Subject: [OTL]: (Age of Madelyne) Morrigan Chapter 3/? (R; violence) Date: Sun, 17 Jun 2001 13:29:52 -0700 (PDT) From: Phil Hartman will1@earthling.net Age of Madelyne: Morrigan Chapter 3 by Phil Hartman DISCLAIMER: Everyone here is Marvel's. No money is being made off of this. Please don't sue. WARNING: More harsh language, graphic violence, and mature themes ... and villain abuse >) CONTINUITY: Alternate; see below. NOTE: " - spoken word # - personal thought ~ - telepathy * - flashback -------------------------------------------------------- 6/16/2001: X-Mansion Boathouse: 10:23 hrs EDT: -------------------------------------------------------- "X-Factor ... the word 'interesting' doesn't quite describe that time period," Maddie said, her mouth quirking in a strange smile. "Giant starships, 5,000-year-old maniacs, and Boom-Boom," Scott chuckled. His expression turned grim as he added, softly, "And Nate getting infected -" "Scott. Stop angsting," Maddie asked, giving Scott a pleading expression. He sighed, but nodded, and took her hand as Emma sipped her tea. "Besides, as much as I feel guilty over Nate's TO-infection, I feel almost as bad over what we didn't do for the New Mutants," Maddie added, looking at the patio floor. "We left them with Magnus, of all people ... not that he didn't try to help them, but -" "Things got out of hand, all right," Scott interjected, shaking his head. "Let me think ..." ******************************************************** 6/4/1990: X-Mansion: 08:00 hrs EDT: -------------------------------------------------------- "MAGNETO !?" "Charles thought he'd be a good headmaster," Scott sighed, sitting on the corner of his and Maddie's bed as she nursed their newborn son. Rachel watched, curled up against Scott, her 3-year-old face scrunched in concentration. "Can't do it," Rachel pouted a moment later. "I c'n feel you, Mommy, an' Nate, an' Daddy, but I can't float." "You're only 3, sweetie," Maddie reassured Rachel. "Don't think you have to go too fast - oops. Somebody needs to be burped." She hefted the cooing Nate to her shoulder, then patted him, and heard a satisfying "URRRP." "Loud little thing," Logan grunted, walking in from the staircase after Maddie had closed her robe. "Cyke - we gotta talk ..." "What's there to discuss, Logan ?" Maddie snapped, regretting her harsh tone when she saw Rachel's eyes widen and Rina's small face peering from behind Logan's legs. "Ray, maybe you and Rina can go play." Rachel sighed, but said, "OK. C'mon, Rina - grownups don't wanna talk 'round us." "Sillys," Rina agreed, bounding down the stairs with Rachel close behind. After they were out of earshot, Maddie motioned Logan over to sit on the bed beside her and Scott. "Let's be blunt. I don't trust Magneto," Scott said, frowning. "Maddie and I can get jobs in the 'real world,' and it's not like our mutations are that hard to hide." "Y'r really goin' solo ?" Logan said, his eyes widening a bit. "Dangerous out there, these days." "So are we," Maddie growled. She rocked Nate as he started to whimper, and added, "If you need us, we'll come running, Logan. But as much as I trust Marie and little Charles, I won't side with Magnus against Scott. Please, try to understand." "I hear ya," Logan said, reaching out to pat Nate's head. The baby blew bubbles, then grunted a little, and Logan chuckled a bit as he withdrew his hand. "Kid don't like me all that well," Logan said, shrugging. "Speaking of kids ... I really should go tell the New Mutants farewell," Maddie said, her face falling. "I feel like I'm abandoning them, but ..." "Mr. an' Mrs. Summers ?" Logan stood, nodding, as Sam Guthrie and Dani Moonstar walked up the stairs. "We've been hearing ... rumors, around the mansion," Dani began, her face resolute. "We ... understand, if you're leaving." "Dani ..." Maddie began. "Please, it's not you guys. It's just -" "We understand, ma'am," Sam said, gently. A wistful smile crossed his lips as he added, "Ah'm not rightly sure 'bout Mr. Lehnsherr, either, but ah won't hold it 'gainst anyone who wants t'leave. 'Sides, ya've got a growin' family, an' the X-Mansion ain't always the most secure place f'r them." "Thanks, Sam," Scott said, smiling. "We do appreciate everything you've done for us," Dani said. "And if you ever need us, please, call." "Thank YOU - all of you," Maddie said, standing carefully to hug the New Mutants' co-leaders with her free arm. "You guys want to hold Nate ?" "I'm no good with babies," Dani said, an almost-fearful expression crossing her face. "Aw, c'mon, chief, it ain't that difficult," Sam said, chuckling as he gently took Nate in his arms. "Hey, there, fella. This ain't so hard." "You've had six brothers and sisters to practice on, Guthrie," Logan snorted. Nate cooed a little, as Sam shrugged and said, "Mah ma always says ah've got a way with kids. Ah'm not sure ah'd want a child, in this line o'work." ******************************************************** "How prophetic," Maddie said softly, watching Rachel and Nate splash around in the cove. "Maddie ..." Scott said, projecting comfort over the psi-link they shared. She looked back at him and squeezed his hand, smiling weakly. "I know much of the rest - X-Factor formed, began gathering young mutants to train instead of imprison, like your ill-conceived ad campaign misled the public, and things kept moving forward," Emma said. "Or downward, depending upon your viewpoint." "I felt terrible after I'd heard what had happened between the Mutants and the Beyonder," Maddie said, regret obvious in her voice. "Then, the Massacre happened, and ..." "The Marauders," Scott rumbled. "Our first encounter with Sinister and his lackies." "And, at the time, our last," Maddie said, a dark smile crossing her lips. ******************************************************** 7/5/1991: X-Factor HQ, Upper East Side, Manhattan: 20:00 hrs EDT: -------------------------------------------------------- "Mommy, can't we go inside YET ?" "Not yet, Ray," Maddie told her daughter. The red-headed 4-year-old huffed, stomping around the X-Factor parking lot, while Maddie bounced the burbling Nate in her arms. "House," Nate said, his 1-year-old face twitching with delight as Maddie tried to "hide" his nose. "Nose ?" "You're so smart, yes you ARE !" Maddie laughed. "Ray - RACHEL ! COME HERE !" "O-OK," Rachel said, running fearfully back to Maddie as the air started to ripple nearby. "Mommy, what's that ?" #God, please don't let it be another attack,# Maddie thought, feeling her gut twist. #I didn't want the kids to see the triage going on inside, and I CAN'T let them worry about Warren - not too much - I just needed to get them out of the building -# Her heart sank as six familiar forms stepped from the opening teleportal. "Well, well," Scalphunter said with mock gratitude. "How nice of you to come to us." "You'll never harm my children !" Maddie shouted. She slammed up a telekinetic shield around herself and the kids, as she added coldly, "You owe us blood, you monsters." "After what you did to Prism ?" Scrambler sneered. "I think you got it backwards, lady. Besides, whoever said we wanted to hurt your kids ?" "Our boss wants them," Arclight demanded. "Give 'em over." Something flashed in Maddie's mind - -*black lips, sharks'-teeth, white*- - and she gave a defiant scream, before golden fire lashed out from her. ******************************************************** "Marauder flambe ..." Emma said dryly. "I'm just grateful I was able to shield the kids' minds' from the reality of what I'd done," Maddie said, shaking her head. "That mnemonic flash of Sinister's face just ... drove me to act, without thinking of the consequences." "That's Maddie - always thinking of the kids first," Scott said, smiling. "Especially when they're in danger." "Hmmph. Considering what happened in '92, I suppose that's true," Maddie said, shaking her head. "We rescued Warren from Apocalypse, then confiscated Nur's Ship. If the Powers hadn't been kid-sitting ..." "Who's angsting now ?" Scott gently teased. "Maddie, the kids weren't in the X-Factor HQ when the Ship landed on it." His face contorted in pain as memory filled his mind, and he said, "The kids were in the line of fire later, though ..." "Oh, God. Inferno," Maddie replied, wincing. "'Goblyn Queen.' What mushrooms was I eating THAT night ?" ******************************************************** 10/31/1993: Empire State Building, NYC: 23:52 hrs EST: -------------------------------------------------------- "GIVE ME MY CHILDREN !!!" "Now, now, dear Madelyne," N'astihr replied, pacing atop the demonized top of the skyscraper, "there are certain rules to follow, yes ? You have to at least make an effort to stop me." "Effort !? I'll rip your damned wings off and shove them up your ASS in a minute if you don't give me my children !" Maddie screamed. Her eyes fell upon where the sobbing, pajama-clad Rachel and Nathan were being held fast by two oddly-familiar demons. "Mommy, please !" Rachel cried. "They're icky an' I'm scared an' -" "Oh, stop it," N'astihr growled. He looked at Madelyne and smiled that obscenly horse-like smile as he continued, "You and I. Let's do it, dear heart - show me what you've got." "You've really made a fatal error," Maddie said, her voice turning to ice. "NOOOOO !" "What NOW !?" N'astihr grumbled, watching S'ym appear from a stepping disc with the Soulsword. "Oh, my - this isn't good ..." #Illyana -!?# Maddie thought, horrified realization making her throat clench. #If S'ym has the Soulsword, then -# "What did you do to Illyana, you demonic bastard !?" Maddie demanded, glaring at S'ym. "The Darkchilde gave up her demon-soul to send most of the demons away," S'ym replied, shrugging. "S'ym rode the winds back to here. S'ym will kill your children, and rule Limbo and Earth !" Maddie felt something break in her, and her scream was drowned out by S'ym's. N'astihr watched, his jaw dropping, as S'ym's body was torn asunder by an invisible force, and the Soulsword dropped into the building's roof. "That ..." Maddie began, grinning madly as she turned back to N'astihr, "felt really good. Now, for you and I." "M-Madelyne - we can talk about this," N'astihr pleaded, taking a step back as Maddie approached him with something flickering in her eyes. "No," Maddie replied, acid in her voice as she gestured. "We can't." The kids closed their eyes, as N'astihr screamed horrifically. When they opened them, N'astihr was gone. "Lemme GO !" Nate insisted, and the demon restraining him released the 3-year-old. Nate and Rachel ran to hug Maddie's legs, and she ruffled their hair. "So much power, here," Maddie said softly. Rachel looked up, her eyes widening, as her mother's red and yellow X-Factor costume began to change and darken. "Mommy, you're gettin' ... weird," Nate said, swallowing as Maddie stood over him in knee boots, a black loincloth, and a leather top. "So MUCH power ..." Maddie purred. "So much indeed." "Kids, behind me," Maddie ordered softly, and her children rushed to obey as the Lords Cardinal of the Hellfire Club landed before them. "By the Abyss," Sebastian Shaw whispered. "It's true - she's Jean Grey, reincarnated somehow." He clutched his throat, and Maddie's eyebrow twitched. "That COW is dead, Shaw," Maddie snarled. "Whatever I am, it's none of your concern. Leave, now - before I get really angry." "Sebastian, Magnus - listen to her," Emma Frost said warningly. She squeezed Magneto's arm and said, "Magnus, please - whatever Madelyne Summers is, she's obviously beyond our ability to control." "I will not sanction any harm against Madelyne or her children," Magnus ordered, helping the still-gagging Shaw to his feet. "Selene." "Do not PRESUME to order me, little mutant !" Selene hissed. "I've dreamed of a moment like this - a nexus of supernatural power - for longer than your petty civilization has EXISTED -" The Black Queen froze, a curse on her lips, as the Soulsword floated dangerously close to her throat. "One little shove is all it would take," Maddie sneered. "But Hell Night is over, Selene. All of you, step off, and we'll pretend this ended with no harm done." ******************************************************** "HA ! And what happened next ?" Emma laughed. "Magnus and Sebastian were so impressed with your efforts that we hurled Selene from the Inner Circle and named you titular Black Queen !" "Titular," Maddie emphasized, gratitude evident in her voice. "Considering what happened to Sebastian down the road, though, it all seems pretty moot." "The Inner Circle collapsed under its own egocentrism and overconfidence," Emma said, waving her hand. "We failed to look for Selene's revenge in the form of the Upstarts. I'm just glad you escaped." "Well, I DID deal with Trevor and Cordelia," Maddie said, smiling grimly. "But we had other problems closer at hand ..." ******************************************************** 11/1/1993: X-Mansion Ruins, Salem Center: 18:00 hrs EST: -------------------------------------------------------- "That's -" Malice stammered, shock evident upon her face as the dust settled. Sinister repressed a curse, as he saw the collected X-Men and X-Factor standing safely under Maddie's telekinetic force-dome. "You motherfucking son of a BITCH," Maddie hissed, her eyes narrowing. "I followed that Godawful psychic flash I had after Inferno broke down back to you - and you DARE presume to chastize ME like some kind of breeder sow !? I'M NOBODY'S PET, YOU CRACKHEADED MIME OF SATAN !!!" "Th-this -" Sinister began. "My God. You really thought cloning Jean would make me - perform stud service for you ?" Scott rasped, horror and fury fighting for control of his voice. "And the year I lost, thanks to your efforts to control me - !" "But what I find most galling," Maddie snarled, her voice darkening as she took a step forward, "is that you really thought that Scott would throw me away after he learned the truth. You've obviously lost any understanding of human emotions, Sinister." "I LOVE my wife - Jean is dead, but Maddie is here, and she loves me, and I love her," Scott insisted, squeezing Maddie's hand. "Nothing is going to shatter that bond, Sinister. Maddie's NOT 'just a clone' - she's a real, breathing person. I won't abandon her." "Boss ..." Malice gulped - - before she screamed, and something dark seeped from her, leaving Lorna Dane to collapse at Sinister's feet. "MALICE !?" Sinister shouted - - as he clutched his head, bellowing, and dropped to one knee. "SUFFER," Maddie snarled, levitating to a spot over Sinister's head. "You think you're some kind of ruler ? That we're just servants ? YOU ARE THE SERVANT, SINISTER ! I can see THAT in your mind ! Did you like it, when Apocalypse bent you over and took you up the ass !?" "WHAT !?" the other mutants exclaimed. "Oh ... that was just NOT an image I needed," Alex Summers moaned, as he ran to help Lorna up. "You wanted my babies to use as weapons against Apocalypse," Maddie continued, hatred dripping from her words. "THAT CONCERN IS ABOUT TO BE ENDED." Scott reached for his wife, but covered his eyes as a terrible golden energy surrounded Sinister - ******************************************************** "Ahem ..." Maddie said, blushing at the memory. "You DO have a temper," Emma said, smiling a little. "Not that it wasn't deserved, what Sinister got." "Still ... here I am, I'm supposedly the den-mother of the X-teams, and I'm splattering villains," Maddie mumbled. "What kind of example am I setting for my kids ?" "Oh, I'm not about to criticize, babe," Scott said, his voice going cold. "Not after what Apocalypse did to Nate." Maddie nodded, and Emma closed her eyes against the pain her friends were radiating. ******************************************************** 9/1/1994: Blue Area of the Moon: time indeterminate: -------------------------------------------------------- "MOMMY !" "Nate !" Maddie screamed, tearing at the metallic fibers holding her 4-year-old son in place. She gently lifted the naked boy free of his "creche," but looked at his small body in horror. Sinuous, greenish metal fibers were visibly snaking their way up Nate's legs, left arm and across his face. His buttocks were almost covered with the material, and his right eye was surrounded by the material. "SCOTT ! For God's sake, someone help me !" Maddie screamed. She felt, rather than heard, Rachel run to her side and give a gasp of terror. "Nate - !" Rachel cried, squeezing her brother's hand. "Mom, we gotta do something !" "Mind - telekinesis, maybe -" Maddie blurted, psi-linking with her children. She felt Nate's terror, but sent, ~Try to push the disease back, baby, please ...~ ~OK,~ Nate replied, gulping. Golden fire lanced from him, throughout his body, and relief filled the family as the fibers' progress ceased. "Dear God. Techno-organic material," Maddie heard, and she glanced over at where Hank McCoy sat with a grim expression next to her. "Nate's managed to keep the infection from spreading," Maddie said, looking up at where Scott, Warren and Bobby were fighting alongside Black Bolt to keep Apocalypse from looming any more closely. "We gotta help Daddy," Nate said, cuddling close to Maddie. "Th' bad man's got my power, Mommy." "Apocalypse did this to steal your energy !?" Maddie said, horror rising anew in her heart. Nate nodded, tearfully, and his mother pulled her children to her. ~SCOTT ! Apocalypse infected Nate with a TO-virus ! Nate managed to keep it from getting any worse, but we CAN'T let that monster win !~ Maddie sent. Rage, agony and grief filled the link, but it was replaced with determination. ~Let's do it,~ Scott agreed, and Maddie carefully allowed Rachel and Nate to add their energies to hers before she hurled the "package" at Scott. "FOOLS !" Apocalypse bellowed. "EVEN TOGETHER, YOU HAVE NO CHANCE OF - WHAT !? THE VIRUS IS CONTROLLED !?" "This," Scott snarled, tearing off his visor, "ISN'T." White fire lanced from his eyes into Apocalypse, tearing, digging - ******************************************************** "That is the only villain-crushing I've ever enjoyed," Maddie said coldly. "And even today ..." "Mom ? You OK ?" The adults looked over at where Nate was standing, wrapped in a towel, and Maddie allowed herself a faint smile. "Hey, kiddo," she said, letting the 11-year-old sit at the table. "We were just reminsicing." "I wish you wouldn't feel guilty 'bout my virus," Nate said, squeezing Maddie's hand. "You helped me with it, remember ? You've always taught me that how I look doesn't matter." "I'm glad," Maddie said, giving Nate a peck on the cheek. "It's just that ... after everything else that went on ..." She smirked and said, "Things never have been simple for us." "Especially considering what happened after Charles returned," Emma said, arching an eyebrow. -------------------------------------------------------- NEXT: The Shadow King, the Upstarts, Generation X, and Onslaught. --------------------------------------------------------