Misfitverse: The Korvac Saga
Disclaimer: "Gov'ment came an' took my baby!" - Peter Griffin, Family Guy
Chapter 16: Another Vanishing!
The Xavier Institute, the 21st Century
Sam Guthrie sighed as he looked out the window of his room in the Xavier Institute. The young blond mutant stared out into nothing.
"Some leader you turned out to be, Guthrie." Sam grumbled to himself.
"Oh, Idon't know. I don't think you did a half-bad job." An English-accented voice countered kindly. Sam turned around and saw the mysterious Goth woman that was talking to Tigra earlier. She was leaning against the door to his room.
"WAH!" Sam exclaimed, falling to the ground. "Who are you?! What're you doing here?!"
"It's all right, Sam." The woman chuckled, standing up and holding out her hands in a calming gesture. "I'm not here to harm you. I'm here to talk."
"H-h-how'd you know my name?" Sam stammered.
"I know many things." The woman smiled. "I just wanted to introduce myself. You can call me...Teleute, if you like." He is not ready to know who I truly am yet. But as time goes on, he will understand. (1)
"Teleute?" Sam blinked.
"It's Greek." The woman smiled.
"W-w-w-what do you want?" Sam mumbled.
"I didn't come here to harm you. I came here to counsel you." Teleute smiled. "You're going through a rough patch right now, and I thought you could use a friend."
"I guess..." Sam admitted. "Gawd, women appearing out of nowhere in my room. And I thought I had it bad enough when I saw my friends die." Teleute nodded.
"Ah, the Massacre at Xavier's." Teleute agreed. "A great turning point in the X-Men's history. The End of Innocence for them."
"And proof to the world that Sam Guthrie doesn't have a clue how to lead a team." Sam grumbled. "I let them die. My friends. Roberto. Amara. Dani. Ray. Jesse. Everett. Even Tim. I let that no-good horse rustler Fitzroy kill them."
"No, you did not." Teleute shook her head. "I was at that battle. You fought bravely. You tried to stop him, but he was too ready for you and your friends. Not to mention that mad monster was willing to destroy people who worked for the same group he did to achieve his mission."
"You..." Sam blinked in shock and in disbelief. "How? Why-?! What?!"
"I can do many things." Teleute explained.
"If...if...if you were there..." Sam clenched his fists. "How...how come you didn't try and help save them?!" Sam snapped. The Goth woman sighed sadly.
"I couldn't. I can do many things, but I cannot interfere with destiny." Teleute sighed. "My power is great, but like all of us, are still bound by destiny. Their time was over." At least, in this century. She put her hand on the enraged Cannonball's shoulder. The Kentucky native found himself feeling calmer, more open to reason. "However, you should not despair."
"Why?" Sam wondered. I don't get it. A minute ago, I wanted to tear this woman in half, and now...I'm actually calm. Who is this woman?
"Because they are in a better place." Teleute smiled. "Trust me on this."
"But what about the Hellions?" Sam sighed. "They weren't the nicest of folks. But even they didn't deserve what Fitzroy did to them." The Gothic woman chuckled.
"Don't you worry about them." Teleute smiled. "Let's just say they're finally going to get a chance to do some good for once. There are worse people out there to worry about than the Hellions."
"Oh-kay..." Sam blinked. "But that still doesn't help me." The Kentuckian sighed. "I can't do this. I can't do it anymore."
"Can't do what?" Teleute wondered.
"I...I can't do this anymore." Sam admitted. "I can't lead the New Mutants anymore. The teachers trusted me...and I let them down."
"Samuel, you didn't fail anyone." Teleute tried to reassure the despondent blond mutant. "You also played no part in their deaths. You are not the monster that Fitzroy was. I can guarantee you, Sam, he is getting what he deserves. You are better than him. Greater than him. The X-Men need you, Samuel."
"What, to allow more of us to die?" Sam grumbled.
"Sam, what happened at that massacre was not your fault." Teleute told the New Mutant. "Fitzroy caught you lot by surprise. He had gone to great pains to make sure that he would be successful in his mission. He also had the element of surprise by his side. He caught all of you off-guard. Even if you knew he was coming, there was no way you could've stopped him."
"You don't know that." Sam countered.
"I know many things, my young friend." Teleute told him. "And trust me, Sam. You couldn't have beaten him without casualties, even if you knew he was coming."
"But things aren't supposed to be this way." Sam sighed as he looked out the window. "The Professor is comatose, Emma Frost runs the Institute, and half my friends are dead. God..." He put his head in his hands. "I just want this nightmare to end. I just wish I could just wake up and everything would be normal again. Well, as normal as the Institute gets."
"Unfortunately Sam, this is no nightmare." Teleute sighed. "This is reality." She put her arm around the blond mutant's shoulders in a gesture of comfort. "Sam, if you let yourself fall in the depths of despair, then those who seek to destroy you and the rest of the X-Men will win."
"What's the point?" Sam drooped his head. "They already won. They destroyed us, man. The Mansion is in Frost's grip, who knows what the hell she'll do-!"
"The X-Men are going to need Frost right now." Teleute warned. "I know you don't like her, and I know she may not be the most..." The Goth woman frowned as she struggled to find the words. "...amiable person, but the X-Men need her, and like it or not, she's best for the job right now. Dark times are coming for the X-Men, and with Frost, you guys just may make it through."
"...what do you mean?" Sam blinked. Teleute smiled.
"You'll see. Don't give up on yourself, Sam. Your friends wouldn't want that." She walked away from him. Her smile stayed on her face. "Honor their memories by learning and going on. They would want that. I should know. Oh, and try to cheer up sweet Tigra, huh? The poor girl is very sad. Give her someone to talk to. Give her a friend. She could use some more on this team. We will meet again, Samuel Guthrie. In fact, you and I will become very close friends..." She vanished right in front of Sam's eyes, making the Kentucky native's jaw drop.
"Wha-?!"
Avengers Mansion, the 31st Century
"Are you sure that this won't hurt?" Ray Crisp asked worriedly. The former New Mutant found himself lying on a bed like one would find in a doctor's office. He also found himself looking up at a device attached to a robotic arm that was attached to a bed.
Ray was lying in the Avengers' infirmary. They were determining what was going on with the ex-Morlock.
"Don't worry about it, Raymond." Randall Pierce, Iron Man, chuckled. "This is a medi-scanner. You'll feel a little tingly, but that's perfectly normal. It won't hurt a bit." With him in the room were Roberto da Costa, Sunspot, Jhen Walters, the beautiful Gammazon, and Harry Storm, the hotheaded Tachyon Torch.
"I think there was stuff like this back in our time." Roberto frowned.
"Don't you worry, kiddo." Jhen smiled warmly in reassurance, placing a hand on Ray's shoulder. "We'll find out what's wrong with you."
"Besides the fact you come from a time full of superhero-hating ingrates." Harry smirked.
"Will you stop, Tacky?" Jhen sighed, shaking her head.
"Shut up, Torch." Randall ordered.
"You know, I really am beginning to not like this guy." Roberto grumbled, indicating the Torch with a jerk of his thumb.
"Don't mind him." Randall chuckled. "He's just being a royal shardhead because his parents taught him no better. His family has a bit of a thousand-year grudge against the world."
"Let me guess, the Registration Act had something to do with it." Roberto guessed.
"At least I know who my parents are, jackass!" Harry snapped at the futuristic Armored Avenger, ignoring the Brazilian.
"Huh?" Roberto blinked.
"I grew up in a foster family." Randall explained. "I don't know who my real parents are. But I still had a very happy childhood."
"Hey, are we going to get this over with?" Ray complained. "My head hurts, and I'm starting to hear something called Intergalactic Gladiators."
"That's Razor." Jhen explained. "She loves that show."
"Here we go!" Randall announced. He switched on the device. The device started covering the former New Mutant in blue light. Randall himself was keeping his eyes on the screen, reading the results.
"Hey, I do feel tingly." Ray noted.
"You know Randall, I'm thinking of grabbing the girls and taking them out to the mall." The Gammazon remarked.
"Which ones?" Roberto blinked.
"Your friends Dani, Amara, Marie, and Jennifer." Jhen smiled. "I want to take them out for a while."
"Marie and Jennifer? Oh, you mean Tarot and Roulette. They aren't friends of mine." Roberto corrected. "They're Hellions."
"True, but you have to keep in mind that the Hellions wouldn't have been resurrected alongside the New Mutants for no reason." Jhen countered.
"Why would anyone want to bring back the Hellions?" Ray scoffed. "They worked for those Hellfire Club lunatics."
"Hellfire Club. Now there is a name for the history books." Randall chuckled, still looking at a large screen. "It sounds like something from an ancient television show." (2)
"Whatever." Jhen rolled her eyes. "Anyway, I'm gonna take the girls out for a while. We can't keep them locked down in the Mansion for all the time they're here."
"Too risky, Jhen." Randall countered. "They shouldn't be exposed to a lot of things here. Can damage the timestream." Jhen sighed. Randall worried too much sometimes. She knew perfectly well the risks time travel can cause. There were procedures for it.
"Samuel took Ray and Roberto here to counter Livewire." Jhen argued.
"Well, to be honest..." Roberto winced. "We did kinda accidentally release her in the first place."
"Ha!" Harry laughed. "Trust you time-jumpers to screw up this bad. No wonder the 21st Century's Heroic Age blew itself to bits."
"Go to hell." Ray scowled at the fire-manipulator.
"Don't move around a lot." Randall told the ex-Morlock. "And ignore the flamebrain."
"You know, you ain't so tough without the armor, Pierce." Torch warned.
"At least I don't spend my time picking on kids." Randall countered, keeping his eyes on the screen. A beeping was heard. "And we're done." He pressed a button, and the ray stopped.
"Hey, you're right. That didn't hurt a bit." Ray blinked in amazement.
"Told you." Randall chuckled.
"Excuse me, boys. I gotta go check on Thor and Sonic Blue." Jhen chuckled, starting to leave the room. "I hope they brought me something back from the Japanese Islands."
"Japan?" Roberto blinked. "What're they doing in Japan?"
"Battling some sea monster." Jhen explained.
"I'm outta here. I want to go do something with people who do know what heroism is." Harry scowled as he started to leave.
"Screw you, Storm!" Ray snapped. He looked at Randall. "Hey Iron Man, how am I doing?"
"According to these test results..." Randall turned to the electrokinetic. "You're just fine."
"Oh, thank God." Ray sighed in relief, putting his head back on the bed.
"But what about his head, and the voices?" Roberto blinked. "Isn't that a sign of schizophrenia or somethin'?"
"Raymond is not schizophrenic." Randall countered. "When Livewire blasted him, it triggered an evolution in his mutant powers. His mutant nature gives him increased resistance to electricity, correct?"
"Yeah, ever since my powers emerged, I don't get shocked by static electricity." Ray nodded.
"Livewire hit him with a big blast." Roberto remembered with a snicker. "The bonehead tried to charge her."
"And what were you doing?! Just standing there like a moron!" Ray snapped. Randall chuckled.
"I heard the X-Men were legendary for this insanity. I never thought I'd get to see it."
"Can we get back to my problems with my head and the voices?" Ray complained.
"Alright, alright." Randall chuckled. "Anyway, when Livewire hit you with that blast, it caused your X-Gene to unlock more or your potential. In essence, it triggered a hidden aspect of your powers. Your brain chemistry was subtly altered by your X-Gene in the process. It has caused your mind to be able to tune in on various forms of broadcasting."
"Like radio and TV?" Ray blinked. Randall nodded.
"Primitive examples, but perfect ones." The 31st Century Iron Man confirmed. "Your brain is essentially an ancient antenna."
"Is there any way to stop it?" Ray frowned. "I'll go crazy if there isn't!"
"I imagine you can simply learn to mentally shut it off." Randall guessed. "Mutant physiology isn't really my specialty. Haven is the best place to go for mutant medical matters."
"Tell that to Rogue." Roberto rolled his eyes. "She couldn't shut off her powers."
"However, taking you to Haven wouldn't be a good idea." Randall sighed. "If the population finds out who you are, you'll never get a moment's peace. The Lost Mutants are considered almost like mythic heroes over there." A beeping was heard. "What?" The futuristic Armored Avenger pressed a button, and Monica Burton, Sonic Blue, appeared on the screen.
"Iron Man! I'm glad I got you!" Monica exclaimed, panting in fright.
"What's wrong, Sonic Blue?" Randall wondered.
"It's Thor!" She exclaimed. "He vanished right in front of me! Same way those Legionnaires did!"
"That's not good, right?" Roberto blinked.
Well, well, well! Looks like the Avengers aren't as immune to vanishing as they thought! What insanity will happen next? Where did Thor go? What did Teleute mean when she told Sam they will be close friends? Can Ray deal with this newfound aspect of his powers? Will the Gammazon's idea of a girls' day out go well? Find out in the next chapter! Suggestions needed badly!
(1) – In the Sandman comics, it was revealed that Death was called Teleute in Ancient Greece.
(2) – In the 1960s television series, The Avengers, John Steed and Emma Peel faced an organization known as the Hellfire Club in a rather controversial episode.