Memories
Identity
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If you want to use Tora, or any of my other characters, PM me.
Tora collapsed backwards, waves swirling back into her eyes and mouth.
"Can't…hold it…any longer…"
Jubilee stared at her worriedly.
"But that's it, right? I'm fixed? Cured? Not going to be a vampire anymore?"
Tora hung her head.
"I'm sorry, Jubilation. But… Dragon doesn't recognise vampirism as a disease. To all intents and purposes, excluding the sunlight thing, it makes you stronger, faster and more powerful. If I'm not careful, I'm liable to speed up the process, not halt it."
Jubilee curled up tightly and Tora reached out to try and touch her shoulder, only to have the young woman move with almost lightning fast reflexes to prevent the contact.
"Don't."
"I'm sorry. I can't do anything. Not without making it worse. But… I might be able to fix the sunlight aversion, if given enough time."
"Thanks."
"I don't think you should be thanking me."
"No. I mean…thanks for trying. Thanks for not giving up on me. Thanks for being here even though Logan isn't."
Tora let the sides of her lips twitch up for a second then she returned to worrying about Jubilee's condition. She rose, nodded and walked over to Nemesis.
"What's the situation?"
"Summers has called for a meeting. You'll be fine leaving her?"
"Send Curt it to keep her company. She'll need it."
"You are referring- I assume- to the fact she's about to go through the change?"
"I… I may have inadvertently sped it up. I can't control it one hundred per cent. I can't even slow it."
Nemesis nodded, then sighed.
"Shall we go and see what Gordian Knot Summers wants us to untie?"
She smiled softly.
"I'm good at knots. And if it comes to it, we can always copy Alexander."
"You mean cut it in half?"
"What else?"
Jubilee stared at them as they walked out, then got up to look at the setting sun, maybe for the last time.
"Hey!"
She leapt backwards as Curt dropped down onto the balcony.
"Do you know how difficult it was to get here? I had to pay Santo ten bucks to use his window to get down here!"
"Thanks Curt. You're really being sweet."
"Look… If you want to talk… I understand."
"How can you! I'm about to become a bloodthirsty monster!"
Curt raised an eyebrow and his brightly patterned orange Hawaiian shirt over a black t-shirt started to writhe.
"Really?"
"Oh… Yeah… Sorry… I just keep forgetting…"
"It's okay…"
They stood together looking out over the sunset and Jubilee smiled.
"You're okay Curt. If things were different… But they're not…"
"What?"
"It doesn't matter."
They stood in silence for a long moment. Then Jubilee spoke.
"Thanks. For understanding me. And…just being here."
"Well, I did have a huge crush on you about two years ago. Like, when we'd both just lost our powers and you looked so sad and I didn't know what to do either…"
"That's… Really… Sweet of you to tell me that… Thanks Curt…"
"Look, I better go. Dad's taking me and Laura to some sort of training thing."
"You're definitely getting on better with him, aren't you?"
"Yeah. Dad's… We understand each other better now."
"Yeah… Curt…"
"Yes Jubes?"
"Thanks for telling me… About having a crush on me… It's definitely cheered me up."
"I still do…"
"What?"
"I…still…er…"
She stared at him for a long second then they both burst out laughing.
"You had me going there Curty-Boy!"
He smiled, turned away then his face fell as he leapt up the wall.
"But I still do…"
"Oh, that's so sad…"
"Phoenix, can you please stop being so…soppy!"
"Oh yes, I forgot your hatred of me cooing over romantic movies."
Maya stood on the street corner, marking the human wandering around looking worried. He was a teenager, not one of the more popular ones by the slight stoop which suggested he was bullied. Good. No one with him, no one to prevent her from slipping away into the darkness and feeding off him. He came up, looking worried.
"Have you seen my friend? She's Asian, dresses really bright, pale skin? I…I need to find her… Oh, she's really pretty."
"You've lost your girlfriend?"
"Not so much girlfriend as…"
"The girl you want to be your girlfriend?"
He nodded shyly. Maya smirked to herself.
"I think I know where she might have gone. Loads of people go there."
"Really? Thanks!"
She headed down the alley and felt him follow. Too easy. Soon she'd feast and gorge. He smelt good, no alcohol or drugs in his system, a healthy young man who would allow her to survive for another few days. Or she might just turn him, because he looked like Jack and she'd been alone since that witch killed Jack. Oh, she remembered that day all too well. They'd been preparing to feed and then Jack had gasped as the wooden tipped arrow had been driven right through his heart and Maya had retreated into the shadows as the woman had stepped out to pull their prey up. Maya would have attacked, if it had been anyone but the person it was. The Shadow, Dracula's obsession and protected by vampire law. Only Dracula was allowed to try and kill her, as the pair had supposedly been trying to kill each other so long they counted each other as friends. But oh, her blood had smelt divine. Like the Christmas dinners the master had been served, back when Maya was human. Rich and intoxicating, but untouchable, so untouchable. Death was the penalty of hurting the Shadow. Death in the most horrible way imaginable. So the Shadow killed them and they couldn't fight back.
Maya turned.
"We're here."
"This isn't anywhere…"
"I… I'm sorry… It's just… You remind me of a friend… He died."
"I'm sorry."
"I… I just…"
She moved in, knowing that a teenage boy wasn't going to object to her kissing him. He jerked his head away and she smirked. He'd just revealed his neck and she lunged… Only to have his shirt writhe and then she was thrown to the other side of the alley and sticky black threads were pinning her to the wall, threads that ran to the boy's shirt sleeves, which were rapidly turning into a strange orange and black body suit and a mask slid over his face.
"Now bloodsucker, tell me where Jubilee is!"
"Who are you…?"
"I. Am. Poison. Now tell me, where is Jubilee!"
"I…I don't know!"
"Oh well. I've never eaten vampire brains before. I wonder what they taste like!"
"GET OFF ME!"
Maya was terrified. She had thought she was the predator and he was the prey. It turned out it was the other way around.
"WHAT ARE YOU!"
He had smelt human. But now he smelt of something different and dangerous, not even earthly.
"I am the hunter of all. I'm Xixswaldraster, bond-prince of the K'Meeri Empire."
And then the ropes slid around Maya's head and she collapsed, realising she was about to die.
"And that reveals whose son Curt actually was. He was Logan's, through and through. Jamie always took after his mother and, well, Eva was a forgone conclusion."
Max stared at the helmet. He remembered the first one he had ever worn, one day when Shadow had jokingly placed her helmet on his head, and he had rattled around proudly all day because she had let him, Max Eisenhart; wear her, the Shadow's helmet. And then she had laughed at him and told him he could wear it when they were fighting because it looked so good on him. Max had puffed up his chest and decided that he was going to be the best son in the world, make Shadow feel proud of him each and every day.
And then he had hidden in the cellar, clutching the helmet to him as the men had slaughtered his friends and he kept praying, praying that Shadow would come and save him. But she didn't and the roof fell in and she never came for him. It took Max three days to pull his way out and all he found were graves for his friends and a fire for those who had killed them. Max had clung to the helmet and that was when he decided that everyone abandoned you in the end, especially those who said they cared about you. Max Eisenhardt died and Erik Lehnsherr was born.
And Erik discovered his powers and he lost his family and that just cemented the belief that those you loved left you. And Erik became Magnus and met Charles Xavier, naïve and optimistic to a fault, so weak and dreaming of a world that never would be.
And then Magnus put the helmet on and became Magneto and then he realised that the one he hated but had once idolised was just a woman who would never be truly great and then she was dead and he placed her helmet, the first helmet Magneto had worn, on her grave and called the Captain a fool. And then Tora had given him a letter from a dead woman who had never stopped loving him and Max Eisenhardt was born again.
Max picked up the helmet but Magneto was the one who put it on.
"So he was Max without the helmet and Magneto with it?"
"Sort of… Later, then yes, that's how he felt. Max was the man. Magneto was the warrior."
A.N. Wow. 150 chapters and a year on from the very first posting… Well, a lot's happened in that time. Tora's aged 24 years, got married, had three kids and gone insane a few times. And I've… er… made some self-discoveries, definitely improved my writing style and changed the plot hugely from the original –Etana didn't even feature in my plan! Would you believe it? Hopefully, Memories won't be another 150 chapters or another year long. If it is, I may just go doolally.
No, seriously, I have Etana lodging in my brain! She won't shut up! I killed her off in the first place because she was uncooperative and she still gets all the best lines! Curse you Etana, why do you keep coming up with your brilliant lines when it's really difficult to write it down! Like in the middle of my English exam! Do you think it's funny! Why can't you say these things when I'm in front of my computer and in the writing mood?
But really, how can a character I only planned to be relatively minor when I put her in the first time, end up being my favourite character to write any interactions with? (Okay, I prefer Tora/Logan, Tora/Kurt but Etana's a joy to write with anyone, whereas Tora doesn't play well with others. Do I sound slightly crazy? I think I need to go lie down in a darkened room)