Subject: [OTL]: (New Mutants 2/Wisdoms/X-folk) Breeze Book 2 Chapter 6/? (PG-13) Date: Mon, 2 Jun 2003 21:32:38 -0700 (PDT) From: Phil Hartman will1@earthling.net Breeze book 2 Chapter 6 by Phil Hartman DISCLAIMER: They belong to their creators. Etc. -------------------------------------------------------- 2/12/2003: X-Mansion: 09:03 hrs EDT: -------------------------------------------------------- She sat, watching Rachel don the Cerebra helmet as she had each morning for the past few weeks, and sighed. #It's not like she'll find anything,# Gailyn Bailey thought sadly while her cousin began her daily attempt to locate Nathan. The 15-year-old red-haired psionic girl empathized with Rachel; she wanted Nate home, also. But if Rachel - who was a far more powerful psi than Gail could ever dream of being - had failed to find her brother after weeks of global psi-scanning, what hope was there ? ~Can the neg-chatter,~ Rachel sent with an astral scowl. ~I've been getting blips lately around Indonesia. This might be something.~ ~I hope you're right. I'll ... go study, or something,~ Gail sent, sighing as she stood to leave. She walked to the door - - and walked face-first into the strawberry-blonde woman standing in the doorway. "Gailyn ?" Alison Blaire asked the New Mutant. Gail stepped back, and looked up at the veteran X-Man. Dazzler had lost none of her legendary beauty, nor her incredible vocal talents. After emerging from the Siege Perilous years earlier and regaining her memory, Ali had fought alongside her true love, the extradimensional X-Man Longshot, to overthrow the tyrannical dictatorship of Longshot's homeworld. #And after they succeeded, they came here to settle down,# Gail thought, mumbling an apology to Dazzler. #But how could she understand what's going on - how useles I feel ?# "Hey, you want to talk ?" Ali asked. Her warmth caught Gail off-guard, and the girl nodded silently. "I ... it's just that when Nate disappeared, I started to feel - useless," Gail sighed, sitting with Ali on a bench in the corridor outside the War Room. "I was beginning to feel comfortable about my powers, after I was such a paranoid bigoted snot about them during first semester. Rachel helped me see that I didn't have to be afraid of my mutancy, that it wasn't a curse. But then, watching her and some of the others, I realized just how weak I am. It was OK, for a while, but ... then Nate was taken, and ..." Ali put a hand on Gail's shoulder and let the girl look her in the eye. "I went through a phase where I felt pretty useless too," the "Lightengale" said, half-smiling. "I came from a different place with my powers - I reveled in them when I was a teenager, using them to boost attendance at my live performances. Then, after I was outed as a mutant, I thought it was the end of the world. But the X-Men helped me develop my abilities, and I was able to use them to help others." Gail sighed, shrugging, and said, "I do want to help other people. But my control is still pretty poor." Ali smiled fully and replied, "It takes time to get good at something, and there's always going to be someone else who's better. All you can do is your best - cliched, but it's the truth." Gail tried to return the smile, but suddenly gasped. "Get Aunt Jean - please - NOW !" she cried, running for the door of the War Room. "RAY !?" -------------------------------------------------------- The astral plane was rippling with fire. ~LET ME OUT !~ the Phoenix Force screamed within Rachel's psyche. ~NO !~ the girl mindshouted back - everything was so much LOUDER when she used Cerebra - #And that was the crux of the problem,# an oddly-quiet part of Rachel's psyche reminded her. #You amplified what was already maxed out, and your reach exceeded your grasp.# #Then I know what I have to do,# Rachel thought, retracting her telepathic awareness and armoring her astral self before diving into her subconscious. She'd had to deal with the Phoenix for almost six months, including the cosmic avatar's emotional surges and its rapacious demands for all kinds of sensation. For a time, it had been somewhat easy - the Phoenix's amplification of her already-considerable psionic powers had enabled her to restrain the Phoenix in her mind. #But that's not working anymore. So, I have to evict this rude tenant,# Rachel told herself, trying not to doubt - - which could be lethal in a fight with the Phoenix - - as she swung her sword at the psychic tether binding her to the firebird nesting in the base of her identity. And then - -------------------------------------------------------- Somewhere in Indonesia: -------------------------------------------------------- Soulburn awoke with a start, gasping at the images in his mind - #Rachel's fighting the Phoenix !?# the 11-year-old thought, grasping onto his sister's telepathic warcry. #I can't stay here anymore,# the former Nathan Summers thought, scowling at the doorway to his cell. He grabbed the grey skinsuit sitting on a chair near his bed, pulling it on quickly before sitting cross-legged on the floor. #I've tried to obey my master, but he's no better than Apocalypse. If I'm going to save my family, then I've got to fight him on my terms, with a free will,# Soulburn thought, focusing his telepathy upon his own mind. Golden psi-flame incinerated the astral chains binding all that was Nathan Summers, and the boy shattered what remained of his brainwashing. The door to the cell creaked open, and its occupant opened his eyes to look up. "This is a very foolish mistake," Sinister said coldly, looking down at his former slave. "If you go now, you may doom your entire family by drawing Apocalypse's attention to yourself." "This isn't 'The Empire Strikes Back.' And you're no Yoda," Nate said through his teeth, standing defiantly and clenching his hands into fists. Sinister sighed melodramatically, then shrugged. "As you wish. I couldn't stop you now anyway," the geneticist said absently. He stepped away from the cell's entrance and motioned outside, while Nate walked past him with a wary eye. "The anti-teleport shield is down," Sinister added after blinking. "Your training is nowhere near complete. If you fail -" "I won't fail," Nate replied harshly, bitterness flowing from him. "I will stop Apocalypse. "And I might even come back to deal with you." The boy vanished in a golden haze, leaving Sinister to shake his head. "Ungrateful boy," he sighed. "He has no concept of what's coming ..." -------------------------------------------------------- X-Mansion: -------------------------------------------------------- Scott, Jean, Hank, Frank, Joe, Gail and Xavier raced into the War Room, trying not to recoil at the sight awaiting them. Cerebra was literally melted, while various portions of the rest of the communications suite were sparking. Rachel lay unconscious, apparently unharmed, on what had been the Cerebra chair - which was now a scorched chunk of shapeless plastic. "Franklin, wait," Xavier ordered, frowning when the blond boy raced to take Rachel in his arms. Frank elevated her head, trying not to sob as his girlfriend's red hair dangled around his hands. "Red, c'mon," Frank pleaded, trying to reach out to Rachel telepathically. "Whatever happened -" ~OhGODit's - GONE - Frank ? FRANKohthankGODis everyone all right !?~ Rache awoke with a gasp, then hugged and kissed Frank before getting to her feet. She let Scott and Jean hug her for a long moment, then hugged Joe and Gail before allowing Hank to perform a bioscan. "No sign of psionic trauma, but I do recommend a thorough psionic scan," the blue-furred Beast said, before Rachel hugged him also. "Uncie Furball," Rachel laughed, leaning back. She looked around, smiling widely, and added, "I kicked the Phoenix out of my mind." "WHAT !?" Xavier, Scott and Hank gasped. Joe's jaw dropped, while Gail teared up and Frank put an arm around Rachel's shoulders. Jean gave her daughter a huge grin and took Rachel's hands in hers. "I can tell the difference. It's really over," Jean said, hugging Rachel and Frank. "Thank God. The Phoenix itself isn't evil, but it's just so dangerous - and now it's gone -" "Uh, maybe, maybe not, Aunt Jean," Joe said nervously as he pointed towards a far corner. The others looked, tensing at the flicker of golden energy that began to materialize into a form roughly 5 feet high. And cohered into a familiar person. Gail's breath caught in her throat; she'd hoped for this for so long, like everyone else present, but hadn't dared imagine it. Nathan smiled nervously at his family and the others. No one moved for a moment He was a little taller and more muscular, his wiry frame clad in a grey skinsuit similar to the ones he'd worn for training before he'd disappeared. His brown hair was severely buzzcut, with a white forelock at his widow's peak. The boy's blue eyes were filling with tears, while golden energy flickered from the left one. All Gail could say was, "Your psi-signature's changed a little." Nate wiped his eyes and smiled at her, before replying, "I've changed a little, too, cous." Then the group hugs began. -------------------------------------------------------- One hour, a few dozen reunions and a medical exam later, Nate sat in Xavier's office and tried not to be tense. #They said they weren't mad,# the boy reminded himself as he sat, knees pulled up under his chin, on Xavier's couch, still clad in his skinsuit. He could hear and telepathically sense his parents and the Professor talking with his Uncle Hank in the hall, while the anxious minds of the New Mutants and the other X-Men were still buzzing around the mansion's general astral plane. #But - I -# Nate winced at the memories; the time he'd spent in the genetank, the programming, the increasingly brutal training with Sinister and the Marauders. #And I was dumb enough to think that Sinister cared,# Nate thought, tearing up again. #He just wanted to use me to destroy Apocalypse.# #Let someone else fight the big freak ... I just want my life back ...# Nate ran a hand over what remained of his hair and shuddered. It was still the same length it had been after he'd had a haircut before undergoing genetic modification in Sinister's base. #And it'll stay that way,# Nate reminded himself, shaking his head. #Sinister said it'd be a side-effect of amplifying my psi-powers ...# Defense wasn't such a problem; shielding his mind had been one of the focal points of Nate's lessons with Sinister. If the boy's mindshield had been considerable before, it was nigh-unbreachable now. #But fine control ...# Nate tried to telekinese a pencil to him from Xavier's desk, then winced when the pencil shattered into chunks of wood and graphite. "Remarkable," a voice said, stirring Nate from his morose state. He looked around, tensing, before seeing Xavier walk in with Scott, Jean and Hank. "Your power truly has grown greater," Xavier said, sitting at his desk with a polite smile. "Henry tells me that you've been genetically modified to release all of your latent power ..." "I spent about a day floating in a gene-mod tank," Nate said, looking away while he blushed. He felt his mother sit beside him, while Hank took up a chair in one corner and Scott stared out one of the windows. "Honey, if you want to talk ..." Jean began. Her worry and agony slammed against Nate's mindshield, and he looked at her with more tears. #I can't tell her. Not yet,# he thought, trying not to break down - even though he wanted to, she WAS his mother, she'd understand - #No they won't.# "Nathan. Whatever Sinister did to you, it deliberately did not tamper with your genes involving your personality," Hank said gently. Nate looked at his "uncle," who gave the boy a fang-filled smile. "You are, however, at your full mutant potential. I daresay you could telekinetically put out a star if you put your mind to it," Hank said, dodging a ruby-quartz glare from Scott. "You sound like this is something to celebrate, Hank," Scott snapped, his brows furrowing. He looked at Nate, his anger ebbing away into pain, and walked to stand near his son. "Nate, whatever happened, I mean what I said - we're not mad," Scott began. He sat down on Nate's right-hand side, and looked at the boy imploringly. "I - you SHOULD be !" Nate sobbed, leaping to his feet. He stalked to the center of the room, then turned around with a mournful expression and swallowed hard. "I let Sinister change me," he began, shuddering. "I wanted the extra power so I could - destroy Apocalypse. It was dumb, and Sinister took advantage of me, but I kept having these precog flashes of you and Mom and Ray and Buffy, all dead because of Apocalypse, and I KNEW you'd never let me fight him, and - I'm sorry ..." He stood, spent, and hung his head. "I broke free of Sinister. But I've probably led Apocalypse right here," Nate said in a low voice. He looked around, letting his tears flow, and locked eyes with Scott. "I failed you," Nate said, gulping. "I ignored everything you ever taught me about teamwork and trust and let our worst enemy mess with my genes. I just wanted to protect you, and now -" He didn't see his father race to him, but did let Scott hug him. "'Fail' ? You didn't fail me," Scott rasped thickly. "You made an honest mistake, but you did it out of caring. I couldn't hate you for that - for anything. And you broke free. You didn't stay with Sinister. We can get through this -" Then the windows exploded inward. -------------------------------------------------------- "XAVIER !" #5,000-plus years, and I have to travel to some backwater hole to Ascend,# En Sabah Nur thought, scowling as he stormed past the blaze of security-weapon fire coming from the Xavier Estate's defenses. "Give me the Summers boy, Xavier, and I may let you serve me," Apocalypse bellowed over the alarm claxons. "I know he is here." "You arrogant, energy-sucking, fossil of a mutant. How dare you come here and disrupt my recovery ?" Nur raised what passed for his eyebrows, then chuckled dryly at the owner of the chiding voice. "You are weak, Lehnsherr," the Egyptian External snorted as Magneto strode off of the porch to stand only feet away from Apocalypse. "You are weak, you sad excuse for a tyrant," Magneto snarled. He ignored the wind, clad as he was in his usual red and purple armor, and materialized his trademark helmet from a pile of filings in his hands. "I have regained what I was. And you will not pass." Nur chortled and smirked, putting his hands on his hips. "You have delusions of grandeur, as usual, 'Lord of the Electromagnetic Fire,'" Apocalypse laughed. "You've been watching too many movies, Son of the Morning Fire," Magneto snorted. "Understand me - you are not welcome here. Your tyranny ends - NOW !" Apocalypse scowled; Magneto usually struck first with little warning - - and then the External began to weaken. "What - IS - a DAMPER FIELD !" he roared, feeling the first tremble of fear as his physical form began to shrivel with the loss of his mutant powers. Apocalypse looked at "Magneto," who looked rather - #Short,# Apocalypse realized, going even greyer than normal as his opponent began to grow indistinct - - and took on a very different appearance. "LEHNSHERR'S SON !" Nur roared - or squeaked - as Charles Lehnsherr stood where "Magneto" had been. The brown-and-white-haired teen grinned wickedly, clad in his training uniform and glowing with blue energy. "Leech's damper power combined with Artie's illusion-casting talent," Chuck said, walking closer to Apocalypse. "Did you really think we'd let you get anywhere near Nate, you monster ? And with your vaunted 'immortality' power sapped by my replication of Leech's damper field, you're vulnerable." "To - what - ?" Nur wheezed; he was beginning to feel the effects of his true age - "To getting your twisted butt kicked," Chuck said, his expression turning dark. "Do you have ANY idea what we've been through in the last six weeks ? And now you want to hurt Nate ? Not this time ..." ~Charles, that is ENOUGH !~ "BACK OFF, PROFESSOR !" Chuck yelled over his shoulder as Xavier raced out of the mansion. "I've got this freak right where I -" The shout turned to a gurgle, as a tentacle of Nur wrapped itself around Chuck's neck. The boy's eyes rolled back in his head, and Apocalypse resumed his usual shape while allowing Chuck to dangle from one of his hands. "The Lehnsherr'Son for Nathan Summers," Nur said, smiling at Xavier's growing fear. "And I may let Magnus' whelp -" Then blue fire illuminated everything. -------------------------------------------------------- Several thousand miles away, green-armor-clad mutants worked to prepare for their Master's return and call to arms. They only saw the magnetic pulse coming an instant before it struck, painting the Egyptian desert a brilliant blue-white. An instant later, Akkaba erupted. -------------------------------------------------------- Chuck fell, gasping for air, while electrostatics flew wildly around him. What had been Apocalypse was ... ... gone. #Char. That's it,# Chuck thought wildly, staggering to his feet and leaning on his namesake. "My God, Charles, what did you do ?" Xavier asked, looking at the boy. "Leave him be, Charles. Worry more about the questions the Egyptian government will have about the giant smoking crater in their backyard." Xavier and Chuck turned around, aghast, to see Magneto floating in his armor, hale and hearty, from the entrance to the mansion. "Oh, yes, and you'll have to reset all of the clocks and the VCRs," Magnus said dryly. He removed his helmet, then looked over his shoulder as Anya raced out after him with a pair of suitcases. "You should have let me deal with those, darling," Magnus gently told his eldest child. Anya just raised a blonde eyebrow at her father, then gave the still-stunned Chuck a kiss on the cheek. "Sorry about the deception, but Daddy's been much better for weeks. He just wanted to lure Apocalypse out into the open," Anya said, smiling sweetly. "Then - oh dear GOD - Magnus, what did you do ?" Xavier asked, going pale. "I used my restored powers to blast Nur, then channel a large, focused beam of EM energy into his base at Akkaba. He's not coming back this time, Charles," Magnus said. The Master of Magnetism turned to Chuck, then hugged the boy and said, "Watch over your mother, will you ? I know LeBeau means well, but she'll be delicate these next few months with her pregnancy, no matter what she says. My door is always open to you, son. Take care." Magnus surrounded himself, Anya and their suitcases with a magnetic force bubble, then lifted off into the air. "Sorry about the mess !" he called down to the others. Xavier and Chuck looked at each other, then at the departing Magnus and Anya, then at the mansion. "And here I thought he was just getting old," Chuck said dully. "Youth and vigor will never defeat age and guile," Xavier paraphrased, shaking his head. "He just - Apocalypse AND his army - and I allowed your father to -" "Don't blame yourself, Professor," Chuck said grimly, shaking his head as they headed inside. "I'm beginning to realize that Dad will do what he wants, when he wants. And I'm beginning to wonder why I bothered to trust him again ..." Neither teacher nor student saw the blue glove scuttling away into the underbrush. -------------------------------------------------------- "YOU BLOODY LITTLE PRAT !" "What was I supposed to do, let Nate fight Apocalypse ?" Chuck snapped back at Pete while Hank checked Chuck's throat. "No, but your stupid bloody suicide play nearly got you killed," Pete snapped back at the boy. Chuck tried not to flinch at the Englishman's anger, then slid off of the medbed to stare up at his teacher. "It wasn't a 'suicide play.' I had everything under control until I was distracted," Chuck hissed, giving Xavier a scowl. "You intended to inflict permanent bodily harm upon Apocalypse," Xavier said, scowling back. "He intended to inflict permanent bodily harm upon US !" Chuck yelled. "Besides, I'm not the Lehnsherr who flash-fried Apocalypse, remember ?" "Please, stop it." The adults and Chuck looked at the doorway, where Nate stood with a remorseful expression. "Apocalypse came here after me," the boy began. "Nate, c'mon ... try not to feel bad, OK ? Someone would've had to have fought that freak," Chuck said. He took the younger boy by the shoulders and added, "There's no reason to beat yourself up. Nur's gone, my father's left, and now we have to deal with the aftermath." Chuck looked meaningfully at Xavier and added, "I would've defeated Nur, not killed him. I wanted to see him arrested for what he's done, also." The boys left, while Pete and Xavier traded a glance. ~He means what he says,~ Xavier sent to Wisdom. ~Bloody well better. Or - and I don't care what your rank is - I'll bounce his little arse out of my program,~ Pete thought back. ~Besides, if his old man stabbed you in the back again, how trustworthy is the boy ?~ -------------------------------------------------------- NEXT: Akkaba's aftermath; Magneto in space; Nate faces questions; Shawan and Bishop face the music; and Chuck and Kitty play 20 Questions ... --------------------------------------------------------