Maria made another move to go to the martial artist's aide. Once again Shawn held her back. "He's got it under control," he said. 'I just hope he's not gonna use that move!"
"TIGER CLAWWWW!!!!!!!" Tom screamed, splaying out his hands in a claw shape. Shawn palmed his face. Why did I let him watch that movie! He groaned to Bahumut. Don't ask me, you were the one who rented it the mental presence replied. While the two of them conversed, Tom lunged forward, moving his hands in an exaggerated motion. Suddenly, he lunged upward with his knee. *CRUNCH*
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIiEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" All over Bayville, men suddenly winced and crossed their legs. Outside, all of the cops winced in sympathy. A few of them retched.
"NOW THAT"S WHAT I'M TALKIN' ABOUT!" Tom crowed over the fallen form. Thanatos staggered to his feet and out the empty window. Before the police could react, the back of his cloak erupted into a pair of ebony feathered wings. He took off into the afternoon sky, wavering from side to side as he went.
"Glad that's over," Shawn said, dusting himself off. He had reverted to his human form. He looked out the window, where Kurt was attempting to talk to Amanda's mother. Kitty seemed to be getting on good with the two tellers she had phased through the wall. Neither of them looked as wild around the eyes as he had expected them to be.
He made a move to pass his uncle, but he clamped a hand onto his nephew's shoulder. Tom looked at Maria. "Excuse us for a moment, my nephew and I need to discuss his training, or lack thereof," he said, his voice turning slightly frosty. Across the street, Mozart winced as Shawn started getting chewed out by his Sensei.
"Damn, glad I'm not him," he muttered, wincing once again as Tom started in once again after taking a breath.
-Location: Unknown-
"Ah, so glad that you answered our little ad," a female voice spoke in the darkness to a huge hulking figure.
"Whaddaya want me to do exactly?" the figure asked in a gravelly voice. A large domed helmet hung from one huge hand.
"Merely for you to collect a certain item for us. You will be handsomely paid, not to mention the enhancements your armor has already received," the female voice replied. "All you need do for now is wait until this package comes out into the open where you will be able to retrieve it. And even then, we have arranged for some backup, should you find yourself in a position where you could be overpowered." The large figure grumbled at this last part.
"The Juggernaut doesn't need any damn backup," the behemoth growled.
---To Be Continued---
Uh oh, looks like Maria is in a heap of trouble! Next time on "Take The Long Way Home", the professor calls the team together to investigate a possible new recruit in Cleveland, Ohio. What happens when the X-men meet Kid "Rock N' Roll" Razor? Find out next time, but until then, Read & Review!