The Children's Crusade (Part Four)
By TheLostMaximoff
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. Share the love because it's the day after Valentine's Day. R/R.
"This is highly intolerable," stated the Kingmaker as he craned his neck in an attempt to reach something in his jacket pocket, "Your idiot brother is going to get us both killed."
"That's the general idea," reminded Hellion, "Please tell me you have a way to get me out of these cuffs."
"They're voice activated," explained Kingmaker, "They're calibrated to your brother's voice because they're his design and not mine." Hellion mentally assessed the situation. He and the Kingmaker were strapped into the seats of a plane that was most likely on autopilot and they were riding along with a bomb that would, no doubt, obliterate them both as well as crash the plane on whatever city they happened to be flying over. In conclusion, they were completely screwed unless they could figure a way out of their predicament.
"What are you doing?" asked Hellion with an arched eyebrow as the Kingmaker managed to fit his head inside his jacket. Kingmaker didn't reply. Instead, he simply pulled his head out and had something in his teeth. He cracked open the capsule with his teeth and spat the thing at the manacle clamped around his right hand. The contents of the capsule spilled onto the clamp and quickly began to eat through it.
"Acid capsule," explained Kingmaker as he slipped his hand out of the manacle and tried to find out how to further free himself.
"So where do you think that bomb is?" asked Hellion.
"I'm not concerned with that," assured Kingmaker as he tried to figure out how the manacles were controlled, "What I'm concerned with is making sure I get out of here alive. My escape plan doesn't involve diffusing the bomb."
"That doesn't surprise me," admitted Hellion as he looked for some way to free himself, "Any other gadgets you have that would get us out of this?"
"I'm afraid I don't have any more acid capsules," said Kingmaker, "As you can note, I'm not wearing my sunglasses either so an optic blast is out of the question. Wearing them at night would just look . . . tacky." Kingmaker slipped something out of the cuff of his shirt and used his free hand to work on the other manacle with it.
"What's that?" asked Hellion.
"Lock-pick," replied Kingmaker, "Nothing so technologically advanced. Just good, old-fashioned hard work and ingenuity." The manacle suddenly popped open and Kingmaker flexed his wrist.
"I have to admit I wouldn't peg you as this resourceful," admitted Hellion.
"You'd be surprised," assured Kingmaker as he started working on the clamps around his ankles. He quickly managed to free his legs and then made his way to the cockpit.
"My brother isn't an idiot," said Hellion as he watched Kingmaker come back into the cabin and then move to the very back of the plane, "I doubt you're going to find any parachutes."
"That leaves me with the dubious task of getting you free," said Kingmaker as he came back into the main cabin, "Not exactly something I plan on enjoying."
"Considering you're the jerk who strapped me into this thing in the first place, I think it's fitting," replied Hellion with a smirk as Kingmaker went to work on his cuffs, "Don't think this changes anything though."
"It won't," assured Kingmaker as he continued trying to free Julian, "By the way, I believe I found the bomb."
"Where is it?" asked Hellion skeptically.
"The safest place on an airplane," replied Kingmaker sarcastically, "The black box was beeping. If it's really a black box then there's no way we're going to be able to get to the bomb inside."
"Momma didn't raise a fool," said Hellion.
XXXXX
The air came alive with static as Surge let out another lightning attack. Rockslide had his arms firmly locked around Nori's waist, pinning her arms down to her sides. Surge thrashed violently, kicking her feet and letting out bursts of lightning in an attempt to break free.
"You know, I could just sit on you if you wanted," reminded Rockslide, the lightning doing very little to hurt him let alone cause him to release his grip.
"If you don't let me go . . .," snarled Surge.
"Hey, Cess!" called out Rockslide, "What do you want me to do with her?"
"Dust her," said Mercury as she looked at Pixie, "Just give her enough to stop her from fighting. Don't get too crazy with it." Pixie nodded and tossed a small handful of her pixie dust into Surge's face. Surge coughed and continued to struggle but her vision was starting to blur. Colors became more vibrant and familiar shapes suddenly began to twist and contort.
"Let her go," said Mercury, "Julian is on that plane."
"What plane?" asked Anole.
"It took off already," explained Mercury as she scanned the sky, "It looked like it was heading east." Everyone suddenly turned and looked at Pixie as her cell phone rang. Pixie quickly grabbed her phone and answered it.
"It's Julian," said Hellion, "Don't hang up."
"Where are you and how come you're calling me?" asked Pixie.
"I'm using the Kingmaker's cell phone," explained Hellion, "His client is my brother. James is trying to screw both of us by locking us in this plane with a bomb. I have these stupid cuffs on me that block my powers and we can't get them off."
"We need to get up to the plane," paraphrased Pixie as she looked to Mercury, "They're locked in with a bomb and Julian can't use his powers."
"Sooraya," said Mercury, "Can you get up to that plane?"
"Doubtful," admitted Dust, "I am still weak and at a certain altitude my body could disperse."
"Megan, can you fly up there?" asked Mercury.
"I can try but I don't think I can do anything," explained Pixie.
"The bomb is in the plane's black box," explained Hellion, "We can't tell if it's really a black box but if it is then we have to stop the bomb without being able to get to it."
"How are you supposed to deactivate a bomb without touching it?" asked Pixie as she looked at the rest of her team.
"Can't he chuck it out the plane with his power?" asked Rockslide.
"Weren't you listening to me?" asked Pixie, "He has these cuffs on that stop his power."
"I don't think any of us can get up there or stop it if we could," admitted Mercury, "We'd have to . . ." She suddenly looked at Surge. Nori was lying on the ground, her eyes sufficiently glazed over.
"Crap," muttered Anole as he realized what Mercury was thinking, "Megan, how do we get her to come down?"
"No clue," replied Pixie, "What do you need her for?"
"She absorbs electricity," explained Mercury quickly, "She can deactivate the timer on the bomb by sucking all the juice out of it."
"Crap," repeated Rockslide as he looked down at Surge, "We're totally screwed."
XXXXX
It was as if everything was amplified to some insane degree. Colors were brighter, sounds were louder, and sensations of touch were incredibly sensitive. Surge mumbled something incoherently as she stared at a blue, cloudless sky. She could feel the grass grazing against her skin. The scene around her kept flickering though. It was as if she could reach out and punch through the beautiful sky to find the ugly darkness behind it.
"Nori." Surge heard the voice and a face came into view, hovering over her like some sort of ethereal spirit.
"David?" asked Surge desperately.
"No, Nori, it's Cessily," explained Mercury, "Nori, we need you back now. Julian's in trouble and you're the only one who can help him."
"You never liked Julian," said Surge in a confused tone, "David, I'm sorry about what happened."
"Nori, David is gone," stated Mercury as she gently shook her friend, "David is gone and it was your fault. I know that hurts. It sucks and it hurts but it's the truth and we're still friends so you deserve to hear the truth. We can't afford to lose anyone else, Nori."
"I just wanted everything to go back," whimpered Surge.
"We can't," explained Mercury, "We can't change what's happened, Nori. The only thing we can change is what will happen. Are you going to let Julian die or are you going to save him?"
"Cess?" asked Surge as she shook her head, "Cess, what's going on? I can't see things straight." The flickering was getting worse. Surge wanted nothing more than to go back to the days when things made sense. It was easier back then or at least that was what she told herself. She wanted a quick fix but she knew in her heart there wasn't one. Going back wasn't the answer. The only chance she had was to push forward.
"Julian's on a plane," explained Mercury, "There's a bomb."
"Get me up there," ordered Surge as she got up and shook her head as she tried to steady herself, "Get me up there!" Pixie grabbed Surge's wrist and took off. The younger girl struggled to gain altitude with the extra weight as she headed east. She could see the plane in the distance.
"I treated you guys like crap," admitted Surge as Pixie flittered drunkenly towards the plane, bobbing and dipping due to the weight.
"It's cool," assured Pixie over the roar of the engines, "I don't think I can get closer."
"Throw me!" shouted Surge.
"I think you weigh too much!" shouted back Pixie. Surge moved upwards and wrapped her hands around Pixie's neck. Pixie wobbled and tried to move closer to the plane. She understood what Nori wanted her to do. She put her hands under Surge's foot and then launched Nori towards the plane. It was part jump and part toss but it was enough to let Surge grab onto one of the wings. Surge hauled herself up and quickly wrapped both her arms and legs around the wing.
"I'm gonna die," muttered Surge to herself as she inched herself towards the plane, "I am so gonna die."
XXXXX
"What the hell are you doing?" asked Kingmaker as Hellion slammed his manacled hands against the emergency exit door.
"Trying to break these damn things," explained Hellion, "What the hell did my brother make them out of, adamantium?"
"What are your teammates on the ground doing?" asked Kingmaker.
"No clue," replied Hellion as he hit the door with the manacles again. He stopped and concentrated, trying to use his telekinesis but failing. He cursed in frustration as he tried to figure out what to do next. Hellion jumped back suddenly as a bolt of lightning hit the door and blew it open. The cabin quickly began to depressurize and Hellion thought he heard someone shouting.
"Someone give me a hand!" yelled Surge.
"Nori's out there!" shouted Hellion. Kingmaker nodded and moved to the open doorway. He could see Surge hanging onto the wing of the plane. He stuck out his hand and Nori reached to grab it. She let go of the wing and grabbed the Kingmaker's arm with both hands. Kingmaker pulled Surge into the plane.
"Where's the bomb?" asked Surge.
"Black box," replied Kingmaker, "Back of the plane." Surge moved towards Hellion and studied the manacles that were blocking his powers.
"This thing runs on electricity," explained Surge, "I can feel the voltage. I think I can just absorb all the power and shut them down." She felt the electricity suddenly leap out of device and into her fingers. Everyone suddenly felt the plane lurch uncontrollably.
"What was that?" asked Hellion. Surge looked down and saw that the wristbands she was using to control her power were damaged.
"I can't control the input," explained Surge, "I think I'm sucking power out of the plane." The aircraft suddenly dropped like a stone.
"Can you grab this thing?" asked Surge as she looked at Hellion desperately. Hellion concentrated and felt something. He could feel the strange tingling feeling that meant his powers were active again.
"Julian, grab it!" ordered Surge as the plane continued its descent at an alarming speed. It was mere inches off the ground before Hellion grabbed it with his telekinesis and stopped it from hitting the pavement.
"The bomb," said Hellion as he motioned to the back of the plane. Surge nodded and ran to the back. She could feel her power still feeding off the electricity in the surrounding area. She located the black box and grabbed it. Nori couldn't feel any electricity inside it. That meant that the bomb was deactivated.
"We're good," assured Surge, "I think when I started absorbing the electricity out of the plane I sucked it out of the detonator too." Hellion nodded and then watched the Kingmaker attempt to skulk away. With the plane mere inches off the ground, he could easily jump to the street below and get away unless, of course, Julian had other ideas.
"You're not going anywhere," assured Hellion as he telekinetically grabbed the Kingmaker and kept him from exiting the plane. He used his invisible grip on the machine to lift it back into the air and push it back towards the airstrip.
"I need to let out some juice," explained Surge as she shocked the Kingmaker into unconsciousness, "Julian, I think we need to talk."
"Should I expect another jolt?" asked Hellion as he gave Surge a wary look.
"First of all," began Surge, "I kissed you to get David away from me. It had nothing to do with you or any hidden feelings I might have about you so get that fantasy crap out of your head."
"If you say so," said Hellion with a smirk as he stopped the plane at the airstrip and lowered it to the ground.
"Second of all," continued Surge, "I think I want to be on this team, Julian. I screwed you guys and I did it for something that would have been a lie. I want to make up for that."
"Lying is the trendy thing to do," assured Hellion as he got off the plane and looked at the rest of his team, "How are we holding up?"
"I think we're good," replied Mercury with a smile, "How are you?"
"Things could be better," admitted Surge as she disembarked, "I think those cuffs could still work after a jolt if you wanna slap them on me and leave me here for The Initiative."
"There's some stuff we need to get straight," said Hellion as he looked at his friends, "I lied to you. My trust fund is nowhere near close to covering what it's going to take to run this team for any long period of time and I knew that from the start. The money I got to find you guys and make you those fake IDs came from the Kingmaker. I had to do a lot of bad things to get it. I'm not proud of what I did but the only reason I did it was to keep this team together. We're a family and I couldn't deal with the idea of losing you. If you don't want to be a part of this because of what I did then I understand."
The group of young mutants looked at one another in silence and thought about what they should do. No one could blame them for wanting to quit. Many of them had thought about in the past but for one reason or another all of them chose to keep going. Some of them had no family or home so the choice was easy. Some of them had a family and a home so the choice to walk away from it had been difficult. In the end, all of them had reached the same conclusion. They were possibly the last generation of X-Men and possibly the last team of X-Men still standing. When faced with the ramifications of their decision, there was only one possible choice they could make.
"You couldn't survive without us," said Anole, "We can't function as a team without you. This is pretty much a no-brainer."
"We have all made mistakes," said Dust as she looked at Surge, "I cannot speak for everyone, Nori, but I would welcome you if you chose to stay with us."
"I think I'd like that," admitted Surge, "Don't grant me any special favors though."
"So if we can cut this 'group hug' crap for a second," spoke up Rockslide, "I think the cops and the super-lame squad are gonna show up soon considerin' we almost dropped a plane on part of L.A."
"We got business in New York," informed Hellion grimly, "Megan, you think you can zap us there?"
"Oh my God, you're gonna kill me!" whined Pixie, "I teleport you guys here, I have to dust Nori then I almost pull a wing carrying her, and now you want me to teleport you across the country? I never gonna make it to work in the morning at this rate."
"What's in New York?" asked Mercury.
"The Kingmaker did all this on the order of a client," explained Hellion, "The client was my brother, James. He's the one who trapped us in the plane and rigged it to explode. He wanted to wipe the disgrace from our family name. I plan on wiping Wall Street with him instead. Megan, can you get us there or not?"
"I think at this point I'd rather take my chances with demons," admitted Pixie, "Everybody grab your lunch. I've been practicing but never with this many people." There was a flash of otherworldly energy and the seven teenagers suddenly vanished into thin air.