The staff came at me fast but I was faster.
I ducked to the ground throwing my leg out to trip Liune. The elder warrior tumbled to the ground, but as his training made sure of, he wasn't down long. His body rolled backward immediately, re-tucking his legs underneath him.
Liune laughed, "Not bad. Let's take this up a notch."
The scale like markings on his face, shimmered and started to spread across his face; one scale turning over at a time. Blue flooded his face and quickly the rest of his skin. Smooth flesh vanished, melting into a translucent liquid. Water. What stood before me wasn't a man. Not anymore. It was a being of water. A shape of liquid, that rippled and warped, loosely hold itself together.
I swallowed. Recognizing what Liune was. Liqudore. Mystery class mutant, a type of shapeshifter. The basic gest of mutants like these was that they could liquefy themselves, changing their bodies into a fluid form. The appearance of the fluid could very, from mimicking slick black ink to thick puffy bread dough, or in Liune's case water. Making him cross-class.
"What? Too scared to take a swing at me now?" Liune's voice spoke, the sound distorted, but still audible. I couldn't tell where it was coming from. In his water form, Liune's face vanished.
"Not a chance," I answered, readying my staff.
"Good," Liune said.
He spun on his heel, flinging his other leg out. Only it didn't stay a leg. What was once a limb was now a whip. It held no shape or form of what it once was. Just a pulsing tentacle that was flung towards my face. I hit the deck, the sloshing sound rushing over my head. The boot still intact flying far behind me.
The next few minutes was of a complex dance, of me dodging wet smacks of the heavy limbs. Who knew that water hurt so much to get hit with. It was like mini bellyflops over my skin, if when someone did a belly flop, they bounced off the body of water and crashed into training sand. I was going to have bruises and sand burns for weeks. Liune kept me at a distance, so that his hits were harder, they stung more.
It seemed unnecessary, though. Even if I could get close enough, I couldn't hit him. A staff didn't do much when swung at water. The wood just cut right through him, or he split himself in half to avoid it. Man, fighting was so much easier when the person was solid, and there was certainly no army training for fighting a damn waterspout.
Between all the sand…and well me… flying around, all the wet slaps, and soaked clothing my mind was slow. Usually, I just relied on instincts. I always had a good judgement on where the next punch or stab would come from and where to place my own. It was what made me the perfect candidate to become Steve's partner. That wasn't going to work here. The normal rules of a man-on-man combat didn't apply here.
And I never realized how much those were a crutch for me…
I had to fight like a mutant. Easier said then done. Nico wasn't joking when he said that these weren't the battles I was used to. Sure, there were some weird things in the war. But it wasn't an everyday occurrence. On this battle field the weird things were the norm, and fighting was beyond just pulling punches. The fighting was a much mental as physical.
Thoughts drew back to the books I was forced to read, as I rolled in the soft ground once more. Liquidores were hard to hit, but unstable. Their bodies were slippery, constantly shifting. Without proper training to control and embrace this malleability, they could literately melt away. In both body and mind. Impossible to touch, and even harder to trap. But that didn't mean they didn't have weaknesses.
That was I needed to find.
"The reason I ask you to study the different power possibilities is to further your understanding of your opponent. Mutants are unpredictable by nature, but that doesn't mean patterns don't exist. You need to memorize these patterns, and locate their weakness. That's your ticket to victory, never underestimate, and look for the weak points," Nico once told me.
So, in between the water whips and now hard wet sand, I really looked at Liune. Tracking his movements, looking for details. I ducked underneath the last strike and dashed forward, twirling the staff around, slicing through the watery tentacles with violent splashes. I got close, slashing the staff towards his head…and glanced down…his boots still in solid form.
I was immediately shot with a harsh blast of water, sending me flying back into the sand, but I knew what I had to do. Liquidores shifting ability allowed them an advantage to be fluid with their movements, but they couldn't allow debris to free float inside of them incase they have to quickly solidify. Liune kept his feet solid to keep the sand out of his body.
I landed in crouch, sliding back, my feet and finger tips carving scars into wet sand underneath me. I looked up, swallowing thickly and gasping against a dry throat. Liune slowly and cautiously retracted the tentacles, preparing to jump me again. We stared each other down from a moment. Then came the time to strike.
Like before, I ran forward, leaping out of the way of the whips and slicing through the once I couldn't. Getting closer and closer, until I stood right in front of the elder mutant. I swung my staff, not striking him, but the ground instead. Clumps of hard saturated sand exploded from the soaked ground, spraying over Liune. Just as I planned, all of his extra watery limbs rapidly retracted into himself and his body solidified. Taking on his human form once more.
I didn't hesitate to, kick his legs out from under him. Using my servo to disarm him of his staff and then jumped to pin him down to the ground. Pressing my heel into his chest, and aiming my own staff at his neck, like a pointless spear. Our eyes locked, as we gasped for breath, finally standing still.
Liune, smiled, nodding and letting out a few chuckles, "Jeez kid, you can fight. I yield. Now get off of me."
I let out a sigh of relief that I didn't know I was holding and stood up away from the fallen warrior. Liune rose to his feet with a heavy groan, still quietly laughing. He undid the now ruined braid and started brushing the sand out of his hair with his fingers.
"I think he's good. Quick on his feet, and with his head. I'd say he's ready," Liune spoke.
Nico walked up to us, from his post at the edge of the training field. Observing the match with the usual stern look.
"Confidant much Liune?" Nico said.
"He knocked me down and kept me there," Liune said.
"One win does not prove his preparedness."
"He still has until November, and it is only early March. He has time to improve," Liune said walking off.
Nico turned his eye to me; I could feel those cold brown eyes examining me. Studying me. I used to feel weirder out by it, but over the past few months I'd gotten used to it. That and Arrow pointed it out to me that he did it with everyone in the farm house.
"You've been studying the mutant classifications, correct?" Nico said.
I nodded.
"How would you combat a Speedster that was cross-classed with electrokinesis?"
I looked at the ground, biting my lip, "Speedsters operate on a rhythm to run at the speeds that they do. Super-fast or not if their reflexes are shot, they can get hurt, so they like patterns and keeping things the same. You disrupt that rhythm and they lose what little control they have."
"And the electrokinesis?"
"Keep him away from water?"
Nico hummed, "Come with me."
We walked away from the sobbing wet section of the field. There was a bench at the far corner. In the summer it would've been covered by an open tent, a stretcher and medical kit inside, with either Taiga or Dr. McClain manning it. It was mostly used to treat minor cuts, bruises, and a lot of sunburns, because summer here was hot. Now though, in the late winter near spring weather the bench seemed almost lonely, only with a single old dusty bag laying on it.
Nico grabbed the bag and zipped it open, pulling out a wooden baseball bat. Alright. This was unexpected.
He stood the bat on its head, palm pressing against the heel of the handle, "Strike the bat's neck with your shin."
I blinked, "That'll break my leg. I know bats have changed since I have seen a game, but I know that wood like that doesn't break underneath bone."
"Does it? How are you so certain?" Nico said, his face still neutral.
Why did he do this? Why did he ask questions that seemed to only defy any logic and frustrate me?
I sighed, setting myself to strike. Swinging my leg forward. A loud crack echoes through the wind…when the neck of the bat snapped.
"Well, done. You've achieved, physical stature close to mutant level and know how to determine basic weak points. No, we removed yours."
Nico dropped the broken bat handle and reached towards my shoulder. Less then a moment later my prosthetic was on the ground over fifteen feet away. Thank God, the metal was tough and the ground soft.
"Hey! I need that!"
"No, you don't."
"It's my arm!"
"It's a splint on weakened bone. Any trained technopath will know how it works better then you do with a single touch and they will take advantage of that. By either separating it from your body or taking control of the appendage," He took a fighting stance, "Now let's start with a simple sparing."
I ended that day, covered in drying sand, scrapes from said sand, and multitude of bruises.
"Keep up!" Nico nearly growled, "We are here for a very important reason and we only have so much time."
"I'm coming. I'm coming," I said, stumbling on one of the sharper edges of marble.
Training that day surprisingly didn't take place on the farmhouse's grounds. Nico dragged me out of bed before the sun rose and tossed me into a portal to Nexus. Not that it made much difference to my sore muscles. Navigating the carved out inner workings of the Phoenix Palace was harder then one would think. The steps were rarely even and slick when wet. The halls tight and coarse, seemingly smaller in the morning before the staff had lit them for the day. Not to mention Nico had taken us off the usual tunnels, and into the more neglected pathways that were nearly as rough as they had been when they were first carved instead of refined like the others.
The tunnel became a shaft, and set of thin steep grey stairs was laid out for our use. I swallowed as we climbed them. The steps only connected to one wall, the other split from the stair case. Meaning there was a crack on the other side. A slim black wound in the rock that went deeper than I could see. Just the right size for a thin man to slip down and get trapped. After casting a glance towards it, I hugged the other wall a little tighter.
At the top of the stairs, there was a small hole in the wall, that acted like a door. Though I could tell it wasn't like the other entrances in the Palace. It's edges rough, not smoothed down, and blackened like they were burned by something. My hand traced over the stone; It looked like it was made by an accident.
Nico chuckled, it was a sad hollow sound, but it made me jump none the less.
"Something the matter?" I asked.
"You like the door?" Nico said.
"I wouldn't call it a door."
"Most wouldn't. So, why are you interested in it."
"Well…it's not like the others. Feels out of place."
Nico hummed, "Not all doors will be the same. Some are easy to find and got through. Some are already open. Others you have to make yourself. Now come over and look down. I didn't bring you here to look at doors."
I did as he asked and walked onto the small slither of a cliff the door opened two. We were inside of a large hollowed out chamber in the mountain. The spot we stood at close to the high rounded ceiling. From the ground below up came the vapors of music; singing flutes, strumming harps, and the cry of violas. The beat of the song coming from the dancers' feet that gathered in the center of the floor.
Mutant dancing and swing were two very different things. That was something I figured out pretty quickly. I was a decent dancer back in the war, but I didn't get that many partners due to being so young and the lack of dames in the field. No partners weren't really a problem in mutant dancing. Duets were meant for courtship and married couples only, unless the situation required it. Instead, dancing was done in large groups, or individually.
The group below us, gathered in a circular formation. The outer ring comprised of two loops that galloped counter-clockwise, while stretching and swinging their arms in simple patterns; their movements in perfect unison with the beat and each other. The dancers inside of the running ring were dancing in a far more complex manner; their poses and steps were done with practiced poise. Twisting their bodies with swords and rainbows of scarfs in their hands with perfect timing to the melody and harmony.
"They're beautiful," I murmured.
Nico nodded, "They are, but what do you see when you watch them beyond their beauty?"
"Their strength and stamina?"
"Something beyond just dancing."
I turned my eye back to the group. Critically watching, eyes straining to see something. Every Dancer was dressed differently, but they all moved in sync, so nothing clashed.
"Stop looking at them as dancers, and look at the dance itself," Nico stated.
The outer rings remained the same. The inner clasped hands and pulled apart, twirling and twisting before coming together and parting again. The shapes they formed with their posing and dance, they almost looked like…
"Are they making Chosen Tongue runes?" I asked.
Nico nodded, "they're telling a story. Mutants culture is based on diversity, there is no set religion and almost every one of us comes from another culture before they arrived here. Sometimes there is little in common linking two Clans other than the mask code. One of the few things that holds our culture together are the stories passed down from our ancestors. Dancing is one way we express and share those stories."
"Why not just use books?" I asked.
"There are two reasons behind that. The first one being that our ancients knew that they were being hunted and needed a way to pass down their knowledge without conventional methods of doing so to keep our secrets safe. Dancing was one of these methods. The second reason is that our powers are linked to every part of us, our minds, our bodies, our souls, dancing is a way that we can unite all of it and take control of ourselves. It's the same principle when it comes to us learning combat, control the body, control the mind, control your ability."
I nodded, my brows furrowing, "Why are you telling me this?"
Nico sighed, "The trials you wish to take were made by mutants for mutants. You can't just fight like us, to pass them. You have to understand us, or culture and customs. Otherwise, you will never succeed. You are not just joining an army, James, you are joining a culture."
My eyes narrowed as I pondered over those words. My goal was getting into their military so I could protect the people who had saved me. I couldn't let them risk their lives and I not do anything. I didn't realize that being a mutant warrior was different than being an Allies soldier. Of course, deep down I guess I realized that deep down, Nexus of course wasn't at war. But the military wasn't separated from the civilians in the way it was back in the states. Hand-to-Hand combat was part of basic education. Weapons like swords, bombs, spears, and guns were common in household, and a large amount of the population could kill with a glance. Battle and blood were common. Joining their military meant joining their nation.
Belonging when fighting and when at peace. I liked that idea. Because once the war ended, whether or not I had gotten on that rocket, I would've been left alone again. Steve died on the rocket, Jim would've taken Toro to go live off somewhere, Namor probably went back to the ocean, and the howlies all had family of their own. All I had was Rebecca, but by the time she would graduate we'd have been more strangers than siblings. That wouldn't happen here. Black Sheep, Christin, Arrow, Taiga, I knew they wouldn't leave me behind.
I swallowed, "So, if they're telling a story, what's this one about?"
"It is one that was created during Nexus's very early days of settlement. It tells how the ancestors constructed the Guardians of Nexus," Nico answered, "Watch closely, you can see them form the runes for 'Beginning', 'Protection', and 'Monster'."
"Monster?"
Nico paused, before nodding at me to follow. He led me back through the old unused tunnels, and out to an unpolished cliff. The view was stunning facing the edge of the city, an ocean turning purple with the coming sunrise. Small bits of ice from the artificial winter that the mutants create, glistened like glass shavings on the sea's surface. Spring was still in the process of being swapped over. The remaining cold wind playing with my hair.
"Monster is a very loose translation," Nico said, "but I suppose to some they do seem like monsters. Look at the range to your right."
I crept to the edge of the cliff, peering out over the cave wall. Cut in to the stone range, were proud statues of griffins. Each of them sat on their own ledge. Their heads bowed, tails laying limp, and wings tucked tightly on their backs.
I raised a brow, "Griffin statues?"
"They are machines, at least that is what their legends tell. When the ancients arrived on Nexus, they had just come from a home that was long destroyed due to their lack of foresight. They believed all they needed was their gifts to protect them, and that led to their down fall. So, when they found sanctuary in Nexus, they took extra precautions. While most worked on building the Phoenix Palace and city, others worked on ensuring the safety of their descendants' future. The best geopaths in their ranks, crafted the statues from the mountain's flesh, imbedding their powers inside of the stone, giving them the ability to move and defend our home. Setting them to sleep until their called upon."
"Imbedding their powers? Like putting them into the rock? You can do that?" I asked.
"According to the legend. If it was possible, it is now a craft that was lost to time. Our ancestors were a far greater people than what we are today," Nico said.
"So, the griffins are a last chance defense system?"
Nico nodded, "'they lay in slumber, waiting for the skies to burn and the oceans to boil and the land to melt…', The Mask Code, chapter 16 verse 23, 'The Legend of the Claw'."
"How do they work if their sleeping?"
"It is stated a child of their creators' shared blood will call upon them in time of need."
"Shared blood? A descendant?"
"Possibly. Or another Geopath," Nico glanced looked out to the sea, "We pray that they are never called to arms, just as you should. It would mean the end of our home, and we know little of what they are capable of. It's probably something we shouldn't mess with considering what their other creation is able to do."
"Other creation?"
Nico looked out at the water.
"So…a kraken statue?"
"No, the closest thing I can compare it to is a lobster or shrimp, but it's far larger than it's real-life counterpart, 150 times bigger, and this one is awake."
I swallowed, "Awake? As in swimming out there?"
"It patrols the barrier islands surrounding the island, living in the deepest water below. No outsider ship or plane ever gets close to our home, because of this great beast. We call it, Scata Oc'nita."
"Water's Hunter," I hummed, "Noble."
"Don't concern yourself, it knows those who are welcome on Nexus, and most never come face-to-face with it."
"Would it be offensive for me to say you guys are incredibly paranoid?"
"Not to me. Don't worry, The Nexus Guardians are nothing more then a child's fairy tale these days. Stories we tell to the youth to keep them in line."
Nico turned to leave, and I knew that he wanted me to follow, besides I probably wouldn't know how to navigate these halls without him.
"You seem to know a lot about the legends," I said.
"I was the child of a Clan Leader it was my duty to know our people's history and the importance of it. We all are expected to know. These stories are passed down through family along with our own personal ones," Nico answered.
"So, Arrow and the others? You taught them?"
"No, that duty belongs to Christin, as he is their father. I should not step in unless asked or my brother has passed on."
"So, you've never told anyone about this stuff?"
Nico halted, "You should remember to hold your tongue, James Barnes. Such questions are forbidden if you have forgotten."
I nodded, and we continued down the halls.
I was having a hard time imagining Nico with a small child on his lap. Telling his son about the history of their home. Then again…didn't that very situation just happen?
A/N:
Okay, so I finally got this out! Summer semester will start by next week so I'm working on as much fic as I can.
I also updated chapters 33 and 34 with missing scenes I forgot to include in the original postings. Pls go read them they are important. Bye now!
Geopath – a person with the ability to manipulate earth and stone
