Disclaimer:
All of the standard disclaimers apply. The X-men are the property of Marvel, and I take no credit for the creation of their characters, only my own. This is a fanfiction, therefore anything discontinuous to the normal X-men universe, including sexuality of the characters, is the product of my imagination. Any similarities to real people or events is completely coincidental.
This story contains male/male sex and romance. If you find either theme offensive, what are you doing reading nifty stories? And if you are underage or this story is illegal where you are reading, please leave. But if you chose to ignore this warning, it's your own fault!
Chapter 6 - Lost and Found
The Blackbird was hurtling towards the ground, smoke billowing from the torn sections of its hull. The cockpit was empty save for the myriad of lights flashing on the controls and the loud alarms blaring from the speakers. Remiel was strapped to his flight seat, struggling against the fabric that refused to release his flailing form. The red earth filled the front window as it raced closer and closer. In a last ditch effort, the young mutant reached for his powers, the reservoir of psychic potential that set him apart from other humans, and commanded it to shatter the bonds that held him. But nothing happened. No flash of translucent blue energy. No squealing of fracture metal. Only the sound of his own screams as the Blackbird smashed into the ground.
He snapped awake with a violent jerk, still carrying the dying sounds of his last scream. His heart was racing and the fear and adrenaline coursed through him, hyper sensitising all of his senses. Looking around wildly, the newest X-man immediately realised that something was very wrong. The landscape around him was completely alien; an expanse of white devoid of any distinguishable characteristics.
He tried to climb to his feet but found there was no substance to with which for him to find purchase upon, leaving him to drift on an ocean of nothingness.
`Hello?' he shouted into the void, only to have the sound of his own voice reverberate back in a multitude of distorted calls.
`That's kind of pointless, you know,' a voice purred from behind him, and he realised that the words travelled through the emptiness free of distortion.
Remiel twisted around, using the generated momentum to shift his body to face the owner of this new voice. Two figures hung in the air, lazily watching him. The first was about 6'2 with platinum blond hair and blue eyes that held an unnatural luminescence. He was much like Scott in terms of built; well muscled while remaining lithe and supple, all of which showed through the skin-tight blue jeans and white tank top he wore. A light dusting of fine stubble covered his jaw and a thick gold earring hung from the top of his left ear.
The second figure had silver hair, cut in a style typical of older gentlemen, and wore a stylish form-fitting ash grey suit. For some reason, this man reminded Remiel of the Professor, in terms of both height, build and posture.
`I'm glad that you are finally awake, Mr St.Cloud,' the older gentleman said smoothly in a calm even meter. Like the first voice, which Remiel realised must belong to the blond man, the older gentleman's voice was free of distortion.
`How do you know my name?' Remiel asked, his voice distorting as before.
Don't try to speak,' the young blond said. Just project your thoughts as you would in a telepathic conversation'.
Who are you, and how do you know my name?' Remiel thought, surprising himself as he heard his voice clearly as if he had spoken aloud. What is this place?'
My name is Magneto,' the older gentleman said, smiling at the startled look that crossed Remiel face at hearing the name. I see you've heard of me. Good things I hope'.
`Not really,' Remiel said, attempting to will himself as he had willed his voice heard. His body responded immediately, rising from his prone position to float upright in front of Magneto and his companion.
`Well, that's to be expected, given the company you kept in the past. At any rate, my friend here is called Mindpyre, and as I'm sure you've realised by now, we represent the Brotherhood of Mutants'.
`Don't you mean the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants?' Remiel snapped, reaching for his powers. As he tried to summon the psychic energy that would allow him to lash out at the mutants before him, he found his will strike against a powerful barrier.
Don't waste your time,' Mindpyre smiled at Remiel, obviously aware of his attempt to access his mutation. You can't use your powers'.
`What do you mean?' Remiel demanded.
While you were unconscious, I had Mindpyre here create a number of psychic barriers to partition your powers from your conscious mind,' Magneto explained calmly. I couldn't very well have you call out to dear old Charles while you were in our care. Now as to your earlier comment, "evil" is just a word, Mr St.Cloud. The world exists in shades of grey. There is no good or evil, only differing points of view. After all, today's villains could quite easily be tomorrows saviours'.
Remiel, severely unsettled by the loss of his powers, began to panic. `Where is this place? How did I get here?'
Nowhere,' Mindpyre said, before disappearing in a swirl of colour only to reappear on Magneto's other side. Everywhere. Your past. Your present'. With every statement, Mindpyre disappeared and reappeared in a different place. `Every possible future you can imagine. And every Hell that you can think of. A prime little piece of real-estate I like to call Purgatory'.
`No. This is a mindscape. Nothing here is real. It's all just inside my head,' Remiel said to himself more than to Magneto and Mindpyre.
Well, you're half right,' Mindpyre smiled. This is a mindscape, but it's not in your head, it's in mine. I'm linked to you right now in the real world. This place is a mirror, a reflection of your mind inside my own. So while we can explore all of your thoughts and memories, I'm the one in control'.
As for how you came to be here,' Magneto interrupted, are you telling me that you really don't remember?'
`The last thing I remember is being in the Blackbird. We were shot down and we were about to crash. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that would you?' Remiel glared, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
We weren't the ones that shot you down,' Mindpyre said. It was the US Air force. Although they were under the mistaken impression that the Blackbird was an unmanned drone and that they were on a training mission'. The mutant sniggered to himself, `Those military type are so easy to manipulate. Their thoughts are so rigid and predictable'.
`That doesn't explain why I'm here'.
`No. It does not. You are here because you demonstrated powers that I believe would be better spent serving the Brotherhood. A mutant like you shouldn't be bound by all of Charles' propaganda about peace and equity for all mutants and humans. So, with that it mind, I'd like to offer you a position with the Brotherhood'.
Remiel stared at Magneto in stunned silence. `You've got to be kidding me. You can't honestly think I'd turn my back on all of my friends, on my family, to join a terrorist like you. No, Magneto. I will not join your Brotherhood. There's a right way to build a better future, and then there's a wrong way. Your way is the wrong way, Magneto'.
Magneto sighed disappointedly. Very well. While I understand your answer, I cannot accept it and you leave me little choice'. The old mutant turned away from Remiel and faced Mindpyre. Begin immediately. Do what you must, but do not damage him'. Magneto's last words before he evaporated into the whiteness of the void were cold and calculating. `You will serve our cause one way or another'.
The Falcon swung around in midair, reversing its orientation before descending into the open hangar of the X-Mansion. Through the cockpit window, Noriko could see pockmarks and craters dotting the front lawn while the wide front gates hung limply on their hinges, distorted from some sort of intense heat.
`What the hell happened here?' she asked no one in particular.
`The Professor said that the X-Mansion was attacked while you were in Indiana, but he didn't give us the specifics,' Mystic said, his voice barely audible above the howl of the vertical thrusters.
Xavier's voice echoed urgently in their minds.
Bailey snorted loudly from his place at the rear of the Falcon's main compartment. `I don't think so,' he said smugly.
A loud series of bangs followed by the hissing of hydraulics announced their final landing. A mechanical whine filled the compartment as the floor in the back of the space lowered, forming a ramp that exited the craft.
Noriko got out of her seat and walked to the other side of the cabin where John sat, staring blankly into space. After Remiel had been whisked away by Magneto, John had gone into a rage, scorching the very earth with anger manifested as flame. The wellspring of primal anger seemed limitless, and it had taken Mystic's strange reality altering power to paralyse John's mutation before the enraged mutant had ceased his pyrokinetic onslaught. Since then he hadn't said a word, lapsing into a near catatonic silence. It had been over three hours since and Noriko had seriously began to worry about him.
John,' Noriko asked, gently moving a lock of blond hair away from his forehead. We're home'.
A few seconds passed before a flicker of recognition ignited behind John's empty eyes. `I'm sorry, what?'
We're home,' Noriko repeated softly. The Professor wants us all to go to the War Room'.
The other mutants on the jet began exiting the craft, maintaining a respectful distance from the pair.
`I...I'm not...I can't think...Oh God, Nori, Magneto has him'. Noriko watched John's eyes glimmer with tears before he quickly buried his face in his hands and began to sob.
`Hey, hey,' Noriko whispered, wrapping her arms around her friend's shoulders and pulling him into a tight hug.
`We'll get him back, John. I swear we will, but if we're going to find Remmy, we need to talk to the Professor, okay?'
John continued to sob for a few moments more before his breathing evened out and he pulled back from Noriko's embrace, wiping away the tears that stained his cheeks.
`Okay'.
Colossus or Peter as he called when he was not in uniform strode confidently out of the mansion's front doors and into the dawning sunlight. The light dazzled his eyes, forcing him to turn his head aside and shield his face. As he did so, he noticed a figure sat beneath a nearby tree. He immediately recognised Whitney, both by the young mutant's lithe runners build and the way he sat with his arms hugging his legs to his chest with his head rested atop his knees. Like Peter, Whitney had shed his uniform in favour of street clothes but where the borrowed sweat shirt and pants fitted Peter's build perfectly, they hung loosely on the young man, making him seem much smaller and vulnerable.
The expression of defeat that adorned Whitney's features clawed at Peter, and it was all he could do not to just strut over and sweep the smaller mutant up in a massive bear hug. Instead, he cautiously walked to wards Whitney. When he was close enough, he called out to the younger mutant.
`Whitney? Why are you out here all alone?'
Whitney looked up at Peter as he approached, an expression of surprise crossing his feature.
`I'm sorry, Peter. I was just thinking'.
`I can understand that. It's a lot to take in'.
Not really' Whitney said. We screwed up, Peter. It's pretty simple actually. We were supposed to save them, and we screwed up. Now one of our people is in Brotherhood hands where they're doing god only knows what to him'.
`We cannot blame ourselves for that. If we hadn't gotten there in time then it would have been six of our people taken, not one. There was nothing more we could have done to save Remiel St.Cloud'.
I could have done more!' Whitney shouted, unfolding himself and scrambling to his feet. I have all of this power,' he said as he waved his arm. The entire front lawn of the mansion shimmered in place like a mirage before the power that earned Whitney the name Mystic dissipated, leaving the entire expanse in pristine condition without a trace of battle damage. `I can rewrite the laws of physics, bend the very fabric of reality to my will, and I still screwed up. I should have stopped Magneto from taking Seraph. But I didn't. And now Seraph is probably being tortured by the same sick son of a bitch that messed up Bobby and John...John has lost the person he loves. Maybe you did all you could, Peter, but I didn't, which makes this whole situation my fault'.
And what could you have done?' Peter demanded, grabbing Whitney tightly by the shoulders and forcing him to meet his eyes. Even your power has its limits, Whitney, and we both know it. You couldn't have stopped Magneto from taking Seraph, but you did stop him from hurting me. Who was it that shielded me from his powers? Who was it that stopped that shrapnel in midair? You. So stop blaming yourself for what you couldn't do'.
`But...' Whitney started before Peter cut him off.
`No buts. Stop looking in the past because, trust me, hindsight is always perfect and our actions never are. Now I've done some terrible things in the past, things I'm not sure I'll ever forgive myself for, but you haven't. You did what you thought was best at the time and you helped save five people. It isn't your fault that an evil man did an evil thing'.
Whitney opened his mouth to say something but the words wouldn't come. Peter smiled before mussing the young man's hair, eliciting a smile.
`Now come on inside. I'm not sure about you but I haven't eaten since yesterday afternoon and I think breakfast would be a good idea'. Peter wrapped an arm around Whitney's shoulder and began leading them both towards the Mansion's front door.
Xavier sat behind his desk facing Bailey, who was reclining casually in one of the office's high back chairs. Though on the surface he appeared calm, Xavier's thoughts were in turmoil. This mutant was powerful, so powerful in fact that half of the X-men were afraid of him. But he also seemed to know a lot more about what was happening than anyone. Xavier need him, but how to keep such a powerful mutant under control.
`Give me one good reason why I shouldn't just confine you to the brig,' Xavier demanded, deciding that he needed to take a dominant stance immediately.
I can give you plenty of reasons,' Bailey replied coolly. The least of which is that I could tear this school to the ground in half the time it took me to tell you about it. Don't try to intimidate me, Professor Xavier, I'm in a completely different pay bracket to you and your X-Men'.
`Then why are you still here?' Xavier asked, trying to hide the anxiety that was slowly creeping through him. It was not a common occurrence that the most powerful telepath in the world was brushed off like a child trying to get his own way.
Because things have become...' Bailey paused before saying the last word, as though unsure of how to express his meaning, complicated. Suffice it to say that my original mission in this time period has become unachievable. Things aren't happening the way we, that is to say, I expected'.
`What is your mission here? We've surmised that you've come from the future, and judging by the fact that this Tyler knows you, he does too'.
Bailey frowned in thought. `Alright. I can't give you all of the details - well, not yet anyway. Yes, both Tyler and I are from about twenty-five years in the future, but we're members of opposing factions. Tyler's faction sent him here to change history in their favour while I was sent here to preserve the timeline'.
`What sort of conflict? You're both mutants, so I assume it's not between mutants and humans'.
`That's right, but, like I said, I can't give you the details'.
`You said your mission had become complicated,' Xavier pressed, trying not to give the younger mutant a chance to reconsider talking.
`Yes. Tyler, or Raze as he's called in my timeline, has changed too many things. The history I know is different now, and I don't know what to expect. Originally he was sent here to kill members of my faction before they were able to play their part in history, or at least that's what my faction believed after we discovered he'd been sent back. I was sent here to ensure their safety. But Raze has completely disregarded his orders and I believe he's trying to reshape history as he wants it, which means I have no choice but to work with you to stop him'.
`Why do you need us? As you've already pointed out, you are an exceptionally powerful mutant'.
Bailey sighed. `But not powerful enough to take Raze when he has the full support of the Brotherhood. I have the ability to sense and replicate the powers encoded on any single mutant X gene in a certain radius of me. My sensitivity to X genes also allows me to employ any mutation I mimic at it's full potential, even if the original mutant can't, which means that the best any single mutant can manage is to fight me to a stalemate. I beat your team because they were unprepared for me, but Raze will be. He knows what I'm capable of, which is why I think he organised the attack on the jet'.
`Then why did you collapse after your encounter with this Raze? How is it he walked away and you did not?'
Bailey immediately took a defensive tone. `Well you stay awake for eight days, teleporting all over the globe and then we'll see how you handle taking on someone who can rip your molecules apart'.
I'm sorry,' the Professor said. I didn't mean to imply anything by that'. Xavier retreated into his own thoughts, trying to process everything he had just learnt. `It appears that, for the moment, our goals coincide. The Brotherhood are an obstacle to your mission and they also have one of my X-Men. If you are willing to give me your word that you'll defer to my authority, you will have the support of the X-Men in apprehending Raze, provided you also help us rescue Remiel'.
`I give you my word that I'll work with you, not for you. As for Remiel, you needn't have asked. He means more to me than you could ever truly appreciate'.
Xavier raised an eyebrow. `And why is that?'
Bailey smiled warmly for the first time since his arrival at the mansion, `I can't tell you the specifics, but let's just say that Remiel plays an important part in my life'.
The room was familiar, like a pale shadow in a half forgotten dream. One entire wall was made up of windows, which overlooked a garden full of dying flowers and wall grass. A large sofa was placed at a right angle to the window against the adjoining wall and a glass coffee table occupied the centre of the room. On the wall opposite the sofa was a large fireplace, decorated with an ornate mantelpiece covered with photo frames.
Remiel stood in the centre of the room, wrapped in the shadows cast by the pale moonlight shining through the wide windows. He looked around the room, trying to remember where he'd seen it before. His eyes levelled on the photos and realisation flooded his mind. He had fought so long and so hard to leave this place behind that the sudden knowledge of his surroundings filled him with fear.
`The hell do you think you're doing in here, boy!' a voice bellowed from behind him, causing the young mutant to spin around. The sight that met him felt like a physical blow. Before him, shadows peeling off of him like a cloak stood Gabriel St.Cloud, his father. He was dressed in the garb of a marine; camouflage pants and a tank top. His build, which Remiel had inherited, was lithe and powerful, sculpted by years of military training, but unlike Remiel, his hair was the coloured of distressed straw and his eyes were as dark as his soul.
You answer my questions when I ask you something, boy!' Gabriel yelled, stepping into the half-light and striking Remiel across the face, causing the mutant to fall to the floor with a yelp of surprise and pain. Now, what the hell are you doing in here!? You don't come in here, ever!'
The Professor had once told Remiel during one of their telepathy lessons that the young mutant was one of the most powerful psychics that the Professor had taught during his many years of working with mutants, but now, lying on the floor with a deep red mark growing across his jaw, Remiel could not see what the Professor saw in him. He was no longer Seraph, the psychic trinity of the X-men, he was just a scared little boy paralysed by his fear of his father.
Gabriel reached down and roughly pulled Remiel to his feet before throwing him backwards, causing him to fall into the glass coffee table, shattering the glittering plane into tiny fragments. Glass clawed at his flesh, tearing through the already damaged uniform he wore. Blood seemed from the wounds, and his skin felt like it was on fire.
Gabriel quickly covered the distance between the two of them and reached out for his son. `I'll teach you to sneak around my house, you ungrateful bastard. I always told Evelyn that we didn't need another son, but she so wanted you and now that she's dead I'm stuck with a good for nothing runt'.
Remiel felt the cold vicelike hand enclose around his throat and the breath still held in his lungs leave him. Gabriel heaved Remiel closer so that their faces were inches away from one another, the small of alcohol permeating the air.
`I never wanted a runt for a son like you. You were a mistake that should never have happened. A mistake that I should have thrown out years ago'.
Gabriel raised his fist and Remiel shut his eyes in anticipation of the blow to come but just as the blow was about to make contact, he felt the grip around his throat disappear. The strength of his fathers arm no longer supporting his weight, Remiel tumbled backwards but rather than hitting the floor as he expected, he felt a soft pressure surround him from all sides. He opened his eyes and found himself floating in the white void of his mindscape prison.
Mindpyre materialised out of the whiteness of the empty expanse, a dark smile warping his handsome features into a mask of cruelty.
And here I thought my family was dysfunctional,' he said. But I suppose it explains why you ran away'. The dark smile intensified and a malicious gleam appeared in the sadistic mutant's eyes. `Oh, wait, that's right. You didn't run away, did you? You were thrown out like a piece of garbage. But then again, your father didn't hate the garbage now, did he?' Mindpyre began laughing.
`What the hell do you want, you sadistic son of a bitch!' Remiel shouted, the paralysing fear created by his father having been replaced by blinding anger.
Mindpyre's laughter dissipated and the cruelty that had blazed in his eyes faded, replaced by a cool calculating gaze.
`This was never about what I want, Remiel. This is about you and all of those feelings you've repressed over the years. This is about what you really want, deep down in that black little soul of yours. You might be able to hide it from the people you live with, maybe even that pretty boy lover of yours, but not from me. After all, one monster can always recognise another'.
I'm no monster!' Remiel shouted at the mutant floating just out of his reach. I'm not like you!'
Really?' Mindpyre replied coolly. Let me tell you something, Remiel. My family was cruel. In fact, I can't remember a night where I didn't have my Dad beat on me, hurt me, or do all things sick things to me in the dark. And my Mom, she was no better. She turned a blind eye to everything he did to me because she just didn't care. It got even worse when I discovered my mutation. Do you have any idea what it's like to have to sit at the kitchen table and hear what your sick paedophile father is thinking about you. To have to listen to the pathetic justifications for your own mother's inaction. I was completely powerless. At least until my other power blossomed. Pyrotics. The ability to start fires with thought. So one night, after my father had passed out drunk after forcing himself on me, and my mother had hidden herself away in her bedroom, I snuck outside. I snuck outside and I burned the entire house to the ground with them inside it. I listened to their screams and their pleas for help. And do you know what I did then? I torched them. I burned the flesh off of their bones and left their skeletons in a smoking pile. You see, Remiel, they took my innocents and I took their life in turn. And I know that deep down in that vault where you seal away all of that hatred there's a monster waiting to exact retribution on not only the bastard that stole your life, but all of those miserable sons of bitches that have hurt your brothers and sisters. What do I want, Remiel? I want to meet the real you. I want to meet the man that's going to help us cleanse this world in fire and blood'.
Don't get me wrong,' Danielle declared, skewering a strip of bacon on her fork. As far as I'm concerned, we go in and put our boot to Magneto's pompous arse. What I saying is that until we know where they are, there's nothing we can do'.
Jean, her hair cascading down her back like molten fire, rested her elbows on the table at which she Danielle, and Betsy were sharing. She looked down at the half finished plate of breakfast, idly pushing the scrambled eggs around the white surface with her thoughts. Betsy, who was sitting on the opposite side of the table to her, was twirling a knife constructed of violet psychic energy between her fingers.
`There had to be some way of finding them, even without Cerebro,' Jean said.
I don't understand how Magneto could shield himself and his entire organisation from the Professor,' Betsy said. His helmet may protect him from telepaths, but he must surely leave some evidence to be found. Even an invisible man leaves signs of his movements in the environment around him'.
`Maybe we could look for heightened electromagnetic activity,' Danielle suggested.
`No. That wouldn't work. Magneto's too smart to have left such an obvious clue,' Jean stated calmly.
`What about Bailey? He's from the future. Maybe he knows something,' Betsy dissipated her blade with a thought before leaning on the table.
`The Professor says that he's willing to help save Remiel but he doesn't know where he's being held'.
At least we have a little time,' Danielle said dejectedly. I mean, Bobby managed to hold out under Mindpyre's psychic assault for a fortnight before we were able to rescue him, and he wasn't even a telepath'.
I'm afraid not,' Betsy declared. Bobby's capture occurred almost three years ago and, from what I understand, not only has Mindpyre grown a great deal more adept at breaking the will of mutants, but he has a psychic amplifier on par with Cerebro to aid in his endeavours'.
`Bobby...' Jean half-whispered to herself.
`Jean?'
`What's wrong,' Danielle asked, sitting up straighter in her chair.
`Bobby was taken by the Brotherhood in California, but we rescued him in Miami before they could smuggle him out of the country'.
I remember,' Danielle snarled. Mindpyre had worked our boy over pretty good. He was terrified of all of the demons that monster implanted in his skull'.
Not my point,' Jean stated. We never really questioned Bobby on his experiences because it was too traumatic. The Professor had to seal most of his memories behind mental barriers. Now the Brotherhood moved him across the country, and they must have hidden him somewhere because it doesn't take two weeks to cross the US. Maybe we do know where they've taken Remiel after all'.
No,' Danielle said coldly. Please tell me that you're not even considering asking Bobby to relive those memories'.
I hate to say it,' Betsy announced, her head bowed. But it just might be our only chance to save Remiel before they do anything to him'.
`Like hell it is! There is not a snowball's chance in hell that I'm going to let you do that to him. Those memories nearly destroyed him the first time. He couldn't even speak for a months afterwards and to this day he can barely tolerate a telepath in a hundred feet of him'.
We at least have to suggest it to him,' Jean retorted. If he says no, fine. But if we have a potential solution, we have an obligation to at least consider it'.
`We'll find another way!' Danielle snarled, rising to her feet.
Jean rose to her own feet and fixed Danielle with a firm look. `Are you willing to bet Remiel's life on the off chance we find some other way in time to stop Mindpyre doing to him what he did to Bobby. You're right, Remiel is a telepath and he might be able to hold out. For a while. A very short while. A while that is getting increasingly shorted as we stand around arguing about doing nothing. It will be terrible for Bobby, but how terrible do you think it will be for him if he finds out that he could have saved Remiel from the same fate he experienced, but that we were too afraid to suggest it?'
`I won't let you hurt him,' Danielle said, her voice devoid of emotion.
That isn't your decision to make, Dani,' a voice sounded from behind the assembled women. They all turned away from one another to face the kitchen doorway. Bobby stood, leaning against the doorframe with and expression that was both terrified and determined. I love you like a sister, Dani, but you can't protect me from my past forever. Especially when it might help us save Remiel from Mindpyre. I might not remember the worst of what he did to me, but I remember enough not to wish Mindpyre on my worst enemy. I'll do it'.
Raze watched from the observation room that overlooked the small operating theatre in the abandoned hospital. Mindpyre was sat at the head of the operating table, his hands placed on either side of the his prisoner's head with his fingers spread. Remiel St.Cloud looked almost angelic, lying unrestrained on the table, eyes fluttering slightly as though in the grip of a dream.
Or a nightmare, Raze reminded himself of the Mindpyre from his timeline; the twisted sadist who took pleasure applying mental pressure to the minds of those beneath him, just to see how much they could take before their psyche's shattered. A sudden whisper of air alerted him to the presence of another mutant, one who could move faster than the eye could see.
Quicksilver,' he greeted the silver haired mutant without turning around. Is there any particular reason why I shouldn't kill you for sneaking up on me?'
Quicksilver casually stepped out of the shadows that had gathered at the back of the observation room before striding over to Raze and wrapping his arms around the mutant's waist. He leant his head down onto Raze's shoulder and breathed in the scent of the tooled leather of his new jacket.
`Well, if you killed me, who'd creep into your bedroom at night to keep you warm?' Quicksilver purred in a deep smooth voice, much like his father's.
Raze snarled before twisting out of Quicksilver's arms and wrapping his hand around the mutant's throat. Do you really think I care whether or not you come crawling into my bed? You are an amusement, Quicksilver, nothing more. Do not presume that just because I use your body you're entitled to special treatment. I'll kill you just like I do anyone else that steps out of line'. Raze levelled Quicksilver with a cold glare. Consider yourself lucky I will be in need of amusement this evening. Your father has caused me a great deal of stress'. Raze violently threw Quicksilver backwards, slamming him mercilessly into the steel table that had been bolted to the observation room's floor. `Now get out'.
Quicksilver ran from the room, blurring out of sight with another whisper of air.
Magneto, you fool,' Raze whispered to himself as he looked down on Remiels sleeping form. `You really have no idea of the power you're toying with'.
Magneto glared down at the smouldering corpses of Toad and Juggernaut, the most members of the Brotherhood to have offended Raze, as their empty eye sockets stared up sightlessly from the steel slabs of the morgue. He may have detested Raze's use of violence, but the mutant's method of killing still fascinated Magneto. Toad's spindly limbs had been warped and charred beyond recognition, leaving little more than broken, almost insect-like, remains, demonstrating what Raze had called `selective diffusion'. Juggernaut on the other hand, had suffered a far worse fate. The molecules in each of the giant's limbs had been diffused slowly, while he was still conscious and able to watch the blood pour out of the stumps before it evaporated into a barely perceptible red mist.
Magneto could not remember the slight that had earned them their fate, only that after their execution no one in the Brotherhood dared to question the time travelling mutant. In one fell swoop, Raze had taken the fear and respect Magneto had spend years cultivating.
And he was going to pay for it dearly.
John?' Jean called as she knocked on his bedroom door. The door swung open slightly, and through the small gap she could see that the lights were off. John?' she called again, pushing the door open and stepping into the darkness. Instinctively reaching out with her thoughts she shifted the light switch into the ON position, illuminating the room John and Remiel shared.
The room had a standard layout; two beds arranged on opposite sides of the room; two desks with laptop computers and notebooks covering their surfaces; and two doorways leading to the bathroom and walk-in wardrobe. Posters had been hung on the walls, most of which displayed some punk rocker or a shirtless man with dazzling muscles. A large Australian flag was hung from the ceiling over one of the beds so that it draped over the headboard. Jean immediately realised that the bed beneath the flag was the only one to receive regular use, the pristine condition of the other marking it as a needless accessory.
John was sat cross-legged on the bed, his knees pulled tightly to his chest. Since his arrival he had changed out of his uniform and into some sweat pants and a plain white t-shirt. His hair, which was normally wild but stylish hung in limp locks and his eyes, which Jean was so accustomed to seeing bright and cheerful were empty and dull.
`Hey there,' Jean said, stepping cautiously over to him and perching on the edge of the bed.
John's head turned and a flicker of recognition stirred in his sapphire blue eyes. He released his knees and quickly wiped the moister away from his eyes and cheeks.
`Jean. I'm sorry, I didn't realise I was late for the debriefing. I'll get changed'.
He was about to get up when Jean gripped his shoulder tightly. `John, the debriefing was hours ago. Don't you remember?'
What?' John's brow creased in confusion. Oh, right. I'm sorry. I'm just so scattered at the moment. Nothing makes sense, everything's wrong'.
I know, John,' Jean said pulling him into a tight hug. John melted against her and began sobbing. I know exactly how you feel. Nothing's the way it should be. Everything feels so empty and without meaning. Time is all wrong and you feel so powerless because you can't help the person you love. But I promise you John. Remmy's going to be okay. We're going to get him back'.
But how?' John sobbed. We don't even know where he is. Gateway could have taken him anywhere, anywhere in the world'.
`Bobby's downstairs with the Professor. They're going to try and find out where the Brotherhood held Bobby during the time he was their prisoner'.
`But I thought Bobby couldn't remember anything. The Professor put blocks in'.
`Bobby said he's willing to remember if it'll help us find Remiel'.
John's sobbing finally halted. `Jean, can I tell you something?'
`Of course you can, John. Anything'.
John slid off of the bed and walked over to his desk. He pulled out the chair and reached under the wooden surface. After a few moments of looking, he pulled out a small box and walked back over to the bed. He caressed the box for a moment before handing it to Jean.
`When we got back from this mission, we were going to go on a trip together, all the way to California for the weekend. And I was going to tell him that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him'.
Jean opened the box and immediately covered her mouth in surprise. Her eyes began to water and immediately stood and wrapped her arms around John's shoulder, the box containing the matching golden bands still held firmly in her grasp.
`Oh god, John. I am so sorry'.
`Are you sure about this, Bobby?' the Professor asked the young mutant lying on the couch before him.
Bobby looked up meeting the Professor's gaze. Try as he might, the young elemental couldn't shield the fear that danced behind his arctic blue eyes.
`No, I can't even begin to tell you just how not sure I am about this, but that doesn't matter. Remiel's life is on the line, and I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't at least try'.
`You are a very brave man, Robert Drake,' the Professor said as he splayed his finger and rested his hands on either side of Bobby's head. He took a deep breath and held it while he observed his surroundings. They were both alone in his office, despite Danielle's extremely vocal protests about being asked to leave during the attempt. The lamp on his desk served as the only illumination, the bright sunlight of the day smothered by heavy curtains. The smell of worn leather permeated the air with just the barest trace of Old Spice. With the image of his office firmly burnt into his mind's eye, Xavier closed his eyelids. The office was still there in his mind's perception and, as he had done a thousand times, he released the breath he had been holding, visualising at the same time the scene fading away like cigarette smoke in the wind.
Xavier stood alone in the vast black expanse, the psychic representation of is clear mind. With an exertion of will he reached out, seeking the young mind he wished to locate. Before him the outline of a door appeared wreathed in luminous icicles. With another exertion of will, Xavier took a step forward towards the portal, then another, and another, until he stood before the shining portal. He hesitated for a moment before he stepped through the icy doorway and into one of the most traumatised minds he had ever encountered.
It was like walking through a blizzard. Sleet pelted Xavier, gnawing at his exposed limbs. On an intellectual level Xavier knew that this vicious assault was all in his mind, a physical manifestation of Bobby's rudimentary self-erected psychic defences, but the biting cold still felt intense. After a few moments of trudging through illusionary snow, Xavier found himself standing in a cathedral of beautiful white ice. A slow grinding drew the Professor's attention back towards the portal in time to witness colossal doors swinging closed.
`Bobby!' the Professor called out.
`I'm here, Professor,' Bobby said, stepping out from behind one of the many pillars holding up the cathedral's high ceiling.
Xavier walked towards the young mutant, smiling as he did so. `I have to admit, Bobby, I'm impressed at how powerful your psychic barriers are. Very few non-psychic's can develop barriers like the ones you have. I imagine that many psychics would have trouble entering your mind against your will'.
`Thank you, Professor,' Bobby said, smiling slightly.
`Now, let's begin shall we'.
Together they walked towards the far end of the cathedral where a small doorway was barred by a cage-like barrier. The bars of the cage were wrapped tightly in a number of different lengths of chain, each of varying size. At every point that the chains crossed one another a large silver padlock was locked in place, forming a web of cold metal.
If you want to reconsider,' Xavier said calmly as he stepped. Now is the time to do so'.
Bobby looked out over the cathedral, the world he had created as a refuge from the world. `No. I need to do this, Professor. Not just for Remiel, but for myself. I'll never be able to heal unless I can face this'.
`As you wish'.
One by one, the Professor touched the various padlocks, each melting away like a heat mirage under his fingers. Once all of the locks had dissipated, the chains melted away into slag, leaving only the lock on the cage door.
`This last lock is yours to open, Bobby. It has to be your choice'.
The Professor stepped aside to allow Bobby the move to the doorway. Bobby looked down at his closed hand and closed his eyes. Opening his hand, he felt a sudden weight fill his palm. Opening his eyes, he saw the icy key that had formed in his hand. With a sigh he placed the key in the lock and turned it. He didn't know what to expect when the sharp click of the lock echoed through the cathedral, but when the sound finally died away, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Then his world fell apart.
The ice beneath his feet shattered like glass and he fell through it into water darker than night. He tried to breath but the water filled his lungs, forcing his body to cough and thereby inhale more of the near frozen liquid. As he closed his eyes against the savage cold realisation flooded through his mind. This was how he had discovered his mutation; when he'd fallen through the thin ice on a frozen lake. He had thought he was going to drown but his body had simply gone colder than the water around it and tendrils of ice had reached up to the surface, allowing him to climb out. The realisation that he had already survived this memory gave him a flicker of hope and he abruptly found himself falling. He resounding thud followed by sharps pains shooting up his legs told him he had reached solid ground. His eyes flickered open and he found himself staring up at a ceiling of rippling liquid.
`Are you alright, Bobby?' he heard the Professor's voice echo from all around him.
`I'm alright,' he called out in a hoarse voice, the water inexplicable gone from his lungs.
The air in front of him shimmered and the Professor appeared in a swirl of dark colours.
`I apologise for leaving you alone. I lost track of you when you fell into this memory, or should I say, when you fell into this representation of it. What was the original memory, if you don't mind me asking?'
`It was the first time I used my powers. I was skating on a lake near my old home, when I fell through some thin ice. I thought I was going to drown, but I iced up instead. I even made myself a few cables to help me out of the lake,' Bobby said as he rose to his feet and patted down the damp jeans and t-shirt he was wearing.
`I see. Mindpyre must have taken the fear you were feeling and amplified it. The fact that this was the first thing we encountered suggests that he used this on you often'.
Bobby shrugged, `Then why didn't I freak out more?'
`You're older than you were then, and you're also here on your terms, not his'.
`Cool'.
Xavier smiled. `Come along, Bobby. There are still many memories we need to explore'.
Quicksilver slipped into Raze's quarters as quietly as he could, shutting the door behind him without a sound. The small hospital room had once been a doctor's lounge of some sort, with couches, lockers and several cupboards but most of the furniture had been removed. Instead a large double bed had been pushed up against the far wall and a long oak desk, courtesy of some doctor long forgotten doctor, had been placed along the right hand wall.
Raze was slouching in a chair, looking down on the collection of papers that littered the desktop. Taking his time, Quicksilver observed the mutant in the faint lamplight. He was wearing nothing but a pair of black bikini briefs that did little to hide the muscles they contained. Wide shoulders tapered down to a narrow waist, with sculpted muscles occupying the expanses of his flesh. The curves of his body flowed seductively into one another and the planes of his body were perfectly smooth save for the few rugged scars that ran across his chest and arms.
But it wasn't just Raze's body that attracted Quicksilver. The danger that lurked behind those gleaming amber eyes thrilled him to his very core and at night, when he felt Raze moving deep inside of him, the mixture of fear, excitement and lust brought an intensity to the experience he had never felt before.
`You're working late,' Quicksilver said as he stepped out of the shadows.
Raze looked up from his papers and fixed his eyes on Quicksilver, `It can't be helped when your father insists on making stupid decisions'.
Quicksilver approached the wrathful mutant cautiously. `Surely he isn't that bad. He has led the Brotherhood this long, hasn't he?'
Raze rose slowly to his feet and leant against the desk. `You're right, he has led the Brotherhood. He's led them down the path of impotence and failure. In the future I come from, people are afraid to even whisper the names of the Brotherhood's inner circle. The only reason your father is still alive is because for the moment, he holds the loyalty of the Brotherhood's most powerful mutants'.
But that's going to change,' Quicksilver stated calmly. There are whispers in the ranks. Most of the lower echelons are too scared of you to ever defy you, and most of the middle ranks don't care who's in charge as long as they get to keep what little power they have'.
`And what about you? Would you follow me if I killed your father and took over the Brotherhood'.
Quicksilver, now standing in front of Raze, ran his hand along the mutant's thigh. He leaned in and whispered in Raze's ear. `I already follow you. My father can go to hell for all I care'.
Raze turned his head and brought his lips against Quicksilver's neck before whispering back, `Good answer'.
Their lips met forcefully, both mutants fighting fiercely for control of the kiss. Quicksilver groaned into the kiss as Raze roughly pulled their bodies together. Raze's tongue invaded Quicksilver's mouth, exploring every inch of the hot opening.
With a savage push, Raze sent Quicksilver tumbling onto the bed. He looked down on the silver haired mutant lying prone on the bare sheets and smiled like some jungle predator eyeing a succulent meal. Quicksilver was wearing a pair of grey cotton track pants and a white tank-top with worn sneakers adorning his feet.
Quicksilver gasped as Raze snapped his fingers, reducing both of their garments to cinders that quickly dissipated into nothing. The sensation that scoured his body as the cotton burnt into non-existence was akin to dipping his hand into hot water and pulling it out again. As quickly as the sensation came, it faded, replaced by the feeling of Raze lowering himself on top of his now exposed flesh.
Their bodies writhed against one another, Quicksilver's lithe supple body against the firm ridges and planes of Raze's physique. Raze's hands wandered the willowy body beneath him, sliding over the toned muscles and shallow clefts separating them.
Quicksilver's hands slid down Raze's chest as the dominant mutant's hands began moving across his back. The ripples of Raze's abdominal muscles added to Quicksilver's arousal as his hands slid over the sweat coated clusters of muscle fibre. Descending lower, his hands finally reached their final destination; Raze's engorged member. He had seen it up close a number of time, during the many brief stints that Raze had required a sexual release, and he knew every inch of it. Eight inches from tip to base with flushed veins running up its length forming ridges that stimulated every nerve during their couplings. Quicksilver wrapped one hand around it, his fingers barely managing to encompass the girth while moving his other hand to the small of Raze's back.
Raze began to moan softly into the side of Quicksilver's neck as his partner began to slowly caress his swollen member. His teeth scraped against the exposed flesh of Quicksilver's shoulder, eliciting a gasp equal parts pain and pleasure. Quicksilver's long supple legs drew up and around Raze's waist, pulling the two mutants closer together. Raze felt Quicksilver's hand leave his member and he knew what his partner wanted, what he needed. Sliding down slightly in Quicksilver's embrace, Raze moved one of his hands from Quicksilver's back and reached for his own pulsing cock. With himself firmly in hand, he ran his thumb between the firm globes of Quicksilver's ass until he felt the puckered hole. Lining himself up, he placed the head of his cock against the quivering entrance and, with a savage growl, sank into Quicksilver letting lose a primal shout that mingled with Quicksilver's own carnal moan. He pulled pack and then forced himself back in with a brutal thrust, causing Quicksilver to arch backwards, gripping the sheets and moaning. Each stroke became stronger and harder than the next, their combined need for release driving the intense coupling. Raze looked down at Quicksilver, speared on Raze's member, and saw that his partner was staring back up at him wearing an expression of pain, pleasure and lust. He reached down and firmly wrapped his hand around Quicksilver's own seven inch member and began to stroke with the same intensity with which he was plunging onto him.
The feeling began in the balls of his feet, an electrical current that quickly surged up his spine, causing his balls to draw up and release their pent up contents. Raze let loose a primal roar he flooded Quicksilver with his seed, and he felt Quicksilver shudder beneath him before liquid heat splashed across both of their stomachs.
The intensity of the orgasm left Raze gasping for breath and he collapsed onto the body of his partner, who was likewise exhausted. Their breathing was staggered, coming in a mixture of muffled gasps and heavy panting. Raze knew that he should send Quicksilver away, throw him from the room like a used toy. By allowing Quicksilver to remain, he risked appearing weak, putting in jeopardy all of the work he had done to make the Brotherhood fear him, but lying there in Quicksilver's warm embrace, he couldn't summon the will to move. As their breathing slowly returned to normal, they both drifted into the void of sleep.
Xavier had never seen horrors like the ones contained within Bobby's mind, and he hoped that for the remained of his days he never would. He and Bobby had traversed the wide expanse of Bobby's buried memories but, try as he might to block Bobby's recollection of Mindpyre's devious torture, Xavier found that the mental abominations the malicious telepath had constructed stalked them across the mental plane.
During their attempt to delve into Bobby's memory of the Brotherhood's Florida facility, the pair had been accosted by a massive monstrosity that embodied all of Bobby's fears of death - a twelve foot tall bipedal demon constructed of corpses stitched together to form hideous appendages. The beast had two massive arms made from two female corpses stitched back to back with their heads stapled by railroad spikes to the abomination's shoulder, leaving the mangled legs to act as grasping claws and the hair of the corpses to form a billowing main. It's legs were a mismatched assemblage of arms and legs stitched end onto end in a sickening chain that was coiled around a pair of corpses, each six foot tall. Only the faces of the corpses was visible, looking out at them with empty eye sockets from between the coiled flesh-chain. By far the most horrifying aspect of the creature was that Bobby, or at least a mental fabrication of Bobby's corpse, had been stapled to the beast's chest as though crucified. The corpse had looked down on them, its eyes ablaze with icy blue fire.
It had come upon them just as they had stepped out of the icy cavern beneath Bobby's icy lake and into the warm air of a parking lot. Xavier had turned away from the street before them, ignoring the rushing cars and the sounds of waves and surf. Behind the pair stood a tall hotel structure with a vibrant name emblazed in stylised 1940s text; Chevalier. Xavier had turned back to Bobby to ask about the hotel when his sight had fallen on the monstrosity lurking in the shadows.
With a bellow it had rushed at them, swinging its grotesque appendages as it crossed the parking lot. Bobby immediately began throwing icy blasts at it, hoping to freeze it in place, but instead of freezing the creature, the blasts of hyper-cooled air glanced off of the beast's grey and rotting flesh.
This is no ordinary opponent!' Xavier cried out as he dived out of the way of one of the creatures long swipes. `This is a beast constructed from your own thoughts and fear. It is as much a part of you as anything else and you can no more harm it than you could yourself. The only way to destroy this creature is through force of will'.
`How do I do that!?'
Xavier erected a telepathic shield and the beast's attacks struck at it with the force of a train, staggering the telepath.
`Will it away, Bobby! This reality bends to your desire. You can do anything here, you just have to want it badly enough'.
The semitranslucent barrier surrounding Xavier fractured like shatter-proof glass and the beast rained blows down on it with its horrific arms. Through the spider webbed shards of his psychic barrier, Xavier could see Bobby cease his attacks on the psychic avatar.
Get the hell away from him!' Bobby shouted, planting his feet firmly on the cement of the parking lot. I said, get the fuck away from him you ugly bastard!'
The beast raised its arms high, preparing to deliver the blow that finally breach Xavier's barrier, before it abruptly halted it's movement. The head of the Corpse-Bobby turned towards the young elemental, its eyes glowing with blue flame. A grin spread across its pale face. It opened its mouth and the sound of a thousand voices wailing in agony escaped its rotting lips. With a surge of speed that defied explanation the beast rushed across the parking lot towards Bobby, bellowing in its terrible voice. Bobby braced himself, expecting to be struck by the beast's arms but the beast swept him up, the legs of the twin corpses entwining around him and squeezing his torso tightly.
Willing the barrier away, Xavier summoned tendrils of psychic power and sent them slithering after the creature. Like constrictor snakes the tendrils wrapped themselves around the creature and began to squeeze with all of Xavier's available will.
The beast squeezed Bobby in retaliation, causing the young mutant to cry out in pain.
`Bobby! This is your mind! Will it away!' the Professor shouted again.
`How!?' Bobby gasped out, his voice barely travelling through the air.
`Fears cannot harm you once you've faced them! Unmask this fear! Face it, and it will wither away!'
Bobby knew what this thing was. It was his fear of death, and of not knowing what came after. What had been an instinctive fear of death, common to all sentient beings, Mindpyre had twisted and warped into this monstrosity. The very thought of Mindpyre sparked an inferno of anger and rage that flooded through his body and down his arms before solidifying into frost that began creeping up the entwined legs of the monstrosity.
Everyone dies eventually,' Bobby growled at the beast, its limbs weakening under the assault of Bobbys frost. `And even if I don't know what comes after, I know there will be people who'll miss me, so you can take whatever fear you think I have of dying, and you can choke on it!'
The creatures wails reached a fevered pitch as its limbs finally shattered under the strain of Xavier's tendrils. Dead flesh shattered into frozen chunks that scattered across the asphalt. Bobby fell to the ground, landing on his feet but falling backwards with a thud. He gasped as he felt a hand wrap around his ankle. The Corpse-Bobby, or what was left of it, clung to Bobby's ankle by its only remaining arm. Bobby's lips drew up into a snarl and his viciously kicking the rotting face in the jaw, reducing its discoloured flesh into paste.
The psychic tendrils that were still coiling through the remains of the creature faded in a wisps of translucent vapour. Xavier carefully stepped towards Bobby through the debris, offering the mutant his hand.
Well done, Bobby,' he said. Hauling the X-man to his feet, Xavier turned towards the hotel behind them. Now that we have overcome this obstacle, it is time for us to continue our mission here'.
`Show me your darkness'.
Remiel heard Mindpyre's voice echo in his head as he fell to his knees under the intense pain. He clutched his head in his hands as though the futile gesture would somehow lessen the intense stabbing pains Mindpyre's psychic probes were causing. The pain was coupled with a high pitched screech. Remiel opened his eyes into slits in order to look up at Mindpyre who was standing over the ailing mutant.
Mindpyre stood perfectly still, one hand stretched out towards Remiel with the fingers of his hand fanned out. He looked calm, almost serene as he attempted to pry Remiel's mind apart in his quest for the suppressed darkness residing in the X-man's soul. Behind him, Remiel could see the Mindscape twist and contort with a low rumble he felt more than heard, a reflection of Remiel's own mind as it was barraged by Mindpyre's powers. Every few seconds the scene it depicted changed, melting from one environment to the next. The X-Mansion. His bedroom. The park he played at when he was younger. The tunnels he had called home. The Blackbird. A street in New York City.
Mindpyre's eyes opened wide and a grin spread across his face.
`There it is,' his voice reverberated across the mental plane.
The stabbing pains subsided before being replaced with the sensation of someone drilling into his skull. As he watched, the scenes behind Mindpyre began tearing like tissue paper, leaving segments behind as they shifted. After a few moments, the Mindscape had become a collage of memories. Each segment began to stitch itself to the next, melting into the neighbouring images like oil paintings in sunlight.
Finally, the pain from Mindpyre's psychic assault faded, taking the ear-splitting screech with it. Remiel collapsed to the floor gasping in relief. From his place at Mindpyre's feet he could see the Machiavellian mutant's eyes gleam.
Of course it would be here,' he said aloud, ignoring Remiel. I don't know why I didn't think of it before'. Mindpyre fixed his gaze on Remiel. `Isn't he magnificent?'
A groan from behind him, caused Remiel to scramble to his feet and look in the direction of the sound. The sight that met his eyes chilled him to the very core. In the centre of the collage reality stood a massive cage wrought from cold black metal. Within the cage a figure was bound in large chains that pulsed with the azure luminescence of Remiel's own psychic energy. The figure has held in large stocks with his head facing the floor and his wild red brown hair falling in a curtain, obscuring his face. From the figure's shoulders massive ebony wings hung down, shackled with more chains that anchored them firmly to the ground. From what he could see, the figure wasn't wearing any clothes, but stood naked, bowed down by the weight of the wooden stocks. Even imprisoned as he was, the figure's physique was extraordinary. Every visible muscle was perfectly defined, bulging with confined power. Though he knew that his own physique could not be faulted, Remiel found himself envious of the figures body.
`And to think that you had him sealed away in this dark little corner of your mind,' Mindpyre continued.
Where are we?' Remiel gasped. Who is that?'
`We're in the place where all the dark roads of your mind meet. And he, well, he's you'.
`No!' Remiel shouted, rounding on Mindpyre, fist raised in anger. With a half formed thought, Mindpyre sent Remiel skidding across the floor as though he had been struck by a battering ram.
`You don't believe me?'
`No. It's just one of your tricks. You're just messing with my head'.
Mindpyre smiled, `That does seem like something I'd do now, doesn't it? But this is no trick. If you don't believe me, just se for yourself'.
Mindpyre stepped up to the cage and reached through the bars, sending tongues of liquid fire streaming from his fingertips. The flames coiled in midair before seeking out their intended targets, licking greedily at the wooden stocks holding the figure prisoner. The wood blackened before falling away in ashes, victim of Mindpyre's expressed will. With a bestial roar, the figure shook himself free of the blocky restraints. Shaking his head wildly, the figure railed against the chains still binding his wings and legs. Remiel shrank away from the figure's fury, causing the chained man to turn his attention to the young mutant. The X-man was unable to suppress the gasp that escaped his lips. The figure's face was a mirror image of his own, but moulded into a mask of anger and rage.
Told you so,' Mindpyre sneered. Pulling his hand back through the bars and took a step back. Now let's see what we can do about this cage'.
`No,' Remiel shouted as he surged to his feet and lunged at Mindpyre.
`That's enough out of you!' Mindpyre snapped, gesturing at him with a hand. The air around Remiel shimmered before chains identical to the ones holding the Dark Remiel prisoner appeared, wrapping themselves tightly around the mutants arms and legs, binding them together. Manacles pulsing with the scarlet light of Mindpyre's psychic energy solidified around Remiel's wrists and ankles and a wide metal strap wrapped itself around his mouth, silencing him. With a resounding thud, Remiel's own momentum dropped him to the floor at Mindpyre's feet. Without paying the fallen mutant further consideration, Mindpyre returned his attention to Dark Remiel. He gestured with both hands as though parting a curtain and the metal bars before him squealed in protest as they were bent and broken, creating an opening through which Mindpyre entered.
Dark Remiel lunged at the golden haired man but was held back by the chains that still held his wings securely.
That's it,' Mindpyre crooned. You're all the anger, pain and resentment he'd never let himself feel, but that's exactly what we want. I'm here to let you out'. Mindpyre smiled. `After I chip off the rough edges and polish off the rest, of course'.
In the palm of his right hand, a petal of black fire no larger than the flame of a birthday candle flickered to life. Mindpyre extended his hand, offering the flame to Dark Remiel. `Take it. If you want out of your cage, if you want to be free to take your revenge on the Homo sapiens, take it'.
A malevolent intellect flashed in Dark Remiel's eyes and glared at Mindpyre before slowly reaching out towards the flame. The fingers of his hand had barely made contact with the flickering black petal when it surged up his arm, coating his flesh like burning oil. Dark Remiel recoiled in pain and surprise, dropping to his knees as the fire coated his entire body. He bellowed in pain, an deep agonising sound. The fire spread across his arms and chest, growing in size and intensity. Even from his place outside the cage, Remiel could feel the heat of the flames. Minutes passed and Dark Remiel's agonising wails grew higher and higher. As Remiel watched, the flames coalesced, forming burning sigils across Dark Remiel's biceps and pecs. Abruptly the fire died, leaving the sigils behind like black tribal tattoos. Dark Remiel fell forward, barely reaching out in time to stop himself from striking the floor. Panting, he pushed himself back up onto his knees. His muscles glistened with sweat and his chest expanded and deflated slowly as he breathed deeply. Remiel's eyes widened as he recognised the symbol emblazed on Dark Remiel's breast just above his heart. The Greek symbol for Omega. The sign of the Brotherhood.
With a gesture, Mindpyre sent more tongues of flames to devour the chains holding Dark Remiel's legs and wings, freeing him from the last remnants of Remiel's unconscious restraints. `Welcome to the fold, Brother'.
Xavier led the way down the poorly lit hallway, looking everywhere for any characteristics that would allow him to locate the facility in Bobby's mind. They were in a hospital, that much Xavier was sure of. Gurney's were arranged against the walls on either side of the hallways and a sign displayed directions to various medical departments.
`This is the first place I was taken,' Bobby said dejectedly as the toll of facing the many psychic predators placed in his mind began to weigh heavily upon him.
Since leaving the hotel memory the pair had been forced to face two more manifestations, each exacting a heavy price for its eventual defeat. The first had come upon them as they had made their way into the memory of the second Brotherhood stronghold in which Bobby had been held. A writhing mass of shadowy flesh, all fang rimmed mouths and flailing tentacle, that Bobby had identified as one of his childhood nightmares about giant squids. The cephalopodic incarnation had required a far larger exertion of will on Bobby's part than the first construct to banish, but after its defeat, they were able to properly assess the converted mine before moving on to the next facility where they were again confronted by a brutal avatar. This one had been a blazing scarecrow ten feet tall embodying the Cryokinetic's instinctive fear of fire. It had nearly bested them, reducing Bobby to a quivering heap and forcing Xavier to mentally unmake the psychic construct; a feat that had nearly drained him. Mindpyre may not have been a match for Xavier in terms of raw power, but the dangerous mutant could employ what power he had to devastating effect.
Faint whispers filled the hallway, causing Xavier to stop mid-step. At first the voices were indistinct, but he felt Bobby strain to remember and the voices took on a new clarity.
`...not likely to uncover us, this facility is too well hidden for the X-Men to find us here. And after Mindpyre is done with the Drake boy, he'll be unlikely to tell anyone'.
Xavier immediate recognised Magneto's. Another voice filled the air, agreeing with Magneto's sentiment. It was a whiny voice, filled with a British accent. Toad. Xavier looked around and noted that a door was ajar a few feet away. It flickered in place as the memory replayed itself.
`Are you sure that this is the safest course of action. After all, taking Iceman is dangerous enough, but brining him here? What if the X-men track him to this locating? There aren't enough of us here to defend this facility should Xavier's zealots attack, and the citizens of this cosy little hamlet aren't likely to offer much of a deterrent'.
`You needn't be concerned Mastermind. Even if the X-men were to uncover our presence here in Greenvale, you won't be here to face them. I've decided to reassign you to the East Coast facility with Scarlet Witch. In any case they're not likely to uncover us, this facility is too well hidden for the X-Men to find us here. And after Mindpyre is done with the Drake boy, he'll be unlikely to tell anyone'.
An abandoned hospital in a town called Greenvale'. Xavier smiled to himself. I believe we've collected enough information to begin forming a preliminary stratagem. Remiel must be being held in one of these facilities'.
A translucent bubble formed around them and the world outside of it melted away until they both found themselves back in the Ice Cathedral. Over Xavier's shoulder, Bobby could see the small doorway was once again barred and chained.
`I don't believe I'll ever be able to express the gratitude I have for what you've done, Bobby. You have my sincerest thanks'.
`If it means we can save Remiel, it was worth it'.
`Now I think it's time for us to return to reality'.
Bobby felt a tingle at the back of his head before he opened his eyes to the ceiling of Professor Xavier's office. He stretched on the couch before rubbing the back of his neck and sitting up. Letting out a sigh, he looked at the clock mounted on the wall. 12:47 p.m.
That's not possible,' Bobby said, gesturing to the chronometer. We only started at 12:45'.
Time flows very differently on the mental planes, Bobby,' Xavier declared. Now go and get some rest. I'll call a briefing when I have uncovered more actionable intelligence'.
Mindpyre's physical body staggered backwards as his consciousness broke contact with the mutant lying prone before him. Every muscle in his body ached from the inactivity of the last few hours. He closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. He would never admit it to any of his peers, but the strain that his psychic feats took on his body was severe. Rubbing his eyes with his hands, he took a step towards the door.
He had just reached for the door when a flicker of light in the corner of his eye caught his attention. He turned towards the gurney where the unconscious Remiel and his jaw dropped in awe. Dark blue fire engulfed the unconscious mutant, scorching the restraints keeping him in place but leaving his own body untouched. As Mindpyre watched, Remiel's body began to thrash and contort as though in the throws of some seizure. The sounds of ripping fabric filled the air as the exposed skin of Remiel's chest stretched and finally tore apart, revealing the expanding muscle fibres beneath. The fire licked at the wound and as Mindpyre gazed in awe, the skin mended over, leaving the newly expanded muscles if they had always been there. Remiel's skeletal structure underwent a similar process, the sound of cracking bone filling the small operating theatre. Remiel's back arched and his head was thrown back, his hair lengthening to just below his jaw line. Two large nodules began to swell on his shoulder blades, stretching the skin to breaking point. The skin final split and two massive ebony wings exploded from beneath the muscles of his back in a spray of blood and feathers. The thrashing of Remiel's body finally subsided and his form collapsed on top of the virgin appendages.
The blue flames faded and Mindpyre quickly dashed over to the newly transformed mutant just in time to witness the same markings that he had applied to Dark Remiel smoulder to the surface of the mutants chest and arms.
`Well, I'll be damned,' Mindpyre whispered to himself.
That doesn't sound promising,' Magneto's voice drifted from the doorway. Mindpyre swung around to face the new arrival. Remiel's transformation had him so transfixed he hadn't noticed Magneto's entrance. Would you care to explain this,' Magneto said, gesturing to Remiel's new form.
Mindpyre returned his gaze to the mutant. `In all honesty, I have no idea what just happened. I completed the reprogramming and I was just on my way to report when this just...happened'.
`And the reprogramming?'
`A complete success. This Remiel should be completely loyal to the Brotherhood'.
`And your other assignment? Is that complete also'.
Mindpyre cocked his head to the side and smiled at Magneto, `You say that as if it was an actual question. When have I ever let you down?'
`Very good. How long until he's awake?'
`A few hours at most. Actually, now that I think about it, I think I know what happened'.
`Yes?' Magneto asked.
`He's telekinetic, extending right down to the molecular level. Maybe this is some sort of psychic transformation, where his telekinetic powers have reshaped his body to match his new personalities self image'.
Magneto walked over to the gurney and looked down on the sleeping mutant with a spark of glee in his eyes. `Fascinating. I believe you're going to make an excellent subject for study, aren't you now, Seraph?'
At the sound of his mutant name, Remiel's eyes snapped open and his arms ripped free of the restraint binding them to the gurney. In a flash, one hand wrapped around Magneto's throat and threw him effortlessly across the room. Magneto let out a shout and a shimmering electromagnetic shield materialised around him, saving him from harm. Mindpyre was not so luck. With a swipe from one of his powerful wings, Remiel sent the psychic crashing into a wall with enough force to shatter the tiles and render the mutant unconscious.
Climbing to his feet, he surveyed his surroundings before turning to face Magneto.
`Seraph was a weakling, fearful of his powers and the people who shunned him because of them. He is dead. My name is Morningstar, and for as long as the human filth oppress us, you have my loyalty'.
Magneto lowered himself to the ground and let his barrier fade. He crossed the distance between him and the avenging angel of mutant kind. Morningstar dropped to one knee before him, bowing his head as he did so. Magneto lightly touched him on the head.
Rise, Morningstar,' Magneto said, a cold smile spreading across his face. There is much work to be done'.
To Be Continued...
Thanks for reading the latest chapter of X-Force. I know this was a long chapter but I just started writing and it sort of just, well forgive the pun, but it just mutated into this huge chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it.
Now to my readers I'd like to pose a few questions. Firstly, I'd like to know who everyone's favourite hero is and why, as well as who everyone's favourite villain is and why. Also, I'd like to know if there are any characters you don't like. I'm trying to thin out the cast, so I wanted to get some feedback from you, my audience, so I don't go killing anyone's favourite characters, cause that would be like, a major bummer.
Feedback is the lifeblood of all writers, so please, drop me an email and tell me what you think. You can reach me at:
scifi_fanboy@hotmail.com
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