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 Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2009 8:28 pm
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Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 7:27 pm
Plot starts on Page 261...
How did we get here... how the hell...
Its five years in the future, a future in which Gideon was handed back to HYDRA.
Magneto and Xavier are dead...
All those with ties to the institute have been given an invitation to attend a memorial service. Friends and foes alike begin their journey back to where their journey began...
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5 Years Later
Five years can be a long time. To many it goes by in the blink of an eye with nothing extraordinary about it. To the X-Men, five years changes lives.... changes destiny. The weakest mutant can become the biggest enemy. The most solid of minds becomes fragile and shattered. Families divided and old friends united. Five years can do many things.
After the Brotherhood successfully captured Gideon from the Institute, Magneto accepted his new team in with welcome arms. He honed in their powers, trained them to be mighty. Made them a formidable foe to the X-Men. But most of all, everybody got older and their lives moved on. Some stayed with their colors as high school students and some moved on.
Four and a half years after the night the Hellions left the Institute (and subsequently attacked it), Magneto decided it was time to claim a coveted prize from the Institute... one he needed in his plans. It was time to lead his team to gain Cerebro from Charles Xavier's team. Cerebro kept the Xavier Institute running strong, and Magneto needed it to further his plans and his goals to building the most masterful mutant army.
That night began as a normal night at the Institute. The students were indoors as it was a chilly night. The X-Men were preparing lessons, keeping an eye on society. The dusk fell with a shudder of power that the grounds hadn't felt in a long time. The awe that was Magneto brought down the gates of the Institute on a full out assault of the Brotherhood. There was no haste. His prize would be his.
The X-Men went on alert immediately. Several of the teachers and senior level students took to ushering the students down into the Danger Room for their safety. The rest of the teachers split into teams that were to defend the levels below the school if needed and teams to man the assault forthcoming.
[insert some fight description here?]
One of the X-Men rounding up students and children to the Danger Room was Evelyn Reed-Guthrie, or often known as Hellcat to her teammates. Her assigned task was to get the youngest of their students (now that many former students were getting older, a wing of the school had been opened to teach a grade school academy) to safety. Her husband of three years, Sam, was also helping in this task. Amidst spraying glass and earth quakes, the picked up children and moved quickly to their safe point.
Once in the Danger Room, the teachers in charge here started a head count of their students. Karma ran into the Danger Room with the toddlers of the Institute and Evie's heart sank. Her daughter wasn't in the group. She looked at Sam as Karma said, "Samantha wasn't in her room. Petra says she is hiding."
Evie's mind raced as to where her daughter could be. Samantha was two and already displayed mutant tendencies with an amazing stealth ability. She could hide better than any child in the school and Evie was usually the only one who could find her short of a telepath. It was also a night time game for Samantha to hide herself... this was not the night for the game.
"Sam, she always hides in the front rooms of the school," Evie was worried... those rooms were taking the full assault of the Brotherhood. Sam picked her up by the arms and made no haste in flying them as fast as he could up to the main level of the Institute. The Brotherhood were beginning to infiltrate at this point. Evie was having a hard time keeping her senses sharp to find her daughter. Her adrenaline was flaring and she was doing everything in her power to not move into her feral state. If she did that, she had no hope of finding Samantha.
Dark twisted, and very evil. Carlos had fallen back into the institute. But it wasn't Carlos. It was evil, pure and simple and nothing anyone could do would have made a difference against it. Draped in a black coat made of pure midnight. His skin was pale, a light blue almost, and his eyes. The gold rings for a long time running had constantly signified that he was using a higher amount of power. Also with it a more violent edge, and a loss of inhibition. He roamed the halls he was looking for something, hungry.
As the brotherhood entered the school he would be there to great them. His presence cold and dreadful, a malevolence so strong it caused a handful to turn back in utterdread of what he might do. Most of them knew already, exactly what the dark mutant was capable of. The instant and cold death he could deliver just by plunging his hand through their chest and removing their very life force. It was in the front rooms though where a child was hiding, and the evil inside him could not resist making a meal of it's light.
A sound, and the father, Cannonball, interrupted. The brave man he could see something was wrong he gripped at Carlos' shoulders trying to make him snap back to himself. It was an ill recieved gesture and Cannobal with the strength of titan was sent into a cratering wall injured and unable to move. More powerful impedements came, Magneto, Xavier, Chamber, Shade. Maybe a few others. They were ready to fight, but Magneto had seen Carlos before and knew nothing was right. For once more both sides agreed, something far worse had to be dealt with.
Two prong attack against both his body and mind commenced. But all were ill prepared for what they would force forth. As cold steel wrapped around him and Xavier entered his mind, what was Carlos went through yet another darker transformation. The room grew even colder that sense of dread rising and the lights even dimming. A blue eerie light and a small explosion of energy sent the metal and the assailants back and Xavier reeling from the psychic feedback of a mind he didn't expect to find.
Where Carlos once stood now stood a creature not only wrapped in darkness, but set aflame with a bluish hellfire flame. The head, unconnected, a floating skull, and deep in the eye sockets two gold orbs, pinpoints as to what true eyes should be. It cackled, malevolently and with a dastardly intent. The blue fire grew in volume, intensified, and focused all around the being. He was going to release it all in an Armageddon, explosive way. It was here that entered Evelyn.
Evie had a choice at that moment. Samantha was cowering behind the furniture; Sam was injured... but Carlos was about to unleash a demonic fury that nobody here could withstand. Carlos, her teammate, had to be stopped. Nobody standing in this room could stop him but her. She had a choice: sacrifice herself in front of her daughter to stop Carlos or save her family.
Five years ago, Evie would have thrown herself onto Carlos to take him out of the picture while destroying herself in the process. She had nobody tied to her in the past: she had made sure to have nobody tied to her. But now, she had a husband and child... a child who needed her. A child who was sitting here amidst hell. In a split decision, she chose her family over her duty.... a choice that proved to be ill conceived.
Magneto for his merit and all his power. Tried and tried, hoping against all odds his mastery of magnetism would put a dent if not stop the oncoming D-day approaching. A field formed and he collapsed it on the creature. It was the worst choice. The compression of power, as well as the concentration. Imploding it all in that manner trying to stop it. Only made it far worse. Rather then collapse in on the creature as Magnus had hoped, it cause nuclear scale reaction, as the energy rebounded from it's epicenter with more force then the mighty Magneto could hold.
The immense explosion rocked the school, and claimed instantly the lives of all threats leaving only the creature, and family now broken. They didn't last long. And the creature, had a small meal leaving one figure in the rubble more broken then ever. It then fled, disappearing into darkness, once again obscuring it's existence until it yet again must cause such havoc.
The right wing of the building collapsed into rubble. The ground shuddered a horrible sound. Any telepath heard a terrible cry that sounded like the light of the world being extinguished for dozens of people. Chaos and then calm.... silence.
The dust settled... the Brotherhood fled. The X-Men came down from the turrets to see who survived.
In that attack, twelve were lost. Most notably, the two figure heads had fallen in this fight: Professor Xavier and Magneto. Next to them lay ten others including the innocent Samantha Guthrie. Cannonball, Chamber, Moonstar, Wind Dancer, Wither, Shade, and Traction. Only Hellcat (Evie) and Motega (Carlos) were pulled from the rubble alive.... barely.
And as the X-Men always do, they took the tragedy and they used it to drive them... drive them to rebuild. Never to forget.
Six months later, the X-Men are prepared to reopen the school stronger and better than before. Teammates of new and old have all been invited back to the school for an open house week ending in a memorial service for those who are lost and the official beginning of the school year.
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Posted: Mon Mar 30, 2009 10:35 am
Evie was hidden in this fight. Hiding from any crossfire, she buried the last of Samantha's beads next to the foundation of the Institute and at places around the school ground where her nightmares led her to. There was so much chaos going around nobody noticed her scampering around. She moved off into the graveyard and then scampered to the barn. Climbing onto the roof, she stood silently watching. Nothing filtered through her mind except promises from her nightmare.... Kill all of them, and you get your family back. That was her job from the devil and she had nothing left in her mind to fight it.
A device seemed to appear in her hand out of the darkness. Looking at it for a moment, she tried to remember if there was a reason she shouldn't click it. Nothing was coming to her mind but the sound of her daughter's voice in her head. Clicking on the device, the tiny objects she had buried around the school detonated in a massive explosion that consumed most of the Institute and the school grounds. Mostly everybody who was on the grounds were gravely injured if not killed... setting them up to be Carlos' victims.
The Madness, the Carnage. Gleeful uncontrolled and purely maniacal laughter erupted from smoldering ruins of the school. The two toned voice was just as unsettling now as it ever could be as the disengaged flaming skull, of which it emanated, stopped and looked around taking the scene in. He so did enjoy it. He relished in the death and began taking in massive amount of souls that have just been separated from life. With a joy only evil could have he made any of the survivors, now grievously wounded a special moment of torment and suffering.
It was evil in the purest forms as those who would be friends to Carlos saw him, reach into their chest and rip out that which pulsed with their life essence. To the demon, it was beautiful. To the man inside, who had tried to fight, it was heartbreaking. He gave up and could no longer hold back the wrong doings of the other whom shared his body. The demon had few disappointments. One of which was the barely alive, dying but unconscious Anastasia Maxwell. It would have been tastier had she been awake. Still he took much satisfaction in ripping her life force from her body and devouring it. Same as with a few choice others, Thomas the so called best friend and his fiance Adelle. Kerrigan. All nice choice meals, all horrified to the point of the taint within their souls to make it all the more delicious.
Most important in devouring one that actually made him hesitate from how dangerous he was in fact, Gideon. Even crushed with an entire building on him he survived, bones unbreakable and a healing factor though slightly burned out was still active enough to slowly heal damages to open wounds. He took glee, circled like a vulture. Then closed in and plucked the soul from the would be survivor. Those left were dying on their own. He could attend to something else. Something much more, enjoyable. That's when he started walking to her. The one who had posed such a threat but was now broken.
The steel beam was cold, and crushing... They had been winning.. The Brotherhood had been winning.. And then the building came down. The explosion deafening.
Her head swam as the dust settled, golden blond hair looking as if she had dipped the roots in blood. Her own blood. She was almost positive that her skull was fractured... She couldn't form words. The pain that radiated through her was everything. She could feel nothing else, but bone jarring, mind blowing pain. The chunk of concrete and steel that pinned her to the ground gave her a perfect vantage point to see her husband destroy everything she had once known. Her heart screamed as he stole Anna's light, her soul-- Weeping, wanting to fight, needing to save her.. Her vision swam... And her head dropped to the ground against the debris, her skin paling, body losing its glow as she powered down. .. A horrible, awful sound ringing in her ears.
It took her several moments to realize that it was herself, screaming. Over and over.
Kerrigan.. Oh god.. Why hadn't Kerrigan got out? Hadn't she found Gianna? Where was Jeraud with the rest of the Brotherhood forces? She knew in her heart they were already dead... Spitting out blood, she was assaulted by images of dead shape shifters strewn everywhere. Feet from her, Emma Frosts eyes looked into her own, lifeless. Of course, Black Heart had gleefully taken her tainted soul.
Narcissa shrieked and wailed as she watched Carlos take Thomas and Isis, clawing at the steel beam, her manicured nails breaking, ripping off, bleeding, as Black Heart approached her.
“I-I'll kill you! I swear to God I will kill you! I will kill you!”, she shrieked as she coughed and spat out blood, thrashing under the steel beam, injuring her crushed ribs further. “I'll kill you!!”
Sadistic, taunting, He made the little girl appear, the daughter between them. He blew off some of the rubble from the sunspot but left much of it as a test. She'd get the child, and her husband. She'd need only to pull what was left of her broken body out of the debris. He watched this eyes on her. His visage of the blue flame skull vanished leaving only her Husband with a gold set of eyes watching her. one hand on the little girl who floated silently asleep unharmed, the other beckoning.
“No...”, The sight of Gianna made her heart stop. She was unharmed... Glowing like a little angel. He had so carelessly eaten the souls of the others... This was Black Heart. He had to die. But there was Carlos... Her Carlos somewhere in there. Would he let this beast kill his daughter? Kill his wife? Did he have a choice? It had been him.. All along... They had suspected.. But they had been fooled.. Broken and bleeding, going into shock, Narcissa felt herself lose grip on reality as sudden white light blinded her, she she started laughing.
Warmth filled her, burning through her-- The blood that left her burning through rubble like magma. Her eyes snapped towards Black Heart, tears burning away, eyes clouded with white hellfire that only grew in intensity as she let the light surge through her, crying out in pain and anger as she blasted the rest of the debris off of her, melting clean through the steel.
The area around her was clean, the corpse of the Headmistress singed. But Narcissa still lay on the ground.. Her leg was broken, her ribs crushed.. But she still pushed herself onto her hands, and dragged herself towards Gianna. It took an eternity, before she reached her hand towards the little girl.. “G-Give me.. Give me my child!”
Just as she can barely touch her child she vanished leaving only her husband to scoop her up in his arms as she was dying. He was himself, or at least thats what the demon wanted her to see. He held her while she thrashed, cursing him with all her might.. Until she started to still, a crazed look in her eyes. With a calm gentle voice, what appeared to be Carlos was putting on his most convincing and total deception.
"Amante.... We can be together. Whole. The Baby, Cradle and Castle. Just kiss me..."
The weak but passable nod was all that the demon needed as the consent to a new and more binding contract with this woman. No matter if she was dying, and half out of he mind. It would tie her to -them- and remove her as a threat all in one go. He leaned over and his lips parted slightly, black smoke pouring from the small gap as he kissed what would become his twisted bride. In the single kiss was passed a gift from Black Heart. Her own little demon. What would save her, and make her serve. Slowly and ominously... From her open wounds, black goo oozed. It would heal her, make her whole. Her wounds were already healing, even as she lost consciousness... His blackness consumed them both in an instant, and they were gone.
Months later
Evie had hidden in the darkness for some time after most of the X-Men were destroyed. A few names remained on her list of targets before her job was complete. Those who were left had been very good about hiding themselves. Bella, Teagan, and Siona were the final three standing. Unfortunate for the first two, they resurfaced to her sites in a cemetery. And unfortunate for them, there was no Evie left really to save them. She was a puppet, a pawn.
Holding a gun in her hand, she moved in on her targets near silent. She had the shadows padding her movements from even Bella. Before her friend had time to react, Evie pulled a trigger on Bella knowing that her old friend needed to be taken by surprise. Teagan let out a gasp and a garbled scream when Bella fell to the ground. Coming out into the clearing, Evie walked softly so that Teagan wouldn't hear her.
For as blank as her mind was (she was just a puppet now being pulled on strings), seeing Bella dead by her hand pulled something hard in her brain. Memories started flooding back to her and a realization of the magnitude of what she had done. Tears formed in her eyes as she also realized that there was no saving her now.
"Blackheart told me that if I gave him everybody's souls, I could have my family back... Carlos wouldn't steal their soul..." She said in a weak and distraught voice. Evie dropped her gun quickly at Teagan's feet knowing she would only have a small amount of time, "Kill me now before he takes control of my mind again. There is no hope for me, Teagan... stop me now before I have to finish his will..."
Evie turned around and pointed to the spot where Teagan needed to hit. Even as she did that she could feel the chaos starting to pull back on her mind. She prayed that Teagan could do it, Evie didn't want to kill Teagan or Siona... the last two on her list... she wanted it all to stop... to fade to black.
"Evie..." Teagan whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks as she looked at the back of her oldest friend, and then down to the dead body of Bella. Her entire body shook with waves of emotion as she bent down to pick up the gun that had been dropped at her feet. Tears continued to swell in her eyes as she battled her morals. She never wanted to kill anyone. Too many people had died already. If she stopped Evie now, would there really be hope? If she stopped Evie now, it wouldn't bring back everyone else...
Shaking hands lifted the gun, aiming for the spot Evelyn had told her too. Teagan couldn't help but continue to sob. She had already lost so much. The last thing she wanted was to lose another.
"I'm...sorry, Evie. I love you." She whispered, the sound drowned out as she pulled the trigger, praying she would strike down her former friend and end all the pain.
Darkness. A small smile passed across Evie's face when she knew Teagan had given her rest at last. It would be time to face her demons in hell.
He appeared, right there in a blueish flame of glory, white skull with golden orbs floating in empty sockets staring at the red head known as Teagan. He then looked down at Evelyn and shook his head tsking. Looking over at the corpse of Bella, almost like he had won some perfect prize he only needed to claim... He held out his hand and beckoned but he moved out of the way as Teagan, out of what courage could be found fired a shot at him. "Wretched girl. Hallowed ground will keep me from tearing you asunder... But not you to kill me."
Against her he let her empty what was left in the clip. All the bullets hit. But then simply fell to the ground, him unharmed. He was too strong, powerful with all the souls previously taken. From behind him, what was a dark and twisted Narcissa now possessed picked up Evelyn's body with amazing strength. The blond kissed Evelyn lightly, a twisted smirk on her features. They still had uses for a pawn. He went over and knelt next to Bella, feeling her completely pass on. His hand reached out but a visible and large static like shock repulsed him. The hallowed ground, and despite the girls bad experiences, she was still too pure for him to claim. Figures.
He got up and looked at Teagan the girl frozen from either lack of ability to do anything to him or generally held in place by a fear of which he was not generating. His powers could not work here. So she was spared. "This is not over. This is only a prologue. And Tell the other Stone. She'll have a -chance- encounter with us soon." not another word. Just that maniacal laugh as a cloak of darkness spread engulfing him and his ladies, whisking them away.
// Present Day \
And as real as it all appeared, reality came rushing back to Evelyn Reed as she lay on the ground of the Institute looking at a darkened sky. She gasped for air like she had been drowning... or dead. The entire vision had felt real to her even if she was a watcher. She felt the chaos, everybody dying, the darkness... It took her mind a while to regroup as to what was going on.
Sitting up, she realized her injuries had healed. Looking at her hands, she saw the claws still protruding from her fingers and she watched as they faded back into her regular hand. But that was the least of her concerns, the animal that she could become was... and the path that the Hellions had set themselves on.
Growling as she pulled herself up from the ground, she ran looking for Cissa. When she saw the brillance that was Narcissa, Evie yelled at her friendly nemesis, "Narcissa! We have to stop this path... Please... you have to hear me out."
She raised her voice so everything could be heard amongst the chaos. Evie was close to tears and panic as she relayed every item she saw to the girl. There was no way to prove she was right. The only thing Evie could hope was that Narcissa would believe her. If Cissa didn't, nobody else would.
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