To Catch A Ghost
The early morning sun crept somewhat lazily through the thin gap between the curtains. Through this, a narrow beam of golden sunlight stretched out from the window and grabbed at the furniture of the small dormitory.
Shadows seemed to try to escape the clutches of the sun, and retreated to the quiet solitude of the spaces behind the various objects in the room. A gentle snoring occasionally disrupted the room, emanating from the occupant of the small bed. With a groan, the figure lifted themselves out of the warm cacoon of duvets and sat up in the warm glow.
Tom, better known as Sub-zero, rubbed his eyes to free them of sleep and slipped his legs over the side of the bed. His big toe reached the ground and from where it touched, thin webs of ice spread like spilt liquid across the floorboards. He practically slid the rest of the way from his bed, coming to a stop next to his cupboard.
Tom didn't usually spend the night at the mansion, preferring to stay at his own home and then later travel to the school. However, he had been completely exhausted from his training and, quite frankly, couldn't be arsed to go home.
The ice from the floor slowly dispersed and left behind small, melting patches in it's wake. He was jolted out of his trance-like state when a dull rumble shook the building. He dropped into an alert stance and was instantly on guard. He quickly grabbed his costume from the bedpost and struggled to pull it on as he hopped out of the door.
He was so preoccupied, he didn't realise Jubilee standing with her eyebrows raised as he limped, half naked, down the hall. A small grin played across her face and she turned and made her way back to her room, biting her lip gently.
Pulling his gloves on in a hurry, he whacked the elevator door's 'Open' button several times and cursed at the amount of time it took. After what seemed like years to him, the elevator slid open and he practically dove inside as they began to close behind him.
As they opened once more, Tom almost knocked Shadow flying as he hurtled out of nowhere.
"What was that? Earthquake?" Shadow asked, as they both ran in the direction of the Danger Room.
Sub-zero accelerated before replying, "It came from the Danger Room. Someone's in there and we're going to find out who. The Danger Room's soundproofed so either something's gone terribly wrong, or something's gone terribly wrong."
"Understood," Stephen mumbled, rolling his eyes at the un helpful explanation.
They reached the large metal doors of the training room and waited patiently for them to open. As they slid further, a hiss of smoke escaped the control booth, signalling danger.
"Beast?" Stephen asked, in surprise.
The large blue scientist was indeed in the booth and frantically yelling into the speaker, "YOU'RE BREACHING POWER PARAMETERS! SHUT IT OFF!"
Out side of the viewing screen, it looked as if the chamber had been consumed completely by some sort of black hole. Metal tiles were being stripped from the walls and disappeared into the mouth of the wormhole. The control booth was steadily vibrating as the gaping vortex began to buckle. It was then that Stephen and Tom noticed a golden glowing figure in the centre of the room.
"Fascinating," muttered Beast, for loss of anything else to say.
The golden figure reached out for the vortex and with a crushing gesture, the entire breach collapsed into nothing. As soon as the vortex was gone, the figure dropped limply to the ground and stopped glowing, seemingly regaining breath.
"Beast?! What's going on down here?! Was that a black hole?" asked Tom, disbelief and amazement evident in his voice.
"That," began the blue-furred tutor, "Was a breach in the fabric of reality. Something is stuck between dimensions... something that was created in the mind of your friend Entity but was unintentionally brought into existence. Entity suggested we try to bring it out of the dimension it is in, just in case it turns out to be harmful to that dimension."
Stephen interrupted before Tom could speak out, "Entity was trying to pull something out of a different dimension? Isn't that dangerous?"
Beast sighed before replying, "In a sense... I suppose it was rather foolhardy but if it is a danger to anyone, the damage must be undone."
"What about the damage to the Danger Room?" asked Tom, nodding over Beast's shoulder at the wrecked metal and torn walls.
"Why, Master Jenkinson, I'm surprised you asked. Damage like this is the perfect excuse for upgrades," smiled Beast, winking at them.
"Where'd Entity go?" Stephen asked, and jumped when a voice replied unexpectedly.
"Behind you." Entity stood in the doorway. His clothing was slightly singed, but he looked to be in good health.
"Dimensional trouble?" Steve asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes. And it is apparent that you're growing more confident, Shadow," Entity replied, turning and heading down the corridor.
Stephen smiled weakly as the young man disappeared down the hall.
Suddenly, a voice rang in their heads. It was Xavier, and it sounded important.
"All X-men to the War Room. I repeat, all X-men to the War Room."
"It's gonna be one of those days," commented Tom, before all three of them exited and disappeared through the doors opposite them.
"Wow..." Steve sighed as he entered the War Room for the first time. The green holographic globe in the centre of the room cast a dull light on the faces of gathered team members and the quietly bleeping consoles around them.
Many of the occupants of the room were unknown to Stephen. There was a relatively muscular man with a roguish look and wolf-like hair stood leaning against a chair. His brown eyes locked on Stephen and his nostrils flared as if he could smell something odd.
A tall woman with flowing white hair and lightly tanned skin stood talking to a red haired lady of the same size. Stephen realised that this was the red haired lady that he's encountered on his little escape attempt.
Another new face was a young girl with brown hair and a childish smile. She stood, spookily enough, in the air and examined them all with tired eyes. Most recognisable was Xavier himself, sat in his chair, behind the globe.
"X-men. We have a mutant in severe need of rescue. I have called you down here so that a team can be assembled and a rescue mission launched," He explained, glancing around the room at the understanding expressions of the room's occupants.
"Three questions," growled the muscular man in a gruff voice, "Where are we off to? What are their powers and who's captured them?"
"She has abilities that are supernaturally based. She can walk through solid surfaces, much the same as Shadowcat, and she is able to manipulate electrical forces. She caused a bit of damage as she tried to escape the Sentinel patrol that attacked her home," Xavier explained, reaching out and touching a location on the globe.
The green Earth swivelled and a section of England was highlighted.
"Back to Britain?" Tom asked, grinning slightly.
"So it would seem," answered Xavier, "I ought to warn you that, untrained as she is, she is still quite dangerous."
"We understand, Professor. Who are you sending?" asked the red-haired woman in a gentle voice that seemed to soothe Stephen out of his attention to the task at hand.
"Cyclops, you select who you would like to partake in the mission," Xavier asked as a well-built man in an odd visor walked in.
"Professor, I think it would be best if the European team handled this. I need you to take a look at this readout. I think we're gonna have more then the one mission and it'll be too tricky for the younger ones," he said, handing a piece of paper to the Professor.
Entity glared at the man with an almost dis-belief.
"I see. A sound plan. You have your mission, X-men. Be on your way and good luck to you," Xavier told the European team as he turned his attention to the slip of paper once more.
Shadow, Entity and Sub-zero left the room without another sound. They made their way to the hangar and the door ground open slowly, revealing a huge black stealth jet and another, slightly smaller aircraft that resembled the first, but was a dark shade of blue.
"How do we know who we're looking for?" Shadow asked, realising that they had no clue who they were after.
"Cerebro locked on the target. All we have to do is follow the signal that'll be transferred to the Jet's computer database," Sub-zero explained as they approached the blue craft.
"Costume," said Entity, not really directing the comment at Stephen, but it made him realise that he was the only one without his suit on.
With a groan, he turned and ran back to the war room (where he kept his costume) with a small yell over his shoulder, "Wait for me!"
—
The engines roared to life and the Jet lifted from the ground. All three mutants sat safely in the cockpit of the vehicle as the wall ahead of them opened to reveal the clear blue sky of Salem Centre, New York.
"Hold on," muttered Entity as he slammed the joystick forwards, giving them a burst of speed that sent them rocketing through the air like a missile.
"So... how fast is this?" asked Stephen, not enjoying the uncomfortable silence that had fallen upon the jet.
"Fast enough to get us the England in under ten minutes. A guy named Reed Richards designed the new engines for this thing," Explained Sub-zero, indicating towards the back of the jet where the sound of the engines created a low rumble, like thunder.
"I've heard of him. He's one of the Fantastic Four. Absolute genius, that guy," Shadow commented, leaning back in his seat, the buckles clinking slightly.
"He hates me," Entity said blankly, staring ahead at the horizon.
These was another awkward silence. Even with the engines in the background, you'd be able to hear a pin drop in the cockpit.
"Why?" asked Stephen, not wanting to be a victim of the dreaded silence that took over every few seconds.
"After Reed designed the engines for this thing, Entity decided to upgrade the engines for the Fantasticar. They're now twice as fast and three times as safe as they were before. Reed's jealous," Sub-zero explained for Entity.
Entity just smiled to himself, slightly and brought the jet into a slight dive, to miss an oncoming plane.
"Sso you're super smart too?" Stephen asked Entity, grinning at the idea of a stroppy Mr Fantastic.
"The Negative Phoenix makes me smart," Entity stated blankly again, but with the hint of smugness.
"I wish I could've seen the look on his face when you made better engines then him," Shadow said, chuckling slightly.
"All you had to do was ask," replied Entity. And all of a sudden, an image appeared in Shadow's head of a scene displaying a gob-smacked Mr Fantastic and the impressed face of Susan Richards, his wife. It was obvious that this scene was being broadcast from Entity's mind and Shadow couldn't help but laugh.
And, incredible though it may seem, Entity laughed slightly as well. Only for a few seconds before he assumed a smug, almost proud expression.
"I knew you weren't all that dull," smiled Stephen, looking out of the window at the clouds that were racing past.
"You don't know me," informed Entity, still smiling, but his eyes darkened and his full attention returned to the journey.
"Well, you've got plenty of time to get to know each other," Sub-zero interrupted, "But right now, what the hell is that Sentinel drop-ship doing all the way out here.
The jet slowed to a hover and shook slightly, making all three of it's occupants uncomfortable.
"The signal's coming from inside it. The target's in there," Tom informed the others, nodding towards the vessel that glided along mere yards away from them.
"Switching to stealth mode. Prepare to board that ship," Entity ordered, flicking a switch above him and then un buckling his seat belt. He moved towards the jet's entrance and looked over at the others, still getting up.
"Take as much time as you want," sighed Entity, staring glumly out of the door window.
"Ready," the two other mutants informed simultaneously.
Entity reached back and grabbed Stephen's wrist, gently, but firmly.
"I hope you don't mind flying," Entity said to him, a small gri playing across his face.
Before Shadow could reply, the door opened and all three of them went into a free fall, beginning a plummet to the inky-blue waters below. After moments of falling (during which, Shadow could've sworn his insides got left behind), Entity began to slow them down until they were floating in mid-air. Sub-zero formed an ice slide and circled them as Shadow dangled from Entity's arm.
"Now, if you could fly too, this would be so much easier," Entity commented, gliding towards the escaping vessel. Sub-zero followed suit and crouched lower on his carpet of bluish ice as he dipped under the flailing Stephen.
His eyes were wide, but his expression was not that of fear, but rather, amazement and exhilaration. The tiny waves in the vast sea underneath them formed small creases in the otherwise perfect surface of the dark blue/grey water. The glittering patches of gold created by the sun were almost too bright to look at, therefore Stephen returned his gaze to the sky above them.
"Th-.. this doesn't happen often!" Stephen called above the roar of the air in his ears.
"Actually, it does," replied Entity, not looking down at Shadow but staring directly ahead at the ship that they were closing on.
"Listen up! We'll land on the deck, force our way down to the control room, shut off any remaining defences and then locate the girl, Understood?" Entity told them, swooping closer to the vehicle.
"Got it!" yelled Sub-zero in response, and he surfed forwards in a sudden surge of speed, approaching the top of the large green Drop-ship fast.
He hit the deck and, with a short roll, was back up on his feet. Instantly, the auto-turret defence system activated and started to fire a round of bullets his way. Thinking fast, he directed his power at the ground and lifted his fist, forming a shield of thick ice.
Entity landed at that moment and dropped Shadow off also. They had no time to move before the turrets directed their attention at them as well and soon all three were under heavy fire. To stop the bullets tearing through them, Entity raised his hands and formed a light blue bubble around all of them. The telekinetic force fields forced the bullets to bounce harmlessly off and hit the metallic ground.
"I can't hold it for long. Sub-zero, spike them. Shadow, locate the control panel that operates these things and make sure that any others are shut down," Entity commanded, and quickly the team responded.
Sub-zero raised his forearm to his face and then swept it down again, sending solid spikes of bone into the chugging machines. With a quick fizz of electrical feedback, they were disabled.
At the same time, Shadow disappeared into thin air with a loud 'Bamf!' and re-appeared moments later holding a broken control panel.
"Okay, lets find a way inside and join these guys for breakfast," Shadow said, grinning enthusiastically.
"You're pretty funny, kid, but leave the humour to Bobby Drake," Sub-zero stated flatly, ignoring the face Shadow pulled.
"When you too are done bitch-fighting, I have a way in," Entity informed them, smiling slightly at the evil look he was receiving from both of them.
Directing his hands at the floor, Entity made a tearing gesture as if he were ripping a pillow open.
The deck shook, and then the metal began to disjoint. The bolts holding the panels together were firing out faster then the bullets from the auto-turrets and after seconds, a huge section of the floor was ripped up to reveal a group of startled guards.
Shadow lunged at them and whipped one in the side of the face with a foot, sending him crashing into the wall and then slumping to the floor. As soon as Shadow landed on the floor, he flip-kicked one in the chin and then landed on the other's shoulders whilst delivering a down punch. Both guards hit the ground.
"Sheesh, he's better then Psylocke!" Sub-zero commented with his eyebrows raised.
"If I told her you said that, she'd kill you both," Entity stated blankly, following Shadow down into the ship.
"Duly noted. Now, where to next?" Sub-zero asked, glancing up and down the thin corridor that they now occupied.
"Use your brain. They're not likely to keep a prisoner near the topside of the ship. We have to dig a little deeper," Entity told them, once more ripping the ground beneath them into shreds of twisted metal.
After dropping into the second level down, it was obvious that security was tighter. Obvious because they were in a small room surrounded by ten armed security drones. Entity dove forwards, Sub-zero to the left and Shadow to the right. Entity came up behind two of them and slammed their heads together, using a mental blast to send them across the room into another guard.
"Three down!" he called to the others.
Shadow whipped his tail in an arc, flooring three more before tearing each of their heads off individually before they could recover.
"I got three!" he called cheerfully, but slightly exasperated.
Sub-zero froze his fist and slammed it into the face of one security drone, whilst freezing the one behind him solid. He shattered the drone and then brought an uppercut into the jaw of the penultimate robot, ripping it's head off.
"Got 'em!" he yelled with a grin.
"Incoming!" Shadow called as the doors to the room opened and six more entered.
"Duck!" Entity ordered as they raised their weapons.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the scene was mapped out in Entity's mind...
"Three ahead of you-
Three robots against three of u- They're about to- weapons raised- The one in front is parallel to the one behind you- do something! Lift them... spin... throw...-"
Pushing his arms forwards at the two robots to the sides of the one ahead of him, they were forced into the wall. With a grabbing gesture, he lifted the lead security drone into the air and spun him into the group behind him, knocking them over. With a move that resembled an uppercut, but with the fist open and no contact being made, Entity slammed the robots into the ceiling where they stayed for mere seconds before dropping limply to the ground.
"Three and three- I took six- there's one more- where?- use your eyes!- There! Heading for the door- stop it- destroy it- DESTROY IT!"
The thoughts flew through his head at light-speed and he raised his hand to the machine that was limping for the door. It seemed suspended in time as it reached for the handle. Small pieces of it began to flake off and moved away as if the entire scene was under water. It was slowly disintegrating... it's molecules where being stripped apart and after a slow five seconds, it had dispersed into thin air.
Entity dropped his hand and sank to his knees, as if he needed to sleep...
"Break free!- Let me out!- Trapped for too long-Kill them!- Hold it back!- Don't let it out!- Release me!- Don't listen!- It'll kill them!- soon..." The voices hissed and whispered through his mind, burning through his thoughts and piercing his soul.
He shook his head, trying to clear his mind.
"Don't try that power again," he told himself, pulling himself to his feet.
Shadow and Sub-zero were quiet as they watched their ally get groggily to his feet.
"I'm fine," he muttered, massaging his temples gently.
"You haven't recovered from it, have you...," Sub-zero said, his face was grim and dark.
"No... but sitting around doing nothing made me feel worse," Entity replied, not looking Tom in the eye.
"Fair enough... if you need a break, just say-," started Sub-zero, reassuringly, but he was interrupted sharply by Entity.
"I said I'm fine."
He turned around and headed along the hallway, not saying another word.
"What's up with him?" whispered Shadow, his concern evident.
"Eesh... long story involving a fight between two ultra powerful super-beings...," he replied, rubbing the back of his head and following Entity down the hall.
"Fine... be vague," mumbled Shadow in response, rolling his eyes and following them both.
After moments of walking, they came to the ship's prison cells. These special cells are lined with Carbonadium which, might I add (For the sake of any who do not know), is a near unbreakable substance. This special lining was added to the cells so that mutants would stand less of a chance of escaping and most of the time, it worked pretty darn good.
"She's here... the only prisoner...," Entity spoke more to himself rather then the others and continued to wander down the passage.
"Should we check all the cells?" Asked Sub-zero, looking around at the amount of cells there were.
"Better yet, why don't we ask Shadow where she is?" Entity suggested, turning round with an expectant expression on his face.
"How is he going to-?" began Tom, but Shadow cut him off.
"She's there."
As he said it, he pointed to the cell next to Sub-zero and assumed a worried look.
"Stand back. I'll freeze the locks and then you take the door," Sub-zero told Entity, preparing for the disassembly of the door.
"Are you leading or am I?" asked Entity, giving him a questioning look.
"Okay... fine... What would you suggest, oh mighty one?" Sub-zero asked with a mock bow.
Entity regarded him with dark, un approving eyes before replying with a slight smile, "Sub, freeze the locks. I'll get the door."
Sub-zero laughed and sighed before dropping back into a ready position in front of the door.
Two narrow jets of ice hit the hinges and the locks, followed by spikes of bone. The large metal door began to fall towards them but stopped in mid air before hurtling down the hallway, shoved by an invisible force.
Shadow teleported inside and glanced around for the girl, but found nothing.
"I know she's in here but I can't see her!" he whined at the other two, who stepped into the room.
"She can sink through walls. They would've sedated her and in response her body would've tried to defend itself by using her abilities to turn invisible," Entity informed, raising his fingers to his temples and focussing hard. It was difficult for him to focus on the thoughts of a sedated human girl due to the lower thought frequency but after what seemed like half an hour, the body of what looked like a thirteen year old girl flickered into view.
"Oh...," Entity mumbled as he looked at her.
Shadow raised his eyebrows, which came dangerously close to disappearing in the mess of dark blue hair on his head.
"I know her," Entity spoke, again, more to himself then anyone else.
"Who is she?" asked Sub-zero, walking closer and leaning over her.
"Her name's Jessica... she catches the same bus as me every morning before school...," he finished, looking at her with dark, solemn eyes.
Entity walked over to her and gently picked her up, causing her shoulder-length blonde hair to fall away from her face.. The light illuminated her pale, delicate features and her sparkling green eyes revealed that she wasn't quite sedated. Entity looked at her and she looked at him. She seemed as if she was drunk, as her movements were groggy and lethargic. It was obviously an effect of the sedative.
Her soft pink lips were slightly parted and her normally rosy cheeks were ghostly white and made her freckles clearly visible.
"As we leave, you two can walk on my right hand side," Entity told them, turning around to the door. Jess's arms dangled out from her sides lazily and from anyone observing from a distance, she looked dead.
"Why?" asked Shadow, unsure of the curious order and that curiosity was clearly evident on his face.
"She's... wearing a skirt," Sub-zero pointed out, somewhat awkwardly.
"Oh..." Shadow replied... silencing himself.
She was indeed wearing a black skirt that fell to just above her knees. Her white polo shirt suggested that she had been preparing for a formal event of some description and was dreadfully close to exposing her chest region. Her graceful feet were bare, and surprisingly clean for someone who had been trapped in a grubby cell for a while.
"Get moving, guys," Entity nudged, keeping his eyes off the girl in is arms and making sure Sub-zero and Shadow didn't turn around.
After moments more travelling (And floating up through holes), they reached the deck and were surprised to find no more security forces trying to kill them.
"Well... that's just not right...," Sub-zero muttered, looking at the deserted deck.
"Do you think they abandoned ship?" Shadow asked, also examining the area but being careful not to bring his eyes too close to Entity's direction.
"Look at the console over there. The vessel assumed it had taken severe missile damage and all hands evacuated... probably a result of me ripping the hull up," Entity said, no emotion showing in his voice and his expression was unreadable.
"Fair enough, so long as no Sentinels are involved. I'll go get the jet. You guys wait here," Sub-zero said before shooting off on a side of ice.
"If this were a trap, he'd be dead right about now," Shadow mumbled, barely audible but just loud enough for Entity to hear.
"He likes to stay on the move. It works most of the time," he stated, staring at the distant X-men as he reached the jet's location.
Seconds later, the familiar sounds of the engines erupted across the deck and the jet landed, lowering a ramp for the crew to board.
"It was on auto pilot!" yelled Sub-zero over the noise, " I can't pilot this thing so I hit the button and it came over here!"
Shadow grinned and hopped aboard, followed closely by Entity who was being careful not to hit Jess's head on the doors. He walked over to a bed at the back of the jet and set her down, strapping her in, in preparation for the journey.
"I've got you..." he whispered, brushing her hair out of her eyes.
"Hey, you piloting or fantasising? We gotta go now, buddy!" Sub-zero called from the cockpit.
With one last glance over his shoulder, Entity walked back to his seat and they began the trip home.
— Back At The Mansion...
The jet touched down on the metallic tiles of the hangar. After dis-engaging the engines and lowering the landing ramp, Entity carefully un buckled Jess and lifted her out of the jet, heading straight for the infirmary.
"Oh... don't wait for us then!" Shadow called after him, rolling his eyes again and leaving the hangar, followed by Sub-zero.
"Professor," Entity called once he had arrived in the med lab.
"We've been waiting for you. Set her down on the bed, she needs to rest. Well done for recovering her. You've done an exemplary job," Xavier congratulated.
Entity just frowned and sat down besides her in the bedside chair.
"Before you ask, I'm not planning to leave until I know she's alright," Entity told him, not removing his eyes from the flickering eyes of the girl.
"Very well. I must wait here also, to explain things to her when she wakes," Xavier explained, indicating to the girl with a tilt of his hand.
"You're planning to recruit her?" Entity asked, blankly, turning his attention to Xavier.
"It is entirely up to her, but after what happened... I believe it may be best if we at least extent the invitation to her. That way, she'll be more prepared if she is later attacked again. If she doesn't, we can erase her memory of the entire thing and keep her under surveillance should the Sentinels attempt a re-capture her," informed the Professor, sitting back in his chair.
"Understood," Entity stated, leaning forwards and watching the girl again.
"Matthew... you seem troubled. Even more so then usual. Did you want to discuss something with me?" Xavier asked, watching Entity with concern in his eyes.
A silence fell over the room, broken only by the occasional bleeping of the machines that surrounded them. Entity gazed with glassy eyes at the floor, not seeming to hear what Charles said.
"I understand. Though I must ask you, when you are ready to talk, we are your family and we are always here for you," the Professor comforted, his expression was that of deep concern.
If he didn't feel obliged to stay and watch over Jess, he would have got up and left the room, seeking the safety and silence of either his dormitory, or deep space...
And so concludes the fifth chapter. I hope you are enjoying so far. If not, read something else.