Attention: Generation X and their villians, as well as any other mutant
mentioned in this story, is property of Marvel Comics. The character
Richard Cale is named after family relations. Any other reference to
anything copyrighted is a chance happening.
====================================================
Hunted
Gayle Edgerton sat in her wheelchair in her England home. Not too
long ago, she had traveled to America, all for the purpose of killing
the man that put her in the wheelchair. No, not a man, a mutant whose
abilities crippled her long ago. She still bore the scars of the pack
she had made so she could obtain revenge. The mutant that gave her that
change had doublecrossed her, but the whole experience had given her a
chance to make peace. She looked at the photo on her mantle and asked
the same question she asked every time she looked at it. "Jono, how are
you doing right now? I can never make up for what I almost did to you,
and for helping that Emplate being."
She was surprised when a voice spoke behind her. "That's all the
proof I need." She spun around in her wheelchair, and faced the being.
He stood there with a gun in his hand.
She eyed the strange man with fear, silently activating an alarm
she had in case of emergencies. She then said, "Who are you?" She
heard a loud shot and looked down. He had shot her. Where the bullet
hit her, she realized that if she didn't get help soon, she would die.
She looked at the man and just said "Why?"
The man just looked at her and said, "To prevent more." His words
didn't make to much sense, but it had something to do with Emplate, the
being that 'recruited' her to help get Jono and his friends. She leaned
forward, to act as if she would strike out at him, but she planned to
play dead, hopefully not to become dead.
He stood over the body that collapsed out of the wheelchair. He
deemed himself the Hunter, for he felt it was his task to stop them. He
had been pulled into the fold once. Years ago, he was part of that evil
being's group. When he broke free, he vowwed to stop the evil this
being had passed on. He pulled out a list. As he looked at it, he
marked off the name. "If you hadn't have sold your soul, Ms. Edgerton,
you would have never met me."
He heard a siren approaching. She was clever. He phased out of
existance. A curse he obtain in mutancy. The hunger kept him linked to
that evil. He knew this woman wasn't a mutant, but he felt that only
those who were like him were targets, food sources. Once he removed all
of them, he could end his suffering. He had long ago decided only to
strike those far away from Emplate. This woman was the next name on his
list. He walked up to the rooftop and looked again at the list. During
his time with Emplate, he remembered the name that was next of his list.
He looked at her name. "Ah yes, the reluctant enforcer. I know you
have escaped, now I must end your cursed exitstance." He reached at his
arm and felt the scars from that time. "Yvette Gyorgi, your time has
come."
***************************************************
Yvette Cassidy awoke screaming. She sat straight up in her bed.
She was scared by this dream. She was with several people, mutants like
herself, in a field, dead. At the top of the pile was Emplate. He,
too, was dead. She didn't want to die, not like that. She wanted to
live a long life, with her love, Richard Cale. When he came into her
life, she had fully recovered from her experience with Emplate. She got
out of bed and walked over to her closet. She opened the door and saw
the restraints she had wore when she was Emplate's reluctant meal. She
kept them as a reminder of her time with Emplate, but she also kept them
so that Sean and Emma could get costumes that her skin would not ruin
when she tensed up. At current time, she was gaining on Paige for most
costumes used. She reached in and grabbed a dress and looked at the
time. It was four hours until dawn, and she was scared about what this
nightmare would mean. She opened her drawer and grab some other items
and left her room.
Nightmares like those scared her, and when she was that scared,
she felt safe with only one person. She left the girl's dorm and made
her way to the guy's dorm. It was a little cold, but she had gotten use
to it, due to her living in the grotto until Rich came to the school.
As she approached the guy's dorm, she found the one room with a light
on. As she approached the window, she saw why the light was on. Rich
was sitting at his desk, with his headset on. He was writing in his
journal. She put her hand near the little signal device he placed on
the window sill. She looked in the window as she began signalling.
Sean and Emma didn't know about this, but she knew that they wouldn't be
concerned until something happened. As she continued to use signal, she
wondered if she would have to use the secret entrance machanism they
came up with. For a minute or two, Rich hadn't responded. She started
to worry, and noticed that she was minding the cold. She looked into
the window and softly said, "Please, Rich, hurry up and open the window
and let me in." She smiled when he finally looked her way.
Rich had his earphones on. He was listening to some one of the
various Pure Moods CD's he had while he was writing in his journal. He
spent years keeping this journal, and he had starting writing in it
again. He had been writing for about an hour, when he heard the
clicking of the signal he and Yvette had rigged. He turned his head
toward the window and saw her out there. He didn't know how long she
was out there, but he figured that she must have had a nightmare. He
closed his journal and ran to the window. He opened it and reached out
to help her in. "Yvette, what's wrong?"
She smiled as he helped her in. "I had a terrible nightmare. It
was horrible." He then realized that she was scared. When he finally
got her in the window, she said, "Thank you. I was starting to feel
cold out there."
He then noticed that she was in her night attire. He had never
seen her like that, ever. He held her close and asked, "My love, why
didn't you put a little more on?"
She put her arms around him and kissed him. {Because, I didn't
think I'd be outside so long. Also, I thought you wouldn't mind.} She
gave him a smile. Over all the time they had been dating, he had found
that she had a sneaky wild side. It was one of those little facts he
loved about her. However, back when they started dating, they swore not
to go all the way. Rich had been raised on that belief, and he believed
it.
However, her sneaky wild side usual brought out his sneaky wild
side. He returned the kiss and said, {I think you might be right. So
what did you have a nightmare about.} He noticed that she shook. He
held her close and whispered in her ear. "It's alright, my love, I keep
you safe." He noticed that she started to calm down. He had been
afraid that when she would tense up, she shed her outfit. He then
psionically said, {Tell me when your ready to talk about it. Maybe you
might want to get some rest.}
She looked into his eyes and said, {Hold me, please.} He held her
as he walked her over to his bed. As they climbed in, she turned to
face him and kissed him. {Thank you, my love.}
He smiled and returned the kiss. {Sleep well, my love.} He held
her close, since she asked, but also since he deep down wanted to. This
was a bit different from most times they held each other, mainly because
of the situation.
He was almost surprised when she kissed him and said, {At least I
have something to hold onto for safety and comfort.} He felt her hold
him tighter to her.
He returned the kiss and said, {Love, I'll keep you safe.} He
continued the kiss as she started to kiss in return. In fact, he felt
that they would enter dreamland kissing.
*******
It was just as day broke at the Xavier School. Other times that
he would be here, he would be here with his master. However this time
was different, and DOA knew that. The one being that worried Emplate
more than any of Generation X had just took a shot at Gayle Edgerton.
Emplate still had a small grip of control on her, but that meant that
Penance would be next. Emplate still had a link to the rouge of the
group, but he had no control. DOA then remembered that if Generation X
found him here, that he probably would not be welcomed, even though he
was coming with a warning. All he been instructed to do was deliver the
recorded message to Penance. He walked by the girls dorm. As he passed
the windows, he placed a little window like object by it. It allowed
him to observe what happened in each room. The first occupied room he
found was obviously Jubilee's. As he looked in, he found the girl was
asleep. He continued to the next window, and the next until he found
the next room that had one of the Gen X-er's in it. Just from the items
he saw, he could tell it was Penance's room, but she wasn't in there.
He just muttered quietly, "Where are you, Yvette?" Then it hit him, she
must be with Richard Cale.
His thoughts were cut off when fireworks hit near his feet. He
turned to see Jubilee leaning out her window. "I don't know what your
up to, but Emplate won't succeed." He ran away from the building. He
figured that they would start by checking Yvette's room. It might work
to his advantage. He quickly ran for the guys dorm to find Yvette and
Richard. When he reached the dorm. He used the same method that he
used before. He found them in the first occupied room. He was
surprised when he saw them in the room. However, he had a task to
perform. He had to deliver the message. He tried to open the window,
but he couldn't. He didn't want to look like he was attacking, but he
had to get the message through. He knew that his master hoped that
Yvette would come back to him when she saw the message. He also knew
that if Yvette did come back to the master, Richard Cale wouldn't be too
far behind. He struggled some more trying to open the window, but
couldn't. He finally decided to do the one thing he could do.
Jubilee had swore she had heard something outside her window, and
when she looked out, she had been right, in the worse way. She saw
D.O.A., Emplate's little minion lurking at Penny's window. She was
scared that Emplate was in there. She had shots some of her fireworks
over at him and he ran off. Now she had a bad feeling that Emplate was
already in there, and if not, he might be on his way over to Rich's
room. She quickly left her room and ran to Penny's room. As she ran,
Monet came from her room and said, "Jubilee, what is with all the
racket? Some of us want to get some sleep?"
Jubilee just continued to run to the door of her surogate sister's
room and said, "Your brother might be here. I just saw DOA at Penny's
window." Soon Monet was at her side.
Monet looked at her and said, "I called Emma and Sean. I hope
they try to see if Richard is safe." Jubilee agreed with that as she
knocked fiercely on Penny's door. There was no time for patience. She
quickly started to tackle the door, in an effort to break it down.
As she tried, she looked at Monet and said, "Can you help me out
here? This isn't a time for you to space out. Emplate might be
abducting both Penny and Rich." Soon enough, Monet was tackling the
door with her.
As they continued, Paige and Daria had entered the halls. Paige
just said,"What are you two up too?" It was at that point when the door
finally gave. Jubilee was almost shocked when she saw the room was
empty. She was scared that Emplate had taken Penny.
Monet just said, "Jubilee saw DOA outside, and thought Emplate was
in here. I think he wasn't, cause Yvette isn't her."
Daria looked in and said, "Yvette isn't here, and that's a good
thing?"
Jubilee then realize what Monet had noticed. "She's right. There
was no struggle. Besides, I don't think the place would be this nice if
Emplate was in here. Penny would have put up a fight."
She then heard the voice of Emma Frost say, "Then where is she?"
Jubilee had an idea on the answer when they all heard glass
breaking somewhere on campus. She had an idea where it was. All she
said, "The only place she'd be safe, and when we get there, I think we
will find the source of that sound." With that they all left the girl's
dorm.
Yvette was startled when Rich left her in the dream world. All
night, in their dreams, they were kissing. With the mental link they
held when together, they could do this when ever they were asleep.
Yvette opened her eyes and noticed Rich was now crouched on the floor,
looking at something. She then saw the broken window. As he looked
over the floor, she looked at the window at said, "Who would do such a
thing?" She started to be afraid. It could mean many things. Worst of
all things, it could mean that Emplate was in the room, just waiting to
grab the both of them.
He looked at her, for he knew what she was thinking. He just said
in a reassuring voice, "I don't think it's him, love. He would just
attack, and Soundwave wouldn't have let us move." She shuddered when he
said that. Not to long ago, the mutant Rich helped put behind bars
escaped, and almost killed them. He then said, "Besides, I don't think
it was vandals. This thing they threw is like a communications item."
She sat up in the bed and said, "Who would throw that the window,
and why?" It was a puzzle. Who would send something for communicating
with them, and was it for them.
She watched as Rich studied it for a bit. He then said, "It for
playback of a message."
She looked at him curiously and said, "Playback. You mean someone
delivered a message by throwing it through your window."
He then said, "Which means someone got the wrong room, or the
right room. Right now, there is only one way we can find out." She
watched as he examined it again, and soon found what appeared to be
buttons. He quietly said, "I think this one is play." As he pushed the
button, a holographic image formed, one that frightened her. It was
Emplate. Her natural fears started to take over and before the image
had a chance to speak, it disappeared. Rich looked at her concern and
said, "Yvette, calm down."
She started to calm down. She realized she must have tensed up.
She looked at him and said, "I'm sorry love, I didn't mean to ..." She
looked at the bed covers and that, but they were all intact. She sighed
in relief and then she heard the faint sound of fabric tearing. She
lifted the covers and looked at her current attire. That little fright
was ripping her night shirt. Everything else was intact, but her night
shirt was coming apart at the seams. She looked at Rich, who was
placing a bathrobe around his pajama's, and said, "Could you hand
me...."
He handed her her clothing as he said, "One step ahead of you, my
love. I'll step outside. You get dressed, then I'll get dressed while
you wait out in the hall. Once were ready, we need to show this message
to Sean and Emma. Emplate's up to something, and I don't think he's
here. Now stay calm." She watched as he picked up the device and left
the room.
That was one of the things she liked about Rich. He was a
gentleman. The most they ever did was kiss. In their dreams, they
kissed differently, longer and intimately, but never did they take
advantage of each other. As she got out of bed, she watched as the
night shirt she had worn, fell to the floor in shreds. She sighed.
"I've lost more night shirts like that to those nightmares." One time,
she had joined the other girls for a slumber party. She had a nightmare
that night as well, and felt embarassed. She started to get dressed and
looked at the picture Rich had on his nightstand. It was of the two at
the local mall. They had it taken in one of those photo booths. When
she finished getting dressed, she went over to the door. Just as she
was about to knock, she heard voices on the other side. The others must
have heard the glass break. She then started to worry. Even though
both she and Rich had done nothing wrong, the others might think
differently.
Rich stood outside his door waiting for Yvette to get dressed,
when he saw some the other guys running over to him. Everett was the
first to ask the question, "Rich, what was that noise." He didn't know
how everyone would react if he mentioned that Yvette came to his room
last night. Although they did nothing improper, he was never sure how
the others would react to situations like this.
Rich just stood against his door and said, "I think something
cracked the window. I'd like to talk to Sean and Emma about it."
He was caught off guard when he heard Sean saw, "Does it have
anything to do with the fact that D.O.A was spotted near the girls
dorm." He looked at Yvette's adopted father and swallowed. He wasn't
sure how Sean would take the situation.
Rich composed himself and said, "Would explain this." He held up
the communicator device that was thrown threw his window.
It was Darrett who looked at him suspeciously. "Is there a reason
that you would be receiving a message from Emplate." He didn't like the
tone of what Darrett was implying. He knew that Darrett didn't trust
neither him nor Yvette.
Rich just said, "If Emplate wanted to talk to me, he would have
kidnapped me, Darrett." Darrett just looked at him, and Rich could tell
that the boy had trouble accepting the fact that he and Yvette were on
the side of the good guys.
It appeared to be more difficult a situation to explain as all the
girls came walking into the dorm. He watched as Sean turned and said,
"Is Yvette alright?" Rich didn't know if Sean wanted to here the answer
or not.
Emma just said, "Jubilee has an idea where Yvette is, since Yvette
isn't in her room, and Emplate wasn't there." He felt at that moment
that all eyes were on him, which was true.
Sean just walked over to him and said, "Alright lad, where is
Yvette?" He could tell that Sean had a stern look in his eyes. He
couldn't blame Sean, after all, Yvette was a second daughter to Sean.
Rich didn't want to look in Sean's eyes, but he forced himself to,
and said nervously, "She had a nightmare last night, and spent the night
with me." He felt like he was about to get a severe assault of vocal
attacks.
He felt Sean put his hands on his shoulders as the Irishman looked
in his eyes and said, "Ye didn't do anything. I could tell by the way
ye answered the question. Scared, but ye told us what happened." He
almost collapse in relief, when Sean said, "Now can you shed any light
on her nightmare or why DOA was here."
He quietly said, "Not the nightmare, but I think DOA was here to
deliver a message to Yvette, the way you mentioned that DOA was spotted
at the girls dorm."
Jubilee, who he noticed was about to say something, said, "I hate
to interupt but, how bad did the nightmare scare her." He had a feeling
at what she was getting at. She then said, "Last time she had a
nightmare that we knew of was when us gals had a sleep over. She wasn't
to thrilled when she discovered she had a nightmare, more embarassed
really."
He felt everyones eyes on him, mostly Sean's as a worried father.
He then said, "The message caused that, however, I left her so she could
get dressed."
He heard Emma speak in his mind. [You mean you saw part of the
message.] He nodded and Emma continued, [You left after you realized
what happened so she could get dressed in private.] He nodded again.
She walked forward and said allowed, "I think Sean has nothing to worry
about with Yvette. Now I suggest we all get dressed and meet to find
out what Emplate wanted. When everyone left, she turned to face him
with Sean and said, "Can we talk with you two for a moment." He had a
little concern about what the questions were going to be, but he led
them into the room.
Emma entered the room with Sean after the other kids had left.
There was one thing she was wondering about when Jubilee said that
Yvette might be in Rich's room, and that was how she got in. Yvette was
sitting on the bed as they entered. She looked worried as she said,
"Hello, Ms. Frost. Morning `Father'." It was obvious to Emma that
Yvette was worried about how it appeared to them.
Emma decided to comfort the girl. "It's alright Yvette. We know
why you were here so you can calm down." She noticed that it appeared
like relief passed over the girl.
Sean then said, "We were wondering how ye got in here. There was
a bit of concern when ye weren't in yur room."
Emma noticed that the look on Yvette's face told her that she
didn't want to answer, but she did so anyhow. "Rich and I have set up a
system at our windows. If either is awake, we trigger a signal. If
not, we open the windows. We set it up just in case of this."
Emma noticed the look on Sean's face. He was a bit worried, then
he said, "I understand. Ye just feel comfortable and safer with Rich,
so ye set up this system. I have to admit it's clever. I take it only
ye two know how to work it." She watched as both Rich and Yvette
nodded. She figured that whatever this system was, they hid the
controls well enough to keep it a secret that not even D.O.A could find
the way to open the window.
Emma looked at Sean and said, "I think I'll talk with Yvette a
bit. Do you think you could wait for Rich." She watched as Sean nodded
and she lead Yvette out of the room. As they headed out of the dorm,
she looked at Yvette and said, "Do you have nightmare's like this
often?"
She noticed the girl almost started to tense up. She started to
calm down as she said, "No, not like this. It seemed real. Why do you
ask?"
Emma didn't want to say it, but she had too. "Yvette. Jubilee
told us about what happened at the slumber party. What happened that
you were embarassed?" She notice that the girl didn't want to say, but
she had to know.
The girl looked away as she said, "It was very embarassing, since,
well...." Emma could tell the girl was struggling for her words, until
she said, "You know how when I'm all tensed up, I look smaller than I
actually am."
Emma looked at the girl and said, "I don't see how..." And then
she noticed what Yvette was saying. "I see. It made you feel uneasy."
Yvette nodded. Emma put a hand on the girls shoulder and said, "It
could have been a bit of jealousy, or even shock. Remember, at times,
we still see you as Penance. Any change could be viewed as a very
different change.
She noticed as Yvette looked forward and said, "It wouldn't be so
bad if when I got scared, I didn't run the odds of shredding my clothes.
I mean, since you and `father' worked at getting most of my clothes
laced with the restraints fabric, it helps, but at night, I don't want
any reminder of that."
Emma just took Yvette's hand and said, "When you learn to control
your abilities, you won't need those reminders, ever. It's just a
precaution for now, and as you can tell, it's needed in the long run."
Yvette nodded, and then said, "I guess it could be worse."
Emma nodded in agreement and said, "Hopefully, it won't be worse."
She had doubts in her mind about that, mainly because of the contents of
that message was still unknown.
Sean waited as Rich got dressed. As he waited, he decided to ask
the question that he didn't want to ask. "Rich, were you two ever going
to tell Emma and I about this arrangement?"
He heard the lad sigh. In that sigh, Sean could tell that there
were tons of thoughts in the lad's mind. "No, we didn't think you would
approve, sir." Sean could tell my Rich's formal tone meant that Rich
wasn't speaking ot him as a teacher and friend, but as the father
figure.
Sean wanted to comfort the boy. "Lad, ye know that I trust ye
judgement. I know that ye wouldn't take advantage of Yvette." It was
the truth. "I just wish ye would tell us about what ye had up yur
sleeves. Remember, we got a shock when we found out about ye journal."
He heard another sigh escape the lad's lips. "I wish I never
started that journal at times. I once checked out a college up in this
area just to prove that I was making the stuff up. Instead I got more
questions."
Sean looked at the lad and said, "How so?" Sean had to admit, he
was a bit curious.
Rich looked at him and said, "A book was said to be owned at the
college. That was my real reason. To prove it was a fake. I only
found out that it was an altered duplicate. It made me wonder more.
Who has the original, and what did they plan to do with it?"
Sean could see the frustration in the lad's eyes. He then said,
"Rich, lad, calm down. It's nothing to worry about right now. Right
now, we need to know what Emplate be up to." He pointed to the
communications device lying on Rich's desk.
Rich looked at it and said, "Could mean anything. Right now, I
have a feeling it was meant for Yvette, and that worries me."
Sean started to get worried too. "Ye think he's giving her a
choice to return or else." He watched as the boy nodded. "If ye think
so, why is Emplate doing it this way?"
He noticed Rich shruged as he said, "Only one person can answer
that, and that's Emplate." Sean had to agree with the lad, and he could
tell that the whole idea of a message from Emplate was worrying the lad
more than he let on.
Sean picked up the unit and said, "Then we'll all take a look at
it together. Then, if we have to suspect anything, we'll all know what
to expect from him." He noticed that Rich seemed more comfortable with
that. At that, the two of them left the room.
Monet realized that she was holding everyone up. While she was
getting ready, her sister had decided to try and take charge. By the
time she regained control, her sister had already dictated her wardrobe
for the day. She had barely time to look more dignified when Emma let
lose with a psyonic summons. She ran as fast as she could to the room,
and when she entered, she definatly got attention she didn't want. It
was Jubilee who first remarked, "Monet, what happened to you? Decided
to go slumming."
Monet just glared at all who was laughing and said, "I think my
sister was in a bit of kidding mood. She wasn't much on dressing
proper." She couldn't say her real reasons, that her twin sister sided
with Emplate at any chance.
She noticed as Emma said, "I hope you plan to fix that after the
meeting." She nodded and Emma motioned her to sit down. When she
finally sat down, Emma said, "Now, we seem to have been visited by
D.O.A." Monet knew that much. Then Emma said, "And it appears that he
came not to attack, but deliver a message. So far the contents of the
message are unknown."
Right then, Monet heard her sister pipe up in her mind. [Marius
must want Penny to come back to him, and bring Richard with her.]
She almost yelled aloud to her sister when she noticed that
Richard was going to press a button on the device. Instantly, an image
formed into that of Emplate. It appeared to look straight at Yvette as
it said, "Hello Yvette. I hope that you receive this message and hear
it out, for it is in your best intrests. I don't know if you remember
or not, but a while ago, I came to your school with a bunch of my
Hellions, amongst them was one Gayle Edgerton." She noticed Jono
appeared to take notice in the message. Soon, her brother's image spoke
again. "I still have a small grip on her, but now she has been shot.
Luckily, she isn't dead, but her attacker was Hunter."
Monet heard a slight gasp and soft "Oh no." She noticed that
Yvette started to tense up. She watched as Rich held her, but she heard
her mutter, "It's coming true." It appeared as if Rich wasn't there at
all.
The image then continued, "I see you remember him, as you most
likely remember his threat. I know he's going to visit you next. I
figure that right about now you fear for your life, so I extend to you
the offer of returning to me. He is not as confident yet to challenge
me, but he will not attack you if you are with me, and also know that I
am doing this out of kindness, for I offer the same protection to
Richard. I will allow you full choice on what happens to him. I will
give you one hour after you see this recording, upon which, Elane will
come to hear your response. She has been ordered not to attack. In one
hour.." and the image ended. Monet noticed that Yvette was more scared
than ever.
She then noticed Yvette was crying. She was first to ask the one
question that was on everyone's mind, "Who is Hunter?"
She noticed as Yvette said between sobs, "He's just what he calls
himself. He's a hunter. He hunts down Emplate's enthralled, feasts on
them, kills them. He used to be one like them, but he broke free. He
doesn't believe that if you break free, you're free. He believes death
is the only escape. He won't be happy until he has killed all the
Emplate's and he includes me in that." She started to cry again, and
Monet watched as Rich held her.
Monet watched as Rich looked around an with a realization in his
eyes. "She said she had a nightmare last night. This must have been
it."
In her mind, Monet heard Claudette say, [Aww, poor baby. Maybe I
should tell our brother that she wants to come back.] Again Monet
wanted to snap back at Claudette, but she knew an outburst would cause
too many questions.
Soon enough, she heard Jono ask, {I don't like the sound of this.
I mean, how does this guy even know where to look for you. And how did
he know where to find Gayle?}
In between sobs, Monet listened as Yvette said, "He's still linked
to Emplate. He knows what Emplate knows. Emplate however vaguely know
what he knows. Emplate won't attack him, not unless he attacks him
first."
Monet noticed as Rich looked at Yvette intently and said, "Like
some of the stories about Lycanthropes?" She noticed as Yvette nodded
to what Rich said.
Sean then asked the question that she was pondering. "Lad, why
did ye just liken Emplate to a Werewolf? He's more like a vampire."
Rich turned to look at them all and said, "In some stories,
werewolves and such are pack creatures, with one Alpha wolf and the rest
are Beta. An Alpha cannot attack a Beta, unless the Beta attacks it
first. If an Alpha harms a Beta, it harms itself, and breaks the
control link. However, a Beta can attack a Beta." Monet noticed as
Rich turned to face Yvette again and looked at her. "You had been a
Beta Emplate."
Yvette nodded, and Monet heard a gasp from everyone. "I had just
been abducted from my home. He had killed my parents. I was taken to
his hideaway, and he told me that if I didn't want to be his meal, I had
to submit to him. I had been strong willed, so it would take a while to
make me fully into an Emplate. I was one of his Enthralled, but not
completely Entralled. I was still linked to him, but he was determine
to keep me, either as a food source, or a slave. I had become a
reluctant enforcer. I had to protect him, and keep others inline. I
had been attacked many times by some of the others, and this made
Emplate want me more as a food source."
Monet noticed that Jubilee asked the next question, "What happened
that forced you into that?"
Yvette just said, "I caught Hunter trying to leave. I had been
ordered to prevent that, but he left. I couldn't bring myself to kill
him. I was put in the restraints that day, and Emplate started to feast
on me, everyday stripping away a little bit of my free will. Until
Gateway appeared and rescued me, I was almost convinced my only purpose
was to feed Emplate until he killed me, and that it was my punishment."
She started sobbing and collapsed into Rich's arms.
Monet heard Claudette finally say, [It will be worse when you
return to him. I'll tell him to make it worse.] Her sister was really
starting to get bother some. She tried to mentally surpress her
sister's mind, but Claudette started to fight back.
As she mentally struggled to surpress Claudette, she heard Darrett
say, "You mean you willing wanted to be an Emplate. I should have
know."
Sean then said, "I don't think it's so farfetched, lad. I think
you did as an Emplate suggested just to save yur own life, and millions
others." She saw the dumb struck look on Darrett's face.
"That was different. I didn't have an option. I was caught by
the most powerful Emplates."
Rich looked at him this time, and Monet heard him exclaim. "Tell
me, Darrett. If you had a chance to preserve your life, would you jump
at it, especially if you were scared to death, scared to death of
dying." Monet saw Darrett clam up. The boy had been afraid of dying.
He had seen his own mother die. This thought distracted her from
Claudette's assault for control. As Claudette pulled her in to their
mind. She literally was fighting to stay in control of her mind, and
now was losing.
Yvette just sat there, with everyone. She had buried her head in
Rich's chest as she cried. She knew Rich was holding her. He was
worried about her, but she was more worried about everyone here. Hunter
would see all who was with her as her victims, maybe slaves. He'd kill
them all. She sobbed a bit more as she thought about what he might do
to Rich. No, she couldn't let any of that happen, not to her friends
and family. She knew what she had to do. She had to turn herself over
to Emplate. She looked up and saw a stern look in her lover's eyes.
Before she could say anything, he said, "I won't let you do that
Yvette."
She gasp. Before she could ask her question on how he knew, she
heard Mondo say, "Won't let her do what?"
He looked at her and said, "I won't let her turn herself over to
Emplate. She was just thinking about it." She heard everyone gasp,
except for Monet. She noticed the Monet had a blank stare on her face,
another Autistic episode.
She heard her adopted father say, "Yvette, he's joking, right. Ye
wouldn't do that, would ye?"
She sighed and said, "I don't want you all to get killed because
of me." It was true. She didn't want them all to get killed because of
her. "Hunter won't think your free of Emplate's power. He'll kill you
first. I don't know how, but he will."
Everett just looked at her and said, "Yvette, what's his ability?
If we know that, we can stop him. You don't have to turn yourself over
to Emplate."
Yvette shook her head and said, "I don't know. All the time I had
encountered him, I never found out what his abilities. All I knew is
that he lived up to the name Hunter." It scared her to think about
Hunter. In fact, until now, she never thought about the risk to her
life. Rich arrived into her and she was happy since then. Now, it was
going to end.
She saw Jubilee looking at the clock and said, "Well, we have
about 30 minutes now until Aura arrives. We gotta make sure she doesn't
take Penny, and Rich, with her."
Yvette looked in shock. Why were they doing this? She started to
object when Rich said, "If Monet's out of her trance, she can tell Aura
off. The rest of us can come up with a game plan to stop this Hunter."
Yvette looked at him and started to say, "But love, I don't want
to see you hurt. I..."
Rich put a finger up to her mouth and she stopped talking. He
then said, "Not to long ago, I was in the same situation. I didn't flee
then. Are you going to now?"
She then realized what he meant. Back when Soundwave attacked, he
was about to leave the school, but he didn't. Now he wanted her to
stay, because they would protect her, like they did with him. She
slowly came to terms that what she was going to do would have been the
biggest mistake in her life. She smiled at him and said, "Alright, I'll
stay." She held him close to her and prayed that she wasn't being
foolish.
It had been almost 50 minutes after the message stopped. Soon
Elane would be at the school. This unnerved Rich a lot. He honestly
didn't think that she would obey Emplate about not hurting them. Rich
was still holding Yvette as she had been holding him. This Hunter
character might be more than they can handle, but they still had to try.
The one person most important to him was in terrible danger. Soon, he
noticed Monet was blinking her eyes. She was finally coming out of her
episode. It was times like these that they didn't need for this to
happen. He finally said aloud, "She's coming out of it."
He heard Jubilee say, "It's about time. She picks the worse times
for these spells." He had to admit that they sometimes appeared when
they least needed them to appear.
He sat quietly with Yvette as Sean said, "Monet, we need ye to
handle the talk with Aura. Be careful, cause she might have a few
tricks up her sleeve."
Rich nodded and said, "I don't trust her, but I don't want to give
her the opportunity to hurt either Yvette or myself. She's got a few
loose screws, and out of all of us, you might be able to handle her
best."
He noticed something in the way Monet responded. "Don't worry.
If she tries anything, I won't let her succeed." It wasn't her usual
tone. It sounded different, but with a familiar type of tone to it. He
watched as she left the room. He then noticed something at how she
acted in her walk.
Before he could put his finger on it, he heard Sean say. "Alright
Rich, Yvette, I want ye both to go down into the underground area, just
in case anything may happen. Mondo, Daria, Everett and I will go with
ye. I want ye to start thinking of possible plans of defense.
Something that won't cost us a life." He nodded and started down the
path to the underground portion of the school. The place where Emma had
set up a mutant training facility many years before.
He still had Yvette by his side, when she said in their mental
link {My love. Were you scanning my mind earlier?}
He knew what she was talking about, but his answer would surprise
her. {No, my love, I wasn't.}
He glanced to see the look of shock on her face as she said, {How
did you know then?}
He smiled and said {Billy Joel said it best. There are no words
to say it. I could just tell. I wasn't watching your thoughts. I
wasn't listening to them. I just knew. Love does that to you.} He
tightened his hand around her's and smiled. {You don't have to scan a
mind to know what they are thinking.}
She smiled and squeezed his hand in return. {I just didn't want
to see anyone get hurt, even if it meant me going back to Emplate. I
wouldn't want you to join me in that fate. I can't let you join me in
that.}
He looked at her, puzzled by that. She knew he wouldn't let her
do that alone, even if she ran away to do so, she knew he would not let
her do that alone. {Yvette, you know that if you went, I would go to
protect you, as best I could.}
He watched as just said, {No. I can't let you do that. I can't
say why right now, but I can't let you do that.}
This shocked him. He looked at her and said, {Are you hiding
something from me?}
He didn't have time for a responce as Sean said, "Alright, here we
are, now let's start planning." He descided that he could wait to find
out her reasons. Normally, Yvette never kept a secret from him, but now
she was. It didn't make sense, but there was no time to debate it now.
Elane Bonstein stood right inside the main hall of the school.
She was getting impatient. She swore to obey her lovers orders not to
hurt either Yvette or Rich, and she hated that idea. She hoped that
they would show up, just so she could taunt them and maybe startle them.
Besides, if she attacked them, and they attacked her, she could say it
was self defense. Her thought was cut short when she heard someone say,
"I have a message to give you." She turned to see Emplate's sister,
Monet walking out of one of the doors. However, the attire looked
nothing like how Emplate described as his sister's style.
She looked at this definately different Monet and said, "Alright,
where is Richard and Yvette?" She watched as the figure just moved
closer and closer to her. The girl wasn't scared of her, nor was she
threatening her. However, there was a different aura about the girl.
Monet just responded, "They are staying, however, I'd like to make
you an offer."
Elane took a step back, mainly in shock. She shook her head and
said, "What makes you think Emplate would accept an offer from you?"
There was a blur of movement, and she was on her back.
The figure looked down at her and said, "Tell my brother, that we
will manage to set up Hunter in a place where he can finish him off. If
you need proof of this, tell him that Claudette said so."
Elane blinked and then said, "Claudette, as in his favorite
sibling." The girl nodded and she started to understand. She ran out
of the building, and hurried back to the lighthouse. She need to tell
her lover this. It might be a good thing that she didn't attack.
Darrett sat patiently as he waited. He was with the others as
they waited for Monet to return. He had watched as the two members of
Generation X that he knew in his timeline would be his parents left to
protect Yvette. Deep down, he hoped that something would happen and the
two would start to date. He felt threatened that they didn't date. He
felt that he wouldn't exist, but he remembered from the time he spent
with the X-Men, that Bishop was displaced out of time. It was as if the
time changes didn't affect him. Would that be the same for him? He was
in the middle of this thought when Emma said to him, "Darrett, you don't
talk much about your timeline. Is there anything you can tell us?"
He looked at her, puzzled that she would ask such a question. He
finally said, "I don't think you would want to hear it." It was true.
He looked at each member, realizing that he could tell them, in some
terms, how each died. It's not a topic one would want to hear.
Emma looked straight at him and said, "Maybe, but I do wonder what
happened in your timeline. All we know is that Richard and Yvette were
Emplates in your timeline. One's that did what many mutant villians
dream of in our timeline."
He then heard Jubilee say, "Yea. I mean, how could any of the X
Groups allow that to happen, and how come we couldn't stop them."
He didn't want to tell them. He felt like he couldn't, not
knowing how everyone would react. He then heard Paige say, "I mean, if
they went up against us, they couldn't have defeated us."
He sighed. They weren't going to let him stay quiet. He then
said, "I didn't want to say anything, but you've made me. They were
crafty. They singled every member out. Divided the group, or let it be
divided. The first one fell after they became Emplates. Enraged at the
situation, they killed all of Emplate's followers, and they attacked the
one they felt betrayed them."
He heard Jono say {Who was that?} It was a valid question. He
just wasn't sure how to answer it.
He was thankful when he saw Monet enter the room. She always seem
dignified, but today you would never have been able to tell that.
However, he did find her outfit appealing. She just said, "Well, Elane
has left, and she didn't look to thrilled. I think she would have
preferred hurting both Rich and Yvette." From what he had seen from the
museum, that was an understatement.
He watched as Emma stood as she said, "Alright, let's all head
down to where the others are. Monet, I would like you to get into
something more appropriate." He noticed as Monet seemed to frown.
Maybe she was upset that she was getting blamed for what her sister made
her wear. He followed the others as they headed in the direction of
where the others went, but he noticed that Monet went off in the
direction of the dorms. As he watched, he saw her turn and look at him.
He was shocked as she winked at him. Did she like him? He continued
down the hall, trying to sort it all out. What he knew about her here,
and the very little he had been told by his mother.
Claudette reveled at the fact that she was in control of the joint
body. After winking at Darrett, she listened in delight as she heard
Monet scream [What are you doing? You made a deal a with Aura. What
are you up to?]
Claudette continued walking to the room and said, "You know, that
Darrett boy is quite handsome. I don't think you'd mind if I spent some
time with him." She let a small smile cross her face.
Almost instantanoiusly, Monet shouted at her. [No, you don't
Claudette. I won't let you do that. I know you only care about helping
Marius.] Her sister didn't know her too well, even though they were
twins.
"Are you kidding? Marius is just part of the equation. With his
studies of the black arts, having him as part of us would make us that
supreme magical entity again. If father and his two friends hadn't
split us up, we would have still been." She laughed at the thought of
the meaning of her success.
She then heard Monet say the one thing she knew might be a
problem. [Marius would never let you try that again.] She was right
about that. Claudette had never worked that part out, but now all she
had to do was help Marius. Maybe somehow, she could trick him again.
Maybe her little plan would work in that way.
As they approached the room they occupied, she openned the door
and said, "Alright now sis, what is it you like to wear. Something
boring, right." She felt her sister try to regain control of the joint
body, and she surpressed her. "Now, now, Monet. I'm not through yet.
You'll just have to stay contained for just a while longer." She
laughed aloud as she put together a typical Monet outfit. So far, no
one was the wiser to her little trick.
Jubilee listened to all the idea's that everyone was pitching.
They were trying to come up with the best idea on stopping this Hunter
character. The thing that hurt most of their ideas was the fact that
they didn't know word one about Hunter. Not even Darrett, a boy from a
world almost ruled by Emplates, had no clue about it. Finally, she
heard Paige say, "Why don't we have Ev and Rich try and use his
abilities against him?"
Jubilee looked at Ev and then at Rich and said, "I think that
might work." She truely didn't like the idea of Ev going to fight with
someone dangerous, but his ability would allow them to find out a little
about Hunter.
She then heard Rich say something that struck her. "Good plan,
but how likely do you think I'm going to be to leave Yvette's side right
now?" He was right. Deep down, Jubilee knew that he wouldn't leave
Penny's side. Rich would stay to defend her, if it even meant his
death.
She then heard Everett said, "I think it's a good plan. We can
find out his abilities, and maybe some of the rest of us can hold him
back."
Rich then said, "Only if you don't get close to him Ev. If I
remember right, you, for a short time, were an Emplate. That puts you
on Hunter's hit list." Jubilee felt her heart sink. Rich was right.
That was right before Onslaught. Then Rich said, "And if I have I wild
guess, Hunter might think Yvette might have seduced me. I don't know,
but it would be a good guess."
She heard Sean sigh and say, "The lad's right. He might try to
kill all of us just for trying to protect Yvette, but I think that gives
us all the more reason to stop him."
Jubilee was about to say something when Monet came in and said,
"Maybe we can stop his assult before he get's too close, but I think the
only way to find out his power is to make him think he's got close."
Jubilee almost started to fume at that. She had a feeling what
Monet was suggesting. "Are you saying that we use Penny as bait? No
way." She heard everyone agreeing with her.
Jubilee was surprised when Monet just glared at her and said, "No,
we project an image of her onto something. I doubt this Hunter has my
brother's gift of knowledge on sight. Maybe we can fool him just long
enough to get an upper hand."
Jubilee looked at Monet in shock, partially from the glare she had
received. Something was definately different with Monet. This wasn't
the usual, I know what I have planned glare. This was a `Don't mess
with me' glare. She had seen Wolvie use it a few times. This wasn't
the same Monet they dealt with daily. Something was very different.
She then said, "Ok, that makes sense, but what do we do when we find
out."
Monet smiled and said, "We'll have to plan on our feet then, but
we can't let this Hunter person get the upper hand. If he succeeds, we
might lose two teammates, maybe more. He might just try to eliminate
the whole school."
Jubilee had to agree with that reasoning, but something really
bothered her about Monet. It was the small things. Something one
wouldn't normally notice, unless a fake was standing there. She started
wondering if it was Monet or Claudette in control. Then, she remembered
that Monet said that Claudette was a symbiotic mutant. She needed Monet
to survive. It couldn't be that. She was musing on this when Emma
said, "That sounds like the best idea we've had so far. We just have to
set up a target to catch his attention. One I can mask in his mind."
Sean then said, "Maybe we can use one of the practice droids. We
might be able to even set it up to look like Yvette." Jubilee then
noticed that for the first time since they entered the room, her
surrogate `sister' had a glimmer of hope in her eyes.
***************************************************
He walked through the streets of the small town, careful not to
let anyone see his hands. Although he wore gloves, he always felt that
people could still see his curse. He cursed the day he had met with
Emplate. He cursed even accepting the offer of power. Although many
searched for the same power that Emplate seeked, he was only concerned
with stopping the mutant factor. The natural mutant vampire that
Emplate was, and what Emplate had turned him into. Now he was looking
for the reluctant enforcer. Something told him Yvette was in this small
town. He came to a small cafe and entered it. He noticed that most of
the people were focusing on a TV in the corner. He heard a waitress
say, "Just sit down, and someone will be with you in a moment."
He didn't feel like sitting. He wanted to get his task done, so
he could finally be at peace. He was focused on the thought when he
heard a voice on the TV say, "For 15 nights, the eyes of America
watched, as common everyday people tried to win the biggest prize in the
history in television. Many tried, few failed, but more reached a
higher goal." A picture of a man with red beard appeared as the TV
said, "You've just won $125,000" The man was in exstacy. If it where
him, he would not be happy. Then the image changed back to the New York
Skyline, "And then, came a lone boy from Pennsylvania. As the country
watched, the most antisipated moment in Television history approached."
The image changed, and he saw the image of a boy in his early 20's
on the screen. The boy just said, "B for my final answer." He noticed
that the boy seemed to look ill. He wondered if he, too, was a victim
of Emplates.
He heard one of the boys in the place say, "Hey, Dorian, isn't
that that Richard Cale dude from the school?" This sounded interesting.
The other said, "Yea, I think he said that girl he's dating was in
the audience that night, you remember, the redhead closer to our age.
Can't believe the father allows it?" This caught his attention even
more.
The TV then said, "at the final question, the magical moment
turned to tragedy as Richard Cale fell ill right on stage." He quickly
glanced back at the TV and saw three people help get Richard out of the
studio. He could tell just from a periferal glance who he was looking
at. It was Yvette Gyorgi, the next name on his list.
He turned and said to the two boys talking, "Excuse me, you know
that boy that was on there?"
The one looked at him, puzzled, and said, "Ran into him a few
times at the comic shop. Helped me out when I couldn't pay for mine.
He's a nice guy, if not a little weird. He reads some strange stuff."
"And the girl, what's her name?"
The other boy just responded, "I think she said it was Yvette
Cassidy, but I'm not sure. She said her father was the head of the
school." He now had an idea of what was happening. She must have
realized that the boy on the show was a mutant, and was hiding what she
was from this boy, or maybe she had seduced him. If it was the later,
the boy had to die, but that was secondary. He had to kill her, so he
could bring himself closer to peace.
He looked again at the two boys and asked his last question of
them. "Which direction is this school from here?" The one boy pointed
in a direction. That was all he needed. He didn't even wait for
directions. He just ran out the door of the cafe and headed in the
direction the boy pointed out. With luck, he would catch her by
surprice. His own mutant gifts would be all he needed to stop her long
enough to kill her.
***************************************************
Yvette sat in the room that was in the inner parts of the
underground center of the school. She had many thoughts running through
her mind about what was about to happen. She wondered how her friends
would be able to stop Hunter. They did not know about his
determination. They didn't know what lengths that he would go to to do
what he had to do. She wondered how he would treat her adopted father.
She didn't want to think of what horrible things he would do. She then
thought of the one she loved, her boyfriend, Richard Cale. She knew so
much about him, yet she knew that he didn't know that much about
himself. She worried about what Hunter would do to him. Her mind was
lingering on this though when she heard in her mind, {Yvette, you know
that I put your safety above my own. I will not let that maniac hurt
you, let alone kill you.}
This filled her with some comfort, but she still felt scared.
{Rich, I worry about you alot. You know that I care for you, and I
don't want to see you hurt.} She saw him look in her eyes and she saw
it right there. How deep his love was for her. She smiled and said, {I
know. You mean the same to me.}
He nodded and said, {Together.} He had extended his hand to her.
She nodded and responded, {Together, forever and always.} It
brought her great comfort to know that Rich would protect her. She had
never thought that they would have to face such a menace.
She then heard her father say, "Listen you, two. Right now I'd
rather here that you two are talking aloud instead of the mental talk
that ye are both using."
She nodded and said, "Alright, father."
She watched as Rich nodded as well and said, "Yes sir, Banshee."
She knew that Rich took this very serious now. He was using codenames.
She knew that when Rich took something very serious like this, he would
start using codenames. She just sat and watched as he walked over to
talk to her adopted father.
Sean watched as Rich stepped away from Yvette for a moment. He
could tell that Rich was worried about something. When the boy was
close enough, he said softly, "What's wrong, lad?"
He noticed that Rich's demenior was different. He realized it
when he use his codename. He listened as Rich quietly said, "I have an
uneasy feeling about today."
Sean didn't like the sound of that. It was bad enough having
Yvette scared, but if she knew this, it would send her into a state
similar to before Rich arrived at the school. Time and time again, Sean
had thanked the heavens that Rich was sent to the school. He softly
said to his student, "What is it, lad?"
He listened as Rich said, "I think something is not right with M.
She been acting odd for most of the day, since the message was dropped
off. I mean, her actions and behavior is not typical for her."
Sean noticed the worry in the lad's eyes. He cautiously said,
"Are you sure about that, lad? I don't want any snap judgements being
made."
The lad shook his head but said, "Not totally, but just look at
her actions today. She really hasn't been acting the same since the
message."
Sean eyed him suspiciously and said, "Rich, ye know that Monet
holds that body with her sister, and she said her sister decided to plan
her wardrobe. Do ye think that we are dealing with Claudette?" Sean
watched as Rich nodded his head. Sean knew he had to comfort the lad,
because if this got out of hand now, it might just make things go wrong.
"Rich, ye can't jump to the wrong conclusions. Right now, we just have
to hope that Monet is in control, and if not, that Claudette is on our
side. I honestly think that neither Monet, or Claudette, would be
helping Emplate."
Sean could see the worry on the lad's face as he said, "I hope
not, sir. I really hope not." This was an obvious concern for Rich.
Sean knew the lad cared more for Yvette than he cared about his own
life.
Sean wanted to walk over and talk to his adopted daughter, but the
alarms went off. He noticed Yvette tensed up at the sound, as well as
Rich. He turned to see that the perimeter had been breached. Hunter
was here. He hit the communicator and said, "Emma, are ye ready?"
There was a crackle over the communicator as she said, "Darrett,
Mondo and I are just finishing up. Tell the other kids to get to their
stations. I can only pull this once."
He broadcasted over all the communicators the message. "Alright
kids, we got little time to take care of our visitor, so be on the
ready. Emma will let us all know about his ability. Just be careful,
and I'm making this double for you, Synch." He turned off the
communicator, and turned to see Richard facing the door, claws at the
ready. Sean then said, "That goes quadruple for you, Skitz. Remember,
ye could also be on this hunter's list, especially if he doesn't
understand your power." The boy silently nodded, but Sean figured that
right then, Rich was assuring Yvette that he would keep her safe, no
matter what.
Emma ran into the confines of a dark room after Darrett and Mondo
left. What they had pieced together was almost human looking. She
waited for Hunter to arrive. She hoped that it would be easy to mask
the image of Penance onto the object constructed. She also hoped that
Hunter would not enter through the room she was hiding in. She was
taking the biggest risk right now, and she only got one shot to get it
right. As she waited, she hoped that she could hear him move before she
saw him move. Soon enough, there was a sound, and she sent the image
out. Soon enough, she heard a male voice say, "It has been a long time,
Yvette Gyorgi, and we are face to face again. I hope you have some
fitting last words." She glanced in the room to see the man just facing
the dummy. He hadn't realized it yet. Soon enough, she saw his powers
go into full force, as restraints similar to what Penance had warn shot
out all over, and converged on the dummy. He could create restraints,
but more happened. They seemed to be positioning the dummy, and then it
happen. One knocked the head off, and the illusion was blown. The
mutant yelled in outrage and looked in her general direction. She
reacted in fear and moved toward the secret panel in the room. Then she
had known she was spotted as she heard him yell, "YOU."
As she approached the panel she started to say psyonicly to
everyone, [Be careful, he can create restraints or traps of somekind.
He's also....] She felt a searing pain in her mind as she collapsed to
the floor, face first. Soon she felt what seemed to be restraints start
to entangle her, the only thing was, she couldn't see them.
She went to struggle for freedom when she heard Hunter say, "You
aren't her, but you're fortunate. You don't reek with the curse. I
wouldn't try to struggle. As you can guess, my abilities are to
restrain and subdue my advisaries. If you were one like me, I'd kill
you in an instant, but I warn you not to move, or even use your psychic
abilities. You are restrained in psionic bonds, which dampen your
abilities, and also bind you in such a way that every move you make
tightens them and crushes you. You see, the less you do, the longer you
live. You'll be free if one of two things occur. By the way, you can
speak, just don't yell." She noticed a smile on his face.
Emma was scared. She didn't like the idea of being powerless, but
the odds were in his favor, for now. She asked him the question he was
waiting for. "What two things are those that can occur?"
He looked at her and smiled. "Either I kill Yvette, or I get
killed or knocked unconscious. I think you better hope I kill her
quickly." He started to leave the room. She watched as he turned to
look at her. He then said, "You have been lucky, not to have been
cursed. She could have easily cursed you. I just hope that this Cale
person is as fortunate as you."
As he left, she mumbled under her breath, "With your attitude, I'd
bet you are likely to fail." She sighed and started wondering how she
could get out of this mess without getting killed in the process.
Rich heard Emma get cut off in his mind. The lessons both he and
Yvette were getting in using their psychic link was helpful, but now he
wished he didn't have that ability. He took a glance at his love, and
saw her shaking in fear. He then turned to Sean and said, "I didn't
like the sound of that."
He watched as his teacher looked at him and said, "Let me check
and see if I can find her or the blighter." Rich watched the screen
come to life as images from all over the school ground danced over it.
Soon, Sean stopped it on one image and Rich saw why. "Look's like our
visitor is making his way to one of the entrances to where we are at. I
hope the others stop him."
Rich looked over at Yvette. She had tensed up a bit, and was
curled in a ball. She was petrified. He walked over to her side and
tensed up. It was almost the safest way to hold her. He put an arm
around her and said, {It will be alright. We'll stop him.}
She looked at him and said, {Are you sure? He's already caught
Emma. She might be dead.}
He didn't want to say that she was right, but Sean calmed her
fears down abit when he said, "I just found Emma. She doesn't appear to
be able to move. It's almost like she's been restrained."
Rich looked over at Sean and said, "I-i-is t-t-that t-t-the c-c
case?" He was surprise at how his words came out. He was scared as
well, and he noticed how tense he had become to comfort Yvette. He
didn't untense once as he said his next statement with difficulty. "I-
i-is i-i-it p-p-possible t-t-that H-h-hunter's a-a-abilities ar-r-re t-
t-to re-e-estrain m-m-mutants, B-B-Banshee?"
He saw the concern on Sean's face as he turned and said into the
com unit, "Listen up everyone, we have an idea on what Hunter does. He
seems to have the ability to disarm and capture a person. He can
generate restraints to do this, so be careful." He watched as Sean came
over to them and said, "Do ye think the both of ye will be alright? I
think the others are going to need my help out there."
He was about to say yes when Yvette held him tighter and said
{Don't let him leave. I'm scared.} He had never seen nor heard Yvette
so scared. He held her in response and tried to sooth her nerves.
Eventually, he said to her. {He might do more good out there than
in here. Besides, I will not let any harm come to you.} He noticed
that she looked him right in the eyes. He watched as a smile crossed
her face. He took that as a sign that she agreed, albeit a bit
reluctantly. He turned to Sean and said, "I think that would be a good
idea. I can protect her." He also noticed that her faith in him helped
to calm him down.
He watched as Sean headed for the door and then turned. "I'll
send M down to help. Last thing I want to happen is to find both you
and Penance dead. You understand me on that, Skitz." He nodded, and
his teacher left the room.
As Sean left, he felt Yvette put her arms around him. {I hope
everything goes alright. I'm terribly frightened.} Her turned and held
her. He understood her fears. Now he was going to have to find a way
to help her. He understood the perdicament, being that he was in the
same one month earlier.
As he held her, he said, "I'm going to protect you, my love. No
matter what." He had to do the hardest thing at this point, for him to
do. He had thought this through as he made his choice. In the time she
needed him there the most, he had to prepare for the attack the best way
possible.
Everett stayed close to Jubilee as they headed down the corridor.
Knowing what they knew now, he knew that they had to be extra cautious.
He knew that Paige and Jono were with them. Sean had suggest that
everyone work in groups. As they continued down the corridor, he heard
Jubilee say, "I don't know if this is the worse we have faced yet."
He heard Paige say, "Ah hear you on that. We have faced threats
like Emplate, Omega Red, and some of the enimies Rich has made."
He then heard Jono say, {Like Soundwave and Aura. Those two had
to be the worse.}
He couldn't help but to interject as he said, "What about
Juggernaut? You don't think he's the thoughest, Chamber?"
He noticed his friend think about it for a moment and say, {Maybe,
but considering what Soundwave did to some of us, we haven't dealt with
anything that powerful.}
Everett then heard Jubilee say, "Speak for yourself." Everett
looked at her and realized what she meant. She had fought many battles
with the X-Men, and with Wolverine. He knew what she had dealt with,
and saw the fear as she thought of all those enemies who came to take
vengence on her.
He was lost on that thought when Paige said, "I think I heard
something in here." He watched as Paige entered the room. They slowly
moved and searched the room, not knowing where Hunter was. As they
worked their way around, Everett kept his aura out to find Hunter, but
he couldn't. He then had a very grim thought. What if this was a trap
to catch all of them, to get them out of the way of his main goal. He
was about to say that they should get out when Paige yelled, "Oh my God,
My hand's are stuck."
He saw Jubilee run over to her and then said to him, "She's right,
Synch. Husk's hands are stuck right on the desk. We're in a trap." He
watched as looked and yelled, "Synch, the door."
Everett turned just in time to see the door close. He caught the
glimpse of a figure there. It had to be Hunter. He shouted, "Chamber,
can you blast the door?" He turned to see Jono kneeling on the floor,
weakened. Another part of the trap. Everett tried to get in synch with
Jono, but he couldn't. He couldn't synch up with any of them.
He watched as Jubilee jumped over the desk and shouted, "I'll get
the door open." Everett realized what she was going to try. Then
realized what might happen as he grabbed her hands. "Ev, what are you
doing?"
He just looked at her and said, "What do you think will happen?
We got suckered into this trap. Look at Jono and Paige. I can't use my
ability. What do you think will happen when you go to use yours."
Soon a voice seemed to be resounding in the room. "Miss Lee, if
you went to blast that door, you'd boil yourself alive." He saw the
startled look on her face as she went pale in fright. The voice
continued, "And Mr. Starsmore is in no threat, as long as he doesn't try
to speak or anything else. Also, I wouldn't want you to try and free
Miss Guthrie. You try and husk her free, you will only end up severing
her arms. Plus, I negated your abilities, Mr. Thomas, so that you could
not detect that this was a trap until it was too late. Now just stay
quiet. You'll be free when I have done my task."
Everett held Jubilee and said, "I hope he doesn't succeed."
Jubilee looked at him, with a little defeat in her eyes. He knew how
she was feeling, totally helpless. They had to hope that someone would
help them, and soon.
Angelo watched the hall warrily. It was like he was back in the
hood, knowing that around the corner could be someone from the rival
gang. With him were Daria, Mondo, and Darrett. They were all concerned
about the same thing, where Hunter was. As they continued down the
hall, he heard Darrett say, "I wonder if Hunter was wiped out before the
wars started."
Angelo turned to face the boy from the future. It was known that
Darrett lived in an era that was plaqued by a war between Emplate's, and
in that future, Skitz and Penance were the worse. He calmly said, "What
makes you say that?"
Darrett just looked at him and said, "This is the first I've heard
of him. Maybe he was wiped out by some of the Emplate's that, well, you
know." Angelo knew that the kid was starting to get uneasy about
talking about his timeline. Angelo knew why he didn't want to mention
anything about.
Angelo just said, "I understand. I don't like talking about my
past either. But I think I can understand your fear abit. I saw Skitz
lose his temper once. It wasn't pretty."
Darrett looked at him and just said, "What happened?" The boy was
intregued.
Angelo really didn't want to tell Darrett what happened, but he
did bring the topic up. He just said, "Banshee's evil cousin had shown
up. Mondo, Chamber, Skitz, Penance and I as well as Banshee, were the
only one's on campus. Skitz had come across Banshee's cousin by chance,
and found a fake Mondo had taken the place of the real one." He heard
Daria gasp. She hadn't heard the story. Angelo then said, "When we all
faced off against Black Tom, he struck Penance, and Skitz went
ballistic. He was afraid that Black Tom had seriously injured her."
He heard Darrett make a disapproving sound as he said, "I knew
that he had a vile streak in him."
Angelo then said to the boy, "You know those walks he takes
everyday." When the boy nodded, Angelo said, "He's walking to the site.
He put part of Tom's face there, sort of a final resting place. He
keeps doing it, hoping it will ease the guilt he feels. It wasn't like
he could send someone back to stop him from doing the killing."
He noticed as Darrett just looked off into the distance. "That's
why I was sent back. In my time, I was cornered by Skitz and Penance,
but they sent me back in time, to stop the horror."
Angelo looked at Darrett and said, "Sounds like something Rich
would do."
He was about to say another word when he heard a scream behind
him. He spun to see Daria stuck to the ceiling. As he looked up, she
just shouted, "Someone, get me down. This is just like when Soundwave
attacked." Angelo had an idea what was happening. It must be one of
Hunter's traps.
He watched as Mondo started to reach up to grab for Daria. "It
will be alright. I'll get you down." He noticed that Mondo started to
get a very perplexed look on his face, and Angelo had a grim feeling on
what was happening. He watched as Mondo tried to move, only to see his
gentle friend's feet were stuck fast to the floor.
Angelo realized that they were going to be made immoble. He
wasn't about to let that happen to him, and his friends. Then he
wondered how he was suppose to help. He stood there helpless to decide.
He didn't know what action was anticipated. He finally decided. He
looked at Darrett and said, "Darrett, try and get Banshee here, quick.
I'm goning to try and stop this Hunter guy."
As he went to leave, he heard Darrett say, "Skin, you don't have
far to go." He looked striaght ahead as the figure just stood at the
end of the hall. He had a bad feeling in his gut about this, and just
started to move when he felt it. He looked to his hands only to see
them entirely stretching. He was literally tieing himself up.
He started to shout, "Darrett..." and then he saw it. Darrett had
already conjured someone up, who looked like Henry Stauf from the 7th
guest, except that Henry had an uncontrolled look on his face, almost as
if he didn't want to do what he was doing, which was pummeling Darrett.
Soon the boy fell into unconsciousness as the figure disappeared. He
looked back at Hunter and noticed the blank look on his face. Angelo
just looked at him and said, "Why are you doing this?"
The figure just plainly said, "To save you all. Yvette is a
menace, a curse, and you don't even know it. I just hope I'm not too
late to save this Richard Cale fellow." Angelo then heard the loud
sound, which meant Banshee was coming, but what would this Hunter fellow
do to Sean.
He turned and listened. He heard the howling sound as it
approached. It had to be another of the misguided people here who
though Yvette wasn't a danger. He must have been coming from the
direction that Yvette was in. As he listened, he learned that this
mutant relied on sound. He also knew that sound could not travel with
no air. He looked and saw the hall that the mutant was coming from. He
focused on it, and soon he felt the woosh of air vacating the hall. He
watched as the figure came flying into that part of the hall, and fell,
gasping for air. He just proceded down the hall, past the fallen
figure. As he passed he just said, "I figure she must be hiding down
here. The lack of air is only temporary, but it won't kill you."
As he continued down the hall, he heard the figure say, with great
effort, "Ye won't get away with this."
He mearly continued and said, "I'm only trying to save all your
souls. There is no cure for this curse, except death." He walked down
the hall, noticing how the walls seemed to change a bit. This school
must have added on to so the mutants had someplace to train. Had his
life taken a different course, he would have enjoied it here, but now,
he had a task to do. He slowly walked past each door, pausing to
listen. All he needed was to hear one sound, and he knew it was her.
Everyone was out of the way, however, he did not see the one called
Richard Cale. Had the boy been unlucky enough to be enthralled. He
didn't want to think that. He only intended to end one life. He
finally heard a sound behind one of the doors. It had to be Yvette. He
pushed the door open slowly, figuring she might attack. He noticed
however that her back was to the door. Was she that confident that he
would be stopped. He noticed that the room had to be some sort of war
room. He figured he might use that to his advantage. He focused on her
and soon, restraints shot from the table and pulled her toward the
table.
He watched as she struggled, and then looked at him. He almost
revelled in the fact that his next most dangerous foe was about to be
liberated. She looked at him in horror and just said, "Please, don't
kill me. I'm not one of them anymore."
He slowly moved forward as he said, "That's a lie, Yvette. I know
there is no escape from his bonds. If it were possible, I would have
done it by now. Hopefully, I'll have you gone before you seduce that
boy, Richard Cale."
He was startled when he heard a voice behind him. "You mistake
seduction for true love. You probably don't even know love." He turned
to face the same boy, and then he saw the hands. Just as he saw the
hands, the boy said, "Just in case you're wondering, you gave me these."
Hunter was dumbfounded, and then said, "You lie. She's cursed
you. I will stop you then kill the both of you." He started to focus
on the boy. He had to trap the boy, but the more he focused, the more
frustrated he got. He couldn't create a trap. He then heard an odd
sound for the moment. He glanced and noticed Yvette was giggling. He
looked at the boy almost terrified.
He saw Richard Cale smile as he said, "You see, Hunter, I am a
full fledged mimic. When you approached that door, I had your abilites
from the start. You've trapped almost everyone, and stepped right into
a trap yourself."
He tried to comprehend the situation. This couldn't be happening.
"But I captured her. She's helpless." He watched as the boy just
tapped his head. The trap wasn't his, but Richard Cale's illusion to
make it look like he trapped Yvette. He realized that he was being
duped. Now, he was mad. Hunter looked at Richard Cale and said, "I
will not be stopped." He pulled a knife out and lunged at Richard, but
the boy sidesteped quick. Now it was a battle so he could end this.
"I'll end this, even if I have to kill you." He took another dive at
Richard, and luck had sided with him as the boy backpedalled and
tripped. He smiled as he was about to drive the knife home, and
suddenly he was airborn. He looked up to see an African girl flying him
out through the roof.
Monet watched as only an observer. Her sister still had control
over their joint body as she carried Hunter out through the room. She
listened as he said, "If I would have know, I would have put you out of
commission, too."
She heard her sister exclaim, "Yeah, Right. My brother has failed
to capture them, I doubt that you could kill them. Now once your back
in his flock, maybe he can capture them." She saw the look of anger
cross his face.
He shouted at her, "You're helping that monster. I should just
kill you." She watched as the knife struck at her, but broke in two.
She watched as her sister stopped in mid air. She felt the grin
cross her face as Claudette said, "Just for that, you're being delivered
Air Mail." She felt them pull back and throw Hunter straight in the
direction of the lighthouse. As he flew out of sight, she heard her
sister say, "Now for the other two to be delivered."
Monet realized what was going to happen. Claudette was going to
hand deliver Rich and Yvette to Emplate. She had to stop her. She
gathered up all her mental strength and started to take control of the
mind. [I can't let you do that, Claudette.]
As she seized control, her sister yelled, "Are you nuts, we might
get killed in the fall." Soon she felt the joint body plummet to the
school. She hoped someone would catch them.
When Rich saw M fly Hunter through the roof, he had a feeling it
was over. He got up and ran over to Yvette, making the bonds holding
her disappear. He picked her up off the table and said, "Are you
alright?"
She hugged him tight and said, "Fine now. I'm glad your plan
worked."
He held her and said, "Almost didn't. You shouldn't of been
giggling." He flet her tighten her grip and kiss him.
As she stopped the kiss, she smiled her sly smile and said, "Well,
I knew I was going to get let go, or else I wouldn't have been
giggling."
Soon Rich heard some of the others come in, all panic. He saw
relief in their eyes when they saw Yvette alive. Sean was the first to
speak. "Thank God. We all thought the worse. How did ye stop him?"
Rich smiled and said, "Trapped him using his abilities, but Monet
saved us both. Thanks for sending her in, Sean."
Rich saw a puzzled look on Sean's face as he said, "Lad, I didnae
see Monet before I got to the others. She must have been waiting here."
Rich was concerned now. It didn't make sense. He was about to ask how
she might have know, when Monet came crashing through the room, in a
Autistic state. Sean quickly said, "Everyone, help me get Monet to the
med center."
As they all started to carry Monet to the med center, Rich heard
Yvette say, "Thank you, again." She leaned over and whispered into his
ear, "We should watch a movie tonight. Forget about what happened
today." He liked the idea of that. It might even help him understand
how Monet knew to be in the right place at exactly the right time.
***************************************************
When Hunter came to, he noticed he was floating about the ground,
as if suspended. Emplate's sister still had him. He was about to
strike when he heard a horribly familiar voice say, "Hello Hunter, have
you finally returned to us?"
He looked up and straight at Emplate. He was now a prisoner
again, but he would not let Emplate control him again. He spat at
Emplate, and said, "I'll never serve you, even if I had too." He had to
get Emplate's sister to let him go.
Soon he heard a different voice. This one was female as she said,
"Very unwise. I don't think my lover liked that answer." Soon, he felt
as if his body was being crushed. He would not give in to Emplate, not
again.
As his body was being crushed, he heard Emplate say, "Hunter, I
must admit that it was bold of you to try and kill Yvette, but she has
become more strong willed since Richard Cale entered her life. If it
weren't for him, she still would be linked to me."
Hunter then realized it. She was free. It was obtainable. He
felt light headed. He was going to die. He couldn't die, not now. He
was still cursed. Then he realized something. He managed to run his
fingers along his palms. They were gone. He was free of the curse. As
he drew his last breath, he just said, "I'm finally free." Soon, his
sight failed, followed by his hearing. He knew he was floating, but
slowly that feeling of being held passed. His mind then showed him that
tunnel he heard about. He knew what it was, even before he started
towards it.
***************************************************
Rich stood by as he was near Monet's bed. At the edge of the bed
was Yvette. She knew he was wondering how Monet knew to be there at the
time she was. As he stood there, he heard Yvette say, "Do you think
something might be wrong?"
He didn't look at her, but he said, "I don't know. She wasn't
told to protect us, yet she was waiting. I wonder if it was Monet who
saved us, but Claudette."
She looked at him concerned. "You mean to say you don't think
that's a good thing." She knew him too well. She knew exactly what he
was wondering and thinking about.
He just looked at her and said, "I'm not sure. It appeared that
Monet went into one of her spells, but what happened to Hunter. He
disappeared. Where did he go?" Soon, however, his mind was distracted.
He had locked onto a memory. Even though Monet was in this state, he
occasionally got a lock. It didn't last long, but he got an idea who
was in charge of the two twins. Right now, he couldn't tell if it was
Monet or Claudette. He did slowly see an image, in the subconscious.
When he saw it, he staggered back, losing the link.
He felt Yvette by his side, as she said, "What happened?"
He fought to get the words together. "I just saw Monet's
memories. I can't believe it." He start to walk out. He felt Yvette
take his arm, and he could tell she was worried. He just said in the
mental link that had just formed, {I'll stop by later, and we can watch
a film. Right now, I need some time to think.} He knew she understood
as she let go. He slowly walked out of the room. This thought floored
him, and brought back some sort of dread to him, although he couldn't
remember why. Maybe shock had caused him to forget it, or he forced
himself to repress it, but he couldn't fathom it. He just saw himself
holding Monet, when she was just a baby. He walked back to his room,
wondering what it meant, and deeper still, wondering what it meant about
how much he truely knew about all of the St. Croix's, including the one
being he learned to fear most, Marius St. Croix, a.k.a. Emplate.
~Fin~
