ACT 1: EAGLE CLAWS
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Von was very offended that Kathryn didn't wish him goodnight before going to bed. He was beginning to develop a crush on her. Her hair was silky brown and he wanted to see if it felt as smooth as it looked. Her eyes were a deep mesmerising blue that left him breathless. Of course, she wasn't the first lady to leave him weak in the knees. Von had a soft spot for pretty ladies.
The little man made his way across the streets which were slowly filling with people travelling to work, floating cars and floating, centipede shaped buses. A thick dense pink fog surrounded the tall buildings, leaving the early morning hours with an ethereal sensation. Light pink and pale blue colours were painted across the faded, starry sky.
Von exhaled deeply from physical exhaustion. He was up all night after healing Nova Black's wounds (which he enjoyed very much as it involved making skin contact with her bare stomach). After that he went for a coffee in the Bastion woods, only to be left dazzled by the beautiful Kathryn. He was nervous at the sight of her silver-haired companion, deeming him too haughty to be worthy of Kathryn's boyfriend. A relief washed over him when he discovered that the boy was not her lover or a close friend. Still, he did not understand why Kathryn was saddened over his arrest by Duce Craen.
He was awake all night after rescuing Kathryn. The heaviness of sleep threatened to fall over him. However, due to his healing abilities, he was frequently asked to aid injured Eagle Claw recruits or innocent humans and mutants that were targeted by the Red Insurgents and Triangle Organisation respectively.
Von tightened his grip on the cylindrical device. Its blue radiance bled into red and beamed. This suggested that he found the person he was searching for. Without much haste, the little man swerved his way into a side alley. He found Skinwalker sitting on the floor with his back leaning against the wall. The ground stank of dried blood.
"Dallas, what happened?" Von exclaimed, rushing to his comrade's side and inspecting his wounds.
Skinwalker, otherwise known as Dallas Pointe, winced deeply although he was making an effort to hide the real capacity of pain he felt. The right side of his tanned freckled face was severely burned. The burns crawled down his neck and peeped through the holes in his jacket and tee. The necklace he wore was left unharmed, the wolf canine attached, dangled in victory.
The nineteen year old grasped his short fuzzy blonde hair and grimaced, hazel eyes squinting in pain.
"Had an unexpected encounter with Lee Key Bun but honestly I'm fine," the boy said through gritted teeth.
Von shook his head in dismay. Dallas rarely expressed how he truly felt even when he was in pain. The doctor removed his glove, and touched the burns on Dallas' face. A green glow commenced from his fingers, lending a cool contrast to the throbbing pain that Dallas was experiencing. The raw crimson skin rejuvenated back to the intensely freckled tanned tone. Von healed the rest of the boy's burns.
"Thanks Von," Dallas got up to his full height, towering over six feet and rubbed his hands along his cargo pants to clean them from grit.
"If I may ask, who is this 'Lee Key Bun'?" Von asked, placing his glove back on.
"She calls herself Puker, and the name matches her disgusting abilities," Dallas replied, rotating what was his once injured arm.
Von cringed at the thought of what Lee Key Bun is capable of. Excess vomiting on opponents is sure to cause third degree burns. However, this must be very painful for Key Bun, since vomit, which mainly consists of stomach acid, can potentially damage the oesophagus.
The sides of Von's temples throbbed from fatigue. He massaged them and let his fingers glide over his slick white hair. Blinking, he forced his drowsiness to fold to the back of his mind. Dallas watched him with his intense hazel eyes. The boy placed a hand on Von's shoulders, having to bend a bit in doing so.
"Hey, you look exhausted again. You know, you don't have to say yes to all of Vulcan's requests. He's a nice dude. He'll understand," Dallas told him softly.
They exited the alley and onto the busy streets of the city. The fog was evaporating and the sky was scorched with fiery hues. The stars have faded completely and all life in the city embraced the rise of the sun.
Von rubbed his tired eyes with his knuckles. "You're right but it's just too hard to say no sometimes."
"Just try, seriously."
"I know but-" Von's sentence was cut off as a beautiful lady wearing a figure tight pencil skirt and blouse walked past them with her killer heels.
"Check out that butt!" the doctor stammered excitedly, pointing at the woman's backside.
Dallas smacked a palm against his freckled forehead.
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Pietro slowly opened his eyes. A searing pain travelled from his head and down his spine. He yelped from the pain, trying to grab his hair but realising that his wrists were chained at either side of his body. His arms were spread apart, the chains preventing him from moving them.
"Grr!" He growled, shaking the chains vehemently. It was no use; they were tightly bound around his wrists.
He took a moment to analyse his surroundings. He was stranded in a dark room, the only light coming from a sooty fireplace nearby. A hot iron rod was left sitting inside the burning flames. Pietro's eyes widened to the size of saucers as he caught sight of a bath filled with dirty water, a crouching sized cage filled with nails, and a stand where whips of all thickness were coiled around it.
He was in a bloody torture room!
And this was all Pryde's fault. The mere remembrance of her caused his blood to stir. This was her fault that he ended up here. He should have abandoned her in the woods while he had the opportunity. He never knew how sneaky she was. For somebody who boasted of her morals, she left him abandoned in the arms of Duce Craen while rescuing herself.
"I bet she planned this out. She was only looking for a chance to run away and leave me stranded in this shitty place," Pietro muttered ominously.
Wait till he comes across her again. He'll teach her a lesson she'll never forget. How dare she trick him like this? Him, Pietro Maximoff, the son of Magneto! Where were her manners? Where were the qualities of X-Men that she was raised with?
Pietro's thoughts dwindled to nothingness when the door burst open. He trembled in fear, attempting to pull his wrists out from their bounds.
"Morning!" Duce said cheerfully, waving at the mutant. Pietro pouted, finding his captor's greetin offensive.
Duce was even more horrific without the hood he wore. He had the face of death itself with his sunken cheekbones, horn and fang implants and pallid skin tone. He rubbed his bald head which was decorated with tattoos of various names. His bridged forehead caused menacing shadows across his pale green eyes. His skeletal figure belied his true strength.
"Do you know what these are?" Duce asked, patting his bald head, fingering the tattoos.
When Pietro didn't answer, Duce let out a mirthless chuckle and decided to continue his game of teasing.
"They are the names of all mutants that I've eliminated. Guess what?"
Pietro didn't respond again. Butterflies swam in his stomach and he was sure his lips were trembling from fear. He moved his head backwards when Duce came closer, their faces aligned in symmetry. Duce analysed the fear in the mutant's eyes, grinning victoriously.
"Wh-what?" Pietro gulped.
"You're name will be honoured soon," Duce said with another humourless laugh. He backed away, clapping his hands while Pietro hopelessly tried to free his bound wrists.
He thought of moving his feet quickly to kick Duce but for some reason, he felt detached from his powers.
"Don't even bother," Duce explained, "Those chains inhibit the expression of your powers. Now, let's get to the fun stuff. Are you part of the Red Insurgents or Eagle Claws?"
"Frankly, I have no idea what you're talking about, asshole," Pietro hissed, plucking the courage to glare at the man.
"I like your style!" The insalubrious man laughed, clapping his hands again.
His features hardened suddenly and he swung his fist with extreme force against Pietro's stomach. The latter gasped, spewing blood onto the floor. The slick, crimson liquid dripped down his chin and stained his chest. His head hung low as he wheezed for breath.
"Don't make me do that again, okay? Now answer properly; are you part of the Red Insurgents or the Eagle Claws?" Duce bellowed this time, grabbing Pietro's hair and forcing him to stare up.
"I h-honestly don't know who th-they are," the silver-haired mutant panted in pain.
Duce pushed Pietro's head as he let got of the mutant's hair. He told him how mutants were an abomination to mankind, using their powers like anarchists and brewing trouble wherever they went. Whether they were part of the notorious Red Insurgents, the sly Eagle Claws or having no allegiance to any group, they all deserved to be hunted down.
"You see, you mutants are just like prehistoric animals: unworthy and unfit to live in this world and evolution isn't favouring you either. We need to get rid of you all so that mankind is at peace once again," Duce continued.
Pietro shut his eyes. Tears flew down his cheeks from the pain that burned in his stomach.
"Well, since you are clearly no use to me. I'm just going to finish you off. Now, tell me your name or alias so I can it add to my collection." Duce reached for the pockets of his trench coat, pulling out a pocket knife and tapping his index finger on the tip of it.
"No wait! I-if I tell you the whereabouts of the other mutant I was with last night, will you let me go?" Pietro spoke swiftly.
"Hmm," the horn headed human slid his finger down his jaw and to his chin, contemplating on the offer made. He shrugged. "That depends, but go ahead and I'll think about it."
"Well…" Pietro stared at the ground, mulling over whether he should continue or not. Then he recalled how Kitty abandoned him last night.
His head remained low but he moved his eyes to gaze at the pale, sickly face of Duce.
"Her name is Kathryn Pride, but her friends know her as Kitty," his voice hesitated, his heart forcing him to stop but his mind protested otherwise, "We're from the past."
Duce was then frozen in one spot like a stone gargoyle. He grabbed a chair and sat on it, crossing his arms against his chest. "Keep going."
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Back at the Xavier Mansion
Rogue was the first to notice that Kitty was missing. The southern belle woke up the find Kitty's bed empty and the girl's pyjamas were thrown across the floor. The young woman was certain that her roommate must have risen early and had gone down for breakfast. However, when Rogue entered the kitchen, she greeted everyone that stayed in the mansion that summer except for Kitty. All the students were too busy talking about Cyrus the Great's cylinder which was mysteriously stolen the night before without any trace of evidence.
The professor, Wolverine and Beast did not recall Kitty ever telling them that she was leaving.
The girl was perplexed. It was highly unlike Kitty to leave the institute without a note. She sat around a table in the professor's study room. Logan on her left was tapping his knuckles on the board impatiently. She knew the burly man pretended not to care, but it was clear from the continuous tapping of his limbs that he was frightened. After all, Kitty was like a younger sister to him, if not a daughter.
Beast and Professor X entered the room with sullen faces. Beast took a chair opposite Logan while Professor X took the place beside the blue man, still in his wheelchair.
"It is as I feared," Beast said solemnly, "The time machine I was working on is damaged. I am afraid Kitty has used it."
"That explains why I cannot sense her this moment," Professor X added, eyes staring at his hands with regret.
"What's this? Fur-Ball decided to create a time machine and for what?" Logan snarled, crossing his arms across his chest, glaring at .
"That will be told in due time," Beast reassured, "At the moment, I will have the time machine repaired and retrace her location."
Logan smashed his fist on the table. "And when that's done, send me to back to rescue Half Pint. The kid has no idea what hullaballoo she's put herself into."
"Ah'll go wi' cha," Rogue joined, putting a gloved hand over Logan's larger one.
"I promise I will not rest until I have that time machine renovated."
"I'm counting on ya, Fur-Ball," Logan said before getting up and leaving the room.
Rogue glanced at the professor, never seeing him look so distraught before. She noticed Beast wringing his hands together with worry.
"This is all my fault," Beast sighed in regret, "I should have never considering constructing a time machine. What was I thinking?"
"Hank, do not blame yourself. I play a part in this too," the professor spoke, "But I fear that Kitty might have returned to the past."
Rogue placed a hand over her mouth in shock. The dead are best to be left alone, not retrieved.
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Kitty's eyes adjusted to the sunlight that poured in through the blinds. The rays brightened the room, forming gentle, dancing shadows on the walls. A floating clock in the corner of Ash's side of the room revealed the time to be past midday. Kitty hurriedly sat up. She observed the quiet room. Ash was still snoring softly in her sleeping bag; her platinum choppy hair fell askew across her face. Kiki's bed was neatly done but the girl with the twelve inch bangs was nowhere to be seen.
Kitty entered the bathroom, took another shower and phased out of the pyjamas that Ash had lent her, dressing into the sunny dress given to her by Pietro the night before.
She dreamt of the Xavier Institute last night. She dreamt that she was fifteen again, walking to Bayville High before the world knew about mutants. She dreamt of her comrade when he was alive as he walked about. She remember seeing the members of the Brotherhood, they were as goofy as ever. She saw Pietro walking into the school dance once again with two girls at each side while she danced with Lance. The dreams left her at ease.
Whatever happens next, she needed to save Pietro. She needed to know that he was still alive. The dark haired girl placed the pyjamas into a laundry basket around the corner of the bathroom.
Kiki was waiting for her outside with a tray full of fruit, milk and cereal. The girl grinned widely, her red lipstick gleaming. She was clad in black gothic dress that once again accentuated her pear shaped figure. Daisuke was strolling around the girl's high platform shoes, hungrily watching the milk on the tray.
"Good morning Kitty! Here, I gotcha some breakfast," Kiki greeted her boisterously.
She pressed a button on the wall with her head. The ground in the middle of the room switched around, leaving a round coffee table with two chairs at each side.
"Like wow," Kitty gasped, amazed at what the twenty-sixth century had to offer.
She took the seat opposite Kiki and poured herself some cereal. To her surprise, Kiki did not sit at all. Instead, the hyper girl filled two deep bowls with milk and sat on all four limbs with Daisuke on the floor. Both owner and pet lapped at the milk with their tongues. Kitty perked a brow and giggled.
Ash stirred in her sleep, switching to lean on her side and resumed her silent snoring.
"She sure enjoys her sleeps," Kitty said with a small smile.
"Oh you have no idea," Kiki agreed, rolling her dark eyes, "The girl sleeps a gazillion times more than she talks!" She ended her sentence with a wave of her arms in the air.
Daisuke blinked at his owner and meowed before running towards his litter tray. Kiki screamed and rolled the floor, suddenly having a compulsion.
"Kiki? Is everything okay?" Kitty asked, panicking and crawling towards the girl. Ash remained deep in sleep.
Kiki rolled onto her front and snatched out a cylindrical device that was similar to Von's. Kitty sighed with relief upon realisation that Kiki was not hurt. The device was flashing green. She blew onto the colour heavily. A hologram of Von appeared, about the size of a hand. He waved at the girl, gaze swerving to Kitty with a nostalgic smile.
"What's the matter, doctor?" Kiki said, shaking the device up and down. The hologram grew fuzzy.
"Kiki, Skinwalker and I have just encountered three very angry mutants from the Red Insurgents. We need back up quick. As you know, I'm more of a healing ally, not a fighting one," Von stuttered, hands shaking from fear.
"Red Insurgents!? Let me at those pack of noodles! Whereabouts are you and Dallas?" Kiki cried loudly, her voice waking Ashlen from her sweet dreams.
Ash rubbed her messy bed hair and glared at Kiki with her electric blue eyes. However, upon Von's frightened hologram, the girl shifted to Kiki's side.
"What's going on?" she said in a distinct Irish accent.
"We're in the around the City square– Oh good morning Ash, is it just me or does your chest look smaller then usual?" Von enquired, rubbing a gloved hand over his chin with a wide, pointy smile.
"Uh…You are seeing me through a hologram."
"Oh yes! Ofcourse, I-" Before Von could finish his sentence Kiki stuffed the device back into her pocket.
"Let's go! I'll ask Nova to teleport us there right way. Let's go kick some Red Insurgent butt!" Kiki said, punching at the air before lifting her cat.
"Do you need any help?" Kitty offered.
"Nah, you need to train to grow stronger, remember? Let's go –wait!" Kiki glanced at the ceiling again, "The poor cat god is meowing again! He's telling me…He's telling me to avoid asking Angelus for help! Obviously, that bird man can't be approached after what happened last night!"
Ash shook her head in irritation. "You go ahead with Nova. I'll catch up after grabbing a quick bite." However, Kiki left running out with Daisuke in her arms, before Ash could complete what she was saying.
Just then, a young man in his early twenties pushed the door open. His dark hair was messy and he grimaced like a demon. His green eyes sparkled with malice.
"Where is that woman?"
Ash shrugged, deciding to stay out of the feud. "Don't know, Zack."
"She's in a lot of trouble when she's back here. No one destroys my room with cat hair and gets away with it!" He slammed the door shut but his footsteps were nowhere to be heard.
"If you consider Kiki a friend then you might want toavoid bumping into Angelus," Ash suggested, facing a confused Kitty.
For a moment, Kitty felt as if she was surrounded by X-Men again.
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A/N: And finally there's a good fight in the next chapter between some Eagle Claws and some Red Insurgents. Ouch, isn't Pietro a meanie? I feel so sorry for Kitty. :(
Featured OCs:
Von Richtor ( ) by The Big Bad Bunny
Dallas Pointe (Skinwalker) by silverstarsofquebec
Duce Jager Craen and Kieko Matstunami (Felidae) by S Ruru
Ashlen McCloud (Shockwave) by Ninja Kat is Stalking You
Zack Rogers (Angelus) by myself.
