Mr. Logan has us line up, guys and girls. Each of us by height. I'm next to Anna, and Anna's next to Piotr. Jubilee and Kurt were our shortest n' youngest. Up from there's Jean and Scott's in third… standin' right next to me and not happy about it. Remy's makin' eyes at Anna and she's looking at him like murder's on her mind.
Mr. Logan clears his throat, "Now I understand that we have fresh meat in the grinder, that means new team combinations, and all kindsa crap like that. I've also seen Cyke here tryin' to go on the Sabretooth Pain Train durin' the last field assignment."
Everyone falls silent and Scott glares at him but then it clicks, "Aw damn, man. Is that why you're a shithead to me?" I blurt and he turns his gaze to me.
"Yes." he states, "That's why. We were in the Yukon a few weeks ago, before you came."
Logan sighs and rubs his eyes with one hand, "And you lost someone. Her name is Ororo Munroe, Storm. Last the Professor clocked her she was in a zone similar to those connection dead zones in the ocean in the middle of California."
"Any other clues?" I ask, "Like a scent? A truck or some kinda transport?"
"Nah, it's like she just disappeared." he continues, "Your mission is to go in there and see if you can get her back."
"So… we're gonna just bumrush a fucking dead zone?" I ask.
"No, some of you are." he says, "Some of you will run support, and HOPEFULLY we'll get 'er back."
He smiles, "I've chosen the team already, discussed it with Chuck too." he strides up the line and points at Cyclops.
"You."
Then goes down to Remy, "Gambit."
"Ready an' willin' O Capitan." he salutes and hovers next to Scott as he crosses his arms and then he zeroes in on me.
"An' you, Vic. It ain't a fight, so it counts." he smiles, "Consider it an initiation. Runnin' support are Rogue, Phoenix, an' Nightcrawler. Meet at the Hangar at 0800 in the mornin'."
He dismisses us and Kurt's pretty much over the moon, "YES! My first real mission!" he's practically glowing as Rogue laughs and ruffles his hair.
"Aint'cha a peppy kiddo?" she coos a little, "Well, I figured we'da save Roro."
"Wait, so y'all abandoned her? With my DAD around?!" I growl, "What kinda shit is that?"
Scott sighs, "We didn't have much of a choice."
"Whaddya MEAN?!" I roar, "What, do I gotta watch my back now? Didja even TRY t'find her?"
Jean walks up to me, "Victor, here." she closes her eyes and touches my temples, transferrin' the memories to me, turns out Monroe got blindsided by somethin' that wasn't even him. But then later on he showed up an' tried to maul Scott before he got blasted.
"An ambush." I state.
"Yeah. It was real nasty, seemed like a kinda gateway or somethin'." Anna explains, "So sugah, does that answer ya question?"
"Eh." I shrug, "Still don't like that ya'll just forgot about her."
"Seems to be something with the mutant's power." Scott says. We get onto the Jet, a big blackbird that could easily get us there. All that's left to do is go get her.
The actuaI hotel is rather big, an old looking place that almost looks like it;s from the 70s with shag carpeting and wood paneling. Everything in it is older than we are, more towards the original five X-Men's ages. Smells like it too. The wood, the mildew, the ratty sheets and duvets, nothing out of the ordinary for a hotel of the time. The only thing that's off is this little whine I'm hearin' in the air. Scott perks up just as I hear it.
I dig my hand into Scott's costume, "Lookit me, Summers! The fuck you hearin'?!"
"A…" he starts, "Alex?" he pushes me back and his costume front rips a bit, "He's here, my brother! He's here!" I grip him on the shoulders and dig my feet into the floor.
"No, Scott! It ain't him!" I try to keep a good hold on him but then I hear somethin' from the other room. It's Remy. He musta wandered off too! Holy shit, I might already be the only one not in the thrall of this place.
"Tres bien! Oh mes amours! I love ya! Oho, I love ya!" swanky soundin' big band music blasts from where he is. He's surrounded on all sides by a massive party, confetti an' bead necklaces all over the place with drinks and other things raging around him. Most of the gals look like Anna though, so Remy's not alright. Anna Marie and I stick close by each other.
"I don' like this one bit…" she says.
"Yer tellin' me, this is real weird…" I perk up at the tone again, this time Anna's got it too. She pauses and I grab her arm.
"Don't, Rogue." I say, "There's somethin' real off with all this." Sniffing the air, there's the scent of Magnolia trees, heavy humid summers, scents that shouldn't be in a hotel at all. Sweet tea taste runs through our mouths and Rogue starts draggin' me.
"Rogue! Rogue, hey!" I urge before she forces me off with a heavy yank and I'm on the goes practically running towards the taste, the sounds, the smells… leaving me on the greasy shag carpetin' like a fool.
Gettin' up, I keep my senses keen. What would a girl who controls the weather smell like? Sound like? Smell the rain, the wind, maybe she's tired? Dirty? Probably 'cause she's been in this place for a couple o' weeks.
Focus, breathe deep. Listen closely. Rain, ozone, the growl of thunder. Trying to find her in this seventies nightmare dimension makes me wanna hurl. But eventually… I hear footsteps. Plodding, trudging, trying to keep on her feet. At least I think the footsteps belong to her. Following the sound, there's a cross section in the floorplan. In front of me is deeper, on the sides its two exits. Standing on the deeper end is someone I didn't expect.
The girl has long white hair, fluffy and her haggard blue eyes widened, running towards me with a hopeful expression on her face. That's our girl, Ororo Munroe. She doubles over and pants hard, her white uniform stained with dirt and maybe a little blood?
She looks up at me, "Are… are you with the X-Men?" she gasps, "Because if you are, I thank you…" her weight leans against me and I wrap my arms around her and pat her on the back. She closes her eyes and sighs in relief when I tell her…
"Yeah, I'm with 'em. We're here t'take you home, Ororo."
We stand there, and I realize she's almost asleep. But the hotel's halls seem to get longer the more I move through them, Ororo shifts on my back, she seems too light. As I keep going, she pipes up.
"The hotel is owned by a mutant… they drain your energy the longer you're in their thrall. Who came with you?"
"Cyke, Rogue, Gambit, n' me. I'm gonna call Jean." I press my hand to the side of my head, 'Jean! I got Ororo, I'm headed back out, the others- Jean?' she isn't answerin'. Storm tuts softly and leans close to my ear.
"Then get them too. No matter what you hear, don't follow it." she says, "That's how it gets you." she squeezes my shoulders, "If you need me to keep talking, go ahead."
"So where are ya from?" I ask.
"Kenya. Although I lived in Cairo for a while." I hear the smile in her voice, "I also was a bit of a pickpocket." There's a little teasing edge to it, but I get out of there just as quick as I got in. The mildew smell goes back to the cleaner scents outside.
"Please don't steal anything from me." I chuff and she chuckles warmly.
"Not if you don't deserve it." Jean and Kurt see us come back and she's looking relieved to be out of there, not that I blame her at all.
I put Ororo down, she looks up at me as Jean and Kurt rush over to her, "Remember, don't listen to anything you hear."
"I know. I'm goin' back in." I glare up at the hotel, "I'll get 'em out."
Jean grabs my shoulder gently, "Please Victor, be safe." she urges.
"You got it. And Nightcrawler?"
Kurt perks up, "Yes?"
"Get ready to port me if Jean gets anything messin' with her powers." That's when Ororo gets in on it.
"If he already has Gambit and Cyclops, Rogue too? I do not think Nightcrawler would be safe going in there, considering his fraught background."
I let out a laugh, "HA! Wait til he gets a load of me…" I look over my shoulder at them, "If I don't make it out with them, glass the place."
Back in the hotel, the mildew and light buzz has my head in a spin. Trying to remember the rooms I left the others are wider now, echoing with more noise. A voice filled noise that reminds me of the city. God, I hate it here. These are all dreams. Just dreams. The voices grow, they shift and change, but the loudest is a soft laugh, trying to get me up I think? Last night was…
No, I have to keep going! Get everyone out.
"Scott?!"
The voice calls.
"Remy?!"
It's closer now.
"Anna Marie?!"
The voices all quiet down, except for one. The smells are warm. Fabric softener, detergent, the smell of someone else too. Not a bad one. Just the scent of them. The feeling of their body against mine, holding onto me.
I'm in front of a door now.
"Victor, get up!" A voice says, it's almost like a mix of Lorna an' Jean? It couldn't hurt to peek in, right? I shake it out, no. No, I can't. Stay on track, Victor. Don't let it take you. But then I hear another voice…
Young, soft. Almost like a kid's voice.
"Daddy? Wake up! Come on, you promised to take me to the arcade today!"
I pause, my hand brushing against the doorknob. Hearing the voices on the other side. I don't want to do this. I don't. But there's something that pushes me into it, something that wants me to do it. To accept the fact that I gotta throw my will away. I throw the door aside and-
Sunlight streams in, falling across my face in soft waves. A warm, happy laugh sounds out as fingers dance along my neck and cheek.
"Oh Victor~!" a voice like the summer breeze floats down from on high. I open my eyes, and tickling my face slightly is Jean's long red and orange hair. Blue eyes sparkling as she lays beside me.
"Wha?" I groan, "Where's the fire?"
Jean laughs, and a small weight slams into my chest, a little boy with red hair and icy blue eyes with tiny claws of his own squats there. He's wearin' little overalls and he's looking at me with all the world in his eyes.
"Daddy, come on!" he exclaims.
"Inna minute, Johnny…" I groan, like I knew the name because I picked it out. Yeah, and Jean married me, which was really lucky. Johnny and Jean, and me. A little family of my own. Jean gets up and floats Johnny with her.
"Mama!" he whines, "I don't like when you do that!"
"I know, sweetie, but give your dad a minute. Okay?" she kisses him on the forehead, with a knowing smile she floats him back out but returns to the bed.
"I know it's hard…" she sighs, gently running her fingers through my hair, "Johnny's just excited because we're home." I swing myself outta the bed, goin' to the bathroom and staring at myself in the mirror.
I got a beard, an' I look older. Somehow I ended up lookin' all handsome and junk. Jean walks up behind me and throws her arms around my neck, pressing a kiss to my cheek. It feels so nice. She also looks older, long red hair tied back into a low ponytail. She's wearing some normal enough clothes. She's the one I ended up with? I think that's real lucky.
"Look at us…" she sighs, "I was thinking we could take Johnny to the park later."
"Oh ah, sure! Sure, that sounds great, Jeanie." my eyes don't trick me, my nose don't neither. This is real. All of it. I can't even believe it as she holds onto me. I close my eyes and Jean kisses me on the lips, savoring the moment but then we hear Johnny gag a little.
"Ewww! Mama, Daddy, you're gross!"
We separate, "Oh yeah? When you're older an' got a girl of your own you'll understand." I smile and scoop him into my arms. He laughs as I swirl us around, stumbling into the kitchen as Jean shakes her head and laughs at our antics.
"Agh! I love you so much, Johnny!" I kiss his cheeks.
"Daddy!" he laughs, trying to push me away, "St-stop!"
I plop him down on the chair and he's got a big grin on his face. Joy thrums through me and I head into the kitchen, firing up the burner. The smell of food, meat and sweet batter, all of it floods my senses. I want this. Food, a home, all I could ever want. And all I could ever need. We walk to the park after breakfast. Johnny runs ahead in his little overalls, and Jean watches him with that same calm smile on her face.
"Hey Jean?" I ask.
"What is it?" she looks at me. I don't want this to end. But I know. I know this all isn't real. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I can't do this. But they aren't real.
I can't.
I have to.
I can't!
I HAVE TO.
In moments, I'm charging at them, claws out, tears falling. I want this, but I can't have it. She's down in minutes, my claws carving through her heart and Johnny runs away, I rage after him, all fours as I hear him crying and stumbling. In one swift motion, he's open. Kneeling, I scream. Howling at what I did. Blood all over me, they're ripped open and I'm holdin' them. Gasping screams, all I could do. I loved them, I know I did. I know. The way they cried. The way they begged me to stop…
"I'm sorry, baby. I'm sorry, kiddo…" I cry into his hair, "God, god god god…" I rock him as he's cryin' and gurglin'.
"D… Dad?" he coughs.
"Johnny, buddy. It ain't yer fault. It ain't yer fault. It's mine, It's mine, baby…" I shut my eyes and… all that's left is a room. The owner stumbles back from me, and I stand up. In seconds I'm on him, tossin' him out of the window and into the grass outside.
Already, my claws are out as he scrambles back. Slashin' the air, the knights he made crumplin' like paper. Before I could cut into him, there's a rush and a smack into my cheek, feet leavin' the ground and standing over me is a multi-colored eyed Rogue!
"Rogue-" and then I'm in the air again. The wind knocked out of me and slammed through the terrible concrete and cement parking lot.
"Anna?!" Jean gasps, seeing me land and I try to get my bearings, but then here she comes slamming her fists into my body, my ribs becoming powder in moments but just before she could hit me hard enough to pop my head, she goes flying from Jean's power.
Kurt grabs hold of me and bamfs me out of harm's way, "Oh mein gott! Oh… oh no…" he warbles.
"Nightcrawler…" I groan, seeing someone loom over us, "OUTTA THE WAY!" I cover him with my body, even though I'm in a ton of pain and my ribs are healin' I gotta protect our own. Squeezing my eyes shut, I feel the air in my face and a smoking crater where we were before.
"Hold tight, mein fruend!" Kurt yells before porting again and even before that a gust of wind carries us through the air and back towards Ororo and Jean. Landin' neat and standing tall we all look at who's attackin' us. Remy, Anna Marie, but Scott's nowhere around. Until… there's a sound of his visor firing and he's already throwing blows at me, the chaos still ratchetin' up.
"Scott! Whatever he gave you, he's not gonna follow through!" he socks me in the face and a heavy impact and I'm on the ground, another shot or two and I'm bein' punished just for trying. He slides in on the force and decks me, but my fist gets him right in the gut.
Cyclops crumples and I kick him away just for a few cards to whiz by my head. They hit the ground just inches from where I was before. Every part of me is telling me to find the owner and stop this shit! Remy charges up his staff and sends it careening at me but I tackle him down with the stick bursting its energy into the ground. I launch off him and stand, he tries to get to his feet but I get hit off him again by Rogue.
"Seriously?! Quit jugglin' me!" I snap, whirling onto her back and steering her away from trying to toss me off a cliff.
"Any plans, team?!" I snap, "Rogue's givin' me a hard time!" There's nothing but tussling with a flyin' rodeo bull and I'm losin'!
Until a message comes through our badges, "Friends, before you came to rescue me, I figured out his powersource!" Ororo exclaims.
"Yeah?! What is it?!"
"The building itself! So hold them off until I hit it with some lightning!" she gets off the line as impacts whiz and misfire, Rogue grabs me by the throat, slamming me into the ground again, dragging me into it.
"I won't lose control!" she yells, slamming her fist into my face, "Not now, not ever again!"
"Anna…" I growl, trying to keep her close so she doesn't go right for Storm, "I know what it's like to be alone! Everyone I cared about died too! Or was going to!"
She growls and smashes her fist into my ribs again. I really fucking hate that.
"It wasn't your fault! Whatever happened to cause this was your powers, but it's a roulette wheel!" I yell, "It's all that life is! Just… just stop tryin' to kill me! What'd I do to ya?!"
"You hurt my mama!"
"I did?! How?! I never met her!"
She tosses me through one of the trees and beats down on me. I grind onto all fours and she closes in with only seconds to spare until it all blasts into bright day, the hotel's lights all flicker and die, it all goes to nothing as the owner screams.
"NOOOOOOO!" he scrambles away, "I gotta go! I gotta-" I loom above him and he stumbles back, falling on his backside.
"I gave you what you wanted! I gave you all what you wanted!" he yells. I leap into the air, bearin' down on him with my hands wide and my claws fully extended. God and his furies, I wanted to kill 'im!
Slamming into him, there's a heavy crash and a pop somewhere, and he screams out, but I get into his face, lookin' right into his multi-colored eyes like they're the gateway to hell itself.
"I don't get that." I growl, my claws digging into his shoulders with my voice ripping into a roar, "I don't get that, do y'hear me?!"
"You made me kill 'em! Y'made me kill my boy! Jean too! My… my family…" tears come to my eyes and I sock him one across the face, knockin' him out.
Dry your tears, Victor. You won. You won, Storm's ours again. I walk, dragging the owner behind me, everyone struck silent by what they heard. Jean's got tears in her eyes. Kurt's downright shaking. Scott's looking at me in sheer horror. Remy's not even smiling and Rogue…
She's posted up.
"What in the hell was that, Creed?!"
I glare at her, "I got everyone out, Miss 'dustin' my entire rib cage!' Maybe you should go right back in an' leave me alone!" I snarl, dropping the owner and marching to the Jet. Ororo sits next to me, reaching out silently.
Her hand lands on my shoulder, "Victor, what did you see?"
"I did what'cha said I shouldn'ta done. Now lemme be." I look at her with tears in my eyes, "I had what I wanted, an' I had t'kill it."
Ororo speaks, "If you need someone to talk to, I'm here."
"I don't. Lemme be, Munroe. We got you out." I snarl, Jean looking at me with tears in her eyes. She saw it too, didn't she? Johnny, Me, an' her. She moves over to me, the others all quiet after what we saw and what we did t' leave it.
I move further away, "Yer the last person I wanna talk to."
Jean sits down next to me, "And the last thing you need is to be alone."
I look out the window, the clouds rushing by. Who did I think I could be? Family man, loving husband, Dad… I thought I could leave my monsters behind me. But Jean's still right here, still sittin' by me like I didn't just kill a version of her.
Scott pipes up, "What you did was brave, Victor. Without you we'd all be in those rooms, food for that guy." he admits, "What made you last so long against that?"
I close my eyes, "T'tell y'all the truth… it was seein' Ororo in the spot she was in. I know that look like I know the back of my hand." I remember the starving others in the cages. The ones that needed it more than me.
"I know that look too well." I close my eyes and breathe deep, "That's why."
The rest of the ride back was silent, nobody spoke, even after all that happened. I shut myself off, made sure nobody could read my mind or even talk to me, diving into my music and trying my best to not cry. I'm still just like him. Even after all that. How long until I'm alone again? How long until they're all dead? How long until I'm having nightmares about them? I wanna be part of them but I can't.
Not the way I am now.
