Chapter 36- Aftermath

Special Region- Location Unknown, February 14, 2008 (Time Unknown)

Benjamin ‘Slice’ Smith

Pain was the only thing he felt. But that Slice felt anything told him he was alive. He groaned and tried to move, but someone push him back down.

"Don't you move, it took me the better part of an hour to set your leg straight, with all the fractures you gave yourself." Scalpel's voice sounded so lovely to him, despite the tone she used.

“Am I alive?” he asked before opening his eyes. He didn’t see his fellow Fang though, he saw a silver knight looking down at him. A large silver sword held at the ready.

"Yes, and you are welcome. It took a lot of work on my part to keep you that way." Scalpel's face appeared in his vision as she ran a flashlight back and forth over his eyes. He never understood why medical people did that. But he hurt too much to ask.

He could move his left arm, but his right and neck seemed to be restrained. ‘Well roleplaying as a rag doll can be scratched off my bucket list.' He thought as Slice waited for her to finish checking on him.

"How bad?" He asked somberly after she sighed while looking down at him.

Scalpel hesitated, before saying. "Including you, ten survived. Of those two are bedridden." She paused when he grimaced after he did the math. How many men and women he had led to their deaths. "We lost the most in the crash, and a lot of our wounded were eaten by the T-rex that attacked us."

Slice had to close his eyes, at the thought of one of those terrible beasts bearing down on his men.

Scalpel started to brush his hair with her hand as she continued to speak. "It gets worse. There are thousands of natives out there in the jungle. And not just those Gnolls we encountered yesterday. There are people and snake women too. They seem to be afraid of Magneto, but I can’t say for certain that will last. Or that he will protect us after what we did.” After a pause and a deep breath, she added. "Hard-case is negotiating our release"

A feeling in his gut stirred. Warning him that something was coming. Slice opened his eyes to the sight of a tiny globe of white light striking him and Scalpel. Then a voice he vaguely recognized as the robed man he shot spoke to them, but not in whatever language he spoke before but in English.

"The terms are set. The price for your release is nothing, while the price for an escort back to your ship is everything." The robed man wrote some strange letter into the air. Causing more light to appear, but whatever its effect was Slice couldn't see.

Scalpel stood up and snapped at their enemies. "You can't take everything. I will need medicine to treat these two. And what are we supposed to do walk back naked and in shame?"

"You shouldn't be walking back at all." Exodus said, he was clearly there, but not in Slice's view.

“Now, now. We reached an agreement with the Inheritor. Besides I would not let you kill that one.” The young man said while pointing at Scalpel.

“Well now, I believe that someone has caught the eye of our Nath’aniel.” Magneto joked.

The young man waved his hand saying, “it’s nothing like that. Despite her sins, I will not condemn the innocent that is growing within her. Congratulations, by the way.”

Those words were more damaging than being flung about by the freak's power. Even Scalpel reacted, by shielding her stomach with her hands. She clearly didn't know either. The thought of him losing a child, even an unborn unexpected one, it drove him to act.

"We accept!" Slice said still unable to move his neck.

Citadel 1^st floor- Eastern Storage, 2008 February 16 (Late Morning)

Erik Lehnsherr (Magneto)-

“You went too easy on them.” Erik said as he and Nath’aniel watched Psylocke and Exodus spar.

“You think so? And what pray tell, punishment would you have levied on them?” Nath’aniel replied, most of his focus on the fight.

Erik delayed answering by looking at the rune stone on the table between the two of them. Apparently, while they sleep the mage had been teaching himself English. Even he doubted that he could learn a language in less than three days. He then glanced back to the fight and saw Psylocke pushing Exodus back with a strong kick to his shield.

“They attacked you they should have paid us something.” Erik grumbled.

“And they did, many of them paid with their lives. And those that wanted to leave back to their ship, had to give us everything that they carried.” The mage stated back, before handing him a parchment.

Nath'aniel even learned to write in English. On the page was the list of equipment and supplies they had taken from the mercenaries and brought back into the Citadel.

"Their leaders should have been forced to pay something extra." The war veteran commented as he read the list. He paused on the item 'blue vapor gun, as it reminded him of weapons he had faced while fighting with Captain America, the Nazi research division had made some interesting guns.

Nath'aniel sighed before he spoke. "Again half of their leadership was slain, one of them you got to kill twice I might point out. The Inheritor deserves a certain level of respect, and I wasn't about to levy an additional burden on the newly made mother."

'How could he even tell she was pregnant?' Erik wondered.

"As for their real leader, Slice. Terrible nickname by the way. He did pay extra. He told me the passphrase to deactivate the collars and the codes to access their data machines." The mage added while Erik was lost in thought.

Erik turned his attention to what was really bothering him. Exodus swung twice before he lunged. His lunge should have run Psylocke through, but instead, the woman turned herself into a cloud of purple sparkling lights. And when she reformed, she was behind Exodus with her blade pressed against his neck.

Nath’aniel clapped to her win. It was her fifth one in a row.

It was beyond a feat, for her. After waking him, the only person he couldn't beat in a purely physical sense was Basilisk. Before her change, she had been a mediocre fighter at best. And now she was pushing their best fighter to take deadly risks in their sparing, just to keep up.

“Why don’t the two of you take a break?” Erik suggested.

“Why, he’s swinging around a weightless blade. And I’m not tired.” Psylocke answered flatly.

Neither he nor the mage pointed out that had she not, done, whatever it is she can do now. She’d be bleeding on the floor right now.

"Well, I'm getting tired just watching you." Erik muttered.

Nath'aniel then added. "Speaking of swinging, I don't see why you do. Given your powers, you should be able to move it with nothing more than a thought."

The knight squinted as he thought about it. Exodus then raised his sword and just looked at it, before removing his hand from the hilt. The blade stayed in the air, for a time. Once he looked away it fell and bounced off the floor.

“Thank you Master Nath’aniel. That gives me something to work on.” Exodus said before bowing to the two of them and walking towards the warehouse’s entrance.

Psylocke didn't walk out as the knight did. She just poofed herself again.

"Well?" whatever the mage had done hadn't just saved her life. It had taught her how to weld a sword better than the Brotherhood's swords master. Granted her a new ability, and overcharged her existing ones. Her telepathy came to her easier and her ability to make a simple blade had evolved into being able to make literal weapons.

Erik wasn’t sure if he was angry that they did it without his consent as their leader, or if it was that when he asked if they could do it again, the mage just shrugged.

“Appraisal spells tell me that she is human and healthy. Scanning her with the Citadel’s biological sensors only really told me that some of her vestigial organs have been replaced. What the new ones do, I couldn’t tell. She didn’t want to stay still long enough for me to get a read on them. Even if I did know what they did, I’m not sure it would help us understand it.” As Nath’aniel spoke, he watched various areas of the ceiling.

The mage had admitted that he was linked to her now in some way. And that he knew where she was at all times. And when Erik asked Betsy if she could do the same, she just vanished on him. ‘Better give her more time to adjust.’ He thought.

Erik took a deep breath, hoping that exhaling would take his frustration with it. Then he asked. "Then how do we understand it?"

“You need to give me more time. She needs to adjust and I need to be able to study.” The mage’s answer wasn’t what Erik had hoped it would be. “But if you want to help, help me organize and study the new equipment. You’ll understand it faster than I will anyway. And after we finish with the Citadel’s repair I would gain access to my father’s archive, and in there we will definitely find the answers to our questions.”

Erik was willing to admit, that he did feel a little better, that they had some sort of plan. And that the plan had something he could help to contribute.

“Young master. Rahne is asking for you and Erik. She claims she wants the collar put back on her.”

The two men looked at each other. When they had returned from the battle they came back to find a snarling massive wolf pinned to the ground in a headlock by Basilisk. Apparently, the young mutant had only recently gotten her powers and was still having some difficulties in controlling both the changes and her mood. And the people that had captured and collared her, hadn't given her much in the form of training.

“Tell her I’m on my Way Citadel.” Erik said before standing and both of them walked out of the warehouse.

Savage Lands- Cave in the Northern Jungle, February 17, 2008 (13:10)

W’Torri ‘Hard-case’, warrior of the Red Lion Cult-

He looked around the cave that was his new home. W’torri had slept like shit last night. Every time he closed his eyes, he would see those glowing metal and crystal orbs in the dark. Staring into his soul.

He tripped on his backpack on his way to the mouth of the cave. Outside around a campfire were the three other mercenaries that hadn't wanted to give up their belongings for the cost of an escort back to the Jaded Daisy sat around a small fire.

All three stood and saluted him.

“Stop. I didn’t like it then when you had to do it. I sure as fuck don’t want you three doing that now that you don’t.” He said to them as he stumbled towards their fire. He held his hands over the flames, soaking in the warmth.

“Sir, do we have any type of a plan?” the only female asked him. She had come from Scalpel’s squad. She hadn’t wanted to give up her laser weapon.

"Way I see it; we got two ways to go. Way one, we just sit tight. Word about this place is out there, and it will spread. This means people are going to come here, and that's our ticket out again. If that's what you want." The two men nodded to W'torri's first point, telling him, that they would cut and run on him at some point. "Option two. We take over one of the tribes here. We've seen what there is here. Primitives and savages. With our guns and gear, we could take over easy."

W'Torri gauged their reactions. The girl, Lancer I think her name was, didn't seem to react to either option that he had offered. While of the two men, one only nodded to the first. While the other both nodded and smiled at the offering of the second.

He nodded at each of them muttering “k, k.”

W'Torri looked at the sky. That blasted sun was still there, but clouds were starting to gather. The place got daily mistings, but no proper rain. He could go for a good ol thunderstorm.

He then thumbed at the cave, saying. “Whoever’s turn it is, get in there. Just don’t go through my stuff.” After a moment one of the men rose and walked inside. They sat in silence for a time. Before W’Torri stood up muttering, “I’m gonna go take a dump.”

W'Torri walked the ten or so minutes to the stream they had used to refresh their water supplies. Once there he didn't remove his pants, instead, he reached into his vest. In his shirt pocket were not one, but four stoke tokens were hidden. After counting them twice, he put three back and leaned over the water's edge. The stream wasn't very big. But it would do.

He placed the token into the water and held it at the bottom. He didn't want to do this. W'Torri preferred reaching his god in his dreams. But one must do, what one must. After a moment the cool water began to warm. And then the pain appeared. It felt like something was trying to claw its way out of his hand. Then his flesh warped and the face of a lion grew out of his hand and looked up at him.

The eyes held nothing but anger. “Yes mortal.”

“I have made a discovery my god.” W’Torri stared back at the lion. To look away would insult him, and the man was in too much of a rough patch to want to add angry god to his list of problems.

"Oh? What minor thing have you discovered that warrants bothering me?" the lion said back to him.

The water was starting to become hot, the longer he communed with the Lion God the worse it would become.

“I have met a Mage. At least one still walks the Earth.” W’Torri reported.

“Oh really. Now that is interesting. And where or where was this Mage of yours hiding.”

“I found him in far in the south of the world, in the Savage Lands.” Air bubbles were starting to form in the water.

“The Lost Sanctum. Of course, have you found their home as well?” The Divine wonders aloud.

“It is here, but its location eludes me.” The heat was becoming intense, so it would burn.

"Of course, it is there, where else would it be. Huff. No matter. Open your mind to me, let me see this Mage." W'Torrri thought back to his meeting with the Mage, as well as his battle with god lizards. "I recognize those eyes, he is Adalora's child. You have done well. You may keep my token. You will see me again soon, my disciple."

“Thank you, Lord Sekhmet.” W’Torri muttered before the face returned to his normal hand.