X-Men Legacy 94
X-Men Legacy
Legend: Thoughts = <>
Stray thoughts = ()
Flashback **
Com links []
Ok, guys, all the disclaimers apply, that means all thanks goes to Marvel
For the X-Men, I'm just making the story. And I do read all the other
Stories and they're great, keep up the good work. They inspire me!
"Is he our son?" Scott asked.
"I don't know." I said, "He won't say."
"But he is your son?" Scott asked.
"Hank says yeah." I said, "We both know the chances of him getting it wrong are way out there."
"Is there anything I can do?" Scott asked.
"I need him to be out of containment." I said.
"What is his name?" Scott asked.
"Perry." I said simply. I walked back to my room and flipped on the light to feel something scrape the back of my head!
Chapter 94: Far Away
I awoke in the middle of a giant maze. I walked forward, bending the maize away as it snapped against my body. I felt drowsy; it was almost a surreal moment. I made my way through the maze, only stopping when I heard a muffled laugh. I looked around, wondering what was going on, what was I to do?
"Ah, do now what I must." Mega's voice blared.
"I should have known." I sighed
"You're warm." He said.
I stopped, my hands in the air, but realized they probably wouldn't work and put my hands down by my waist. I took a few steps forward and tried to follow the echo over his voice before I gave up and went barreling through the crops. I stopped when I caught a glimpse of him. I threw my hands in the air to him but he did the same and there was a faint ripple through the air!
"My plan is already set in motion." Mega said, "The world will never be able to contain my chaos."
"I'm going to be so glad when I take you down." I frowned.
"Don't you want to know the truth?" Mega asked.
"And what would that be?" I asked.
"I am you." Mega said quickly.
-
Raiden stood in her familial home, looking around at all the baubles and trinkets her mother had kept. Her mother wasn't a particularly good mother but she wasn't all bad either. She was an uneducated, single black woman. She worked hard for everything and always sacrificed. It was in all her work that missed out on all the bonding a mother and father were supposed to do. She had even had boyfriends and when times got rough, she drank. She drank until she couldn't see or pee straight. It was awkward to have your mom peeing all over the place, especially when she was a teen. Her mother tried to hide it, but nothing ever really stayed buried for long. It was only by a stroke of luck that her hacking skills had gotten her into S.H.I.E.L.D's program. Her invisibility gave her an edge over the other applicants. Now here she stood, again, in this familiar house. She didn't think she'd ever come back here. Yet, she did. She never thought she'd die like she was likely to, but she probably would.
"So, what brings you back?" Brenda, her mother, asked.
"Well...I..."
"All your fancy white friends throw you out?" Brenda asked.
"No, mom." Raiden asked, offended, "I'm sick."
"I don't have no money." Brenda said, taking a puff of her cigarette.
"I don't need...listen, mom...I just need you to listen." Raiden frowned.
"I'm listening."
"I'm sick."
"So you say." Brenda said quickly.
Raiden was almost full, "I have cancer." She sort of shouted.
Brenda raised an eyebrow, "Your Aunt Cynthia...had it."
"Cancer?"
"Are you sure? It could just be..."
"Mom, I'm dying." Raiden frowned.
"I need a drink." Brenda said, getting up and disappearing behind the kitchen door.
-
"You're being stalked?" Connor asked.
Olivia, a middle-aged woman with bright red-hair and wide blue eyes, smiled graciously, "I think I am. This mysterious mystery guy." She said.
"So, he's a mystery?" Connor chuckled, but stopped after he realized that she wasn't, "Sorry, just trying to lighten the mood."
"This guy is seriously sick." Olivia said.
"I know, and I'm really sorry." Connor said.
"I just am so scared. Really." Olivia said, frightened.
"I'll see what I can do. Is there any particular place he appears the most?" Connor asked.
"He's with me everywhere I go." Olivia said, looking around, "His eyes..."
"We'll get this guy." Connor said, "We have your address, we'll need about an hour before we can do anything. Stay in a well-populated area."
"Right. Thanks so much." Olivia said, standing and walking away.
"So, what's her deal? She..."
"Mel, she's being stalked." Connor said.
"So, we ever going to talk about what happened?" Melissa, a young, brunette who began working with them right after Pane left, said.
"No. Nothing to talk about." Connor said, "It happened, won't happen again."
"Right." Melissa said, "Like it never happened."
"Exactly." Connor said, "Now we have a case to solve before Raiden gets back."
-
"When you say you are me..." I asked.
"Not literally."
"Oh, okay." I frowned, "Why are we in the middle of...what is this, Oklahoma?"
"Kansas." Mega said.
"You're alone. All alone and I have friends." I said, "You're nothing like me."
"I have followers. You know nothing about my reach throughout the world." Mega said with an irritated voice.
"I know that when it comes down to it, down to the nitty gritty, you have nothing." I said with my most serious face.
"When I rain chaos down on the Earth, I will enjoy the utter devastation." Mega said.
"What does that get you?" I asked, "What does total destruction get you?"
"Power." Mega said.
Suddenly, I smelled smoke.
"Beyond this maze is a farm." Mega explained, "The farm is on fire."
I winced at his coldness. It was so unfeeling, so calculated. I couldn't...It was cold, despite the growing warmth.
"There was a family." Mega announced.
"Was?" I asked. My eyes lit with realization and I wheeled around and took off towards the smoky smell. I could hear rustling to my left and my right and suddenly I remembered his words, that he had followers! I sped faster than before, pushing myself through the tall grass, not worrying about anything but the family in the fire. I pushed the idea of a dead family out of my head.
-
Brenda had quietly returned to the room, sipping what Raiden immediately smelled to be alcohol mixed with tea. Raiden ignored her drink and focused all her energy on pulling herself together. Whenever she thought of the future, it made her cry a little. Connor had a future and Pane had a future, but she was sure that her future was gone. Brenda's isolation from everyone who loved her struck a cord with Raiden. Raiden was always a nice girl, a bit too nice. She started acting out in her late teens, rebelling against her alcoholic of a mother. She picked up hacking from an older boyfriend. That one boyfriend alone was her rebel stage. He was a hacker who, like many talented criminals, used his hacking skills to change grades (in his college classes), transfer money, and all sorts of interesting things. She'd learned a lot from just watching him and even more when she started getting lessons. When it all went downhill, she was an accessory to all his crimes and made a bargain with SHIELD. The deal was that she become one of them, join their special team, she was the perfect operative. Silent, computer-friendly, and invisibility.
"I thought when they took you, you'd die in Iraq." Brenda said, still sipping her tea.
"It's not the army, it's the government." Raiden explained, "Worry less about death and more about torture."
"Oh." Was all she said in reply.
"Oh?" Raiden asked.
"What else is there? You broke the laws, as good as I tried to raise you, you broke the law and now you got more punishment." Brenda said seriously.
"God, you haven't changed." Raiden said painfully.
"I'm too old to change." Brenda said, "Why change when I'm not broken."
"Not broken?"
"Yes, not broken." Brenda said, "How long have you had...been..."
"A few months." Raiden said, her voice empty and isolated.
"How are you responding to the treatment?"
"I am...was doing great. Almost fully recovered. Then I got bad news. It's back and worse. I had this surgery but we don't know how well..."
The doorbell rang. Raiden sighed as Brenda blew past her and Raiden sunk into the couch. Before she could softly exhale, Brenda screamed and there was a thud. Raiden stood and went invisible. She watched as a tall figure loped into the room, sniffing the air. He stretched his hand in front of him, his claws wrapping around her neck. She gasped for air as he pulled her off the ground. It was then she realized who he was.
"Can't fool me, little girl." Sabretooth growled.
Raiden felt faint, as if she was going to faint or break in half and suddenly, she felt nothing. Just nothing.
-
As I ran to the smoke in the air, I was fully aware of whatever or whoever was following me. I ran faster, trying to outrun whatever and whoever! There was a flash in front of me and a fist materialized and knocked me to the ground. I splashed as I hit the shallow pool of water and slid through the mud. I looked up to see who or what had hit me, but saw no one. I immediately stood and began another sprint, oblivious to the blood rushing away through my nose. I trudged through the muddy field until I finally made my way to the rather large house in the middle of nowhere. The house had been set ablaze and it didn't look like whoever was inside had gotten out. I stood and watched as the house burned. In the field behind me, there was a rustling noise. I turned to get backhanded to the ground. Mega stood over me with an emotionless face.
"How does it feel?" I asked.
"Feel?" Mega asked.
"You killed a family. I can sense them, or what's left of them." I frowned.
"I do not feel."
"Feel this!" I said, kicking the feet from under him. I stood and looked down at him angrily, "You sick sonavu bitch...you're going to get everything that's coming to you."
"From you?" Mega asked, "That is not a likely."
I punched Mega yet again. Then I brought my foot around and kicked him so hard, he fell to the ground! I got on top of him and started wailing away and suddenly, his skin was on my knuckle. I looked down to see wires and circuitry.
"Thought You wer...righhhhhh..." The machine whirred before dying.
I looked around and saw that a man was standing just in the clear of the field and he evaporated in thin air! I looked around and illuminated in the fire was my cell phone, lying on the ground. I rushed to it and immediately began dialing.
-
Connor sat at his desk while Melissa buzzed around the office, organizing things. Connor had been up all night trying to get information on Olivia, but all he could seem to dig up was that she was a UCLA graduate with a 3.0 and no real family.
"Hey." Olivia said as she walked into the office, "Hey, Hey, Hey."
"Hey." Melissa and Connor said simultaneously.
"So, are we ready?" Olivia asked.
Connor stood, "Umm, I can't take your case." He said.
"What do you mean? I spent all that time giving you info..."
"No, actually you didn't." Connor said, "Why is it that you have no record?"
"I...well, I..."
"I knew you looked familiar. You are Olivia Bastilla, you spent half your life in an insane asylum. You say you can talk to animals." Connor announced.
"Look who can research. They sure don't give that info out on Google." Olivia smirked.
"What do you want?" Melissa asked.
"What does any person locked in an insane asylum want? I want this world's head on a platter." Olivia stood, "Starting with you."
"You're on his side." Connor said quickly.
"Smart guy. Maybe I'll keep you as a pet." Olivia smirked, showing her now long fangs.
"Get out." Connor said angrily.
"Now that's rude." Olivia said, inching closer.
A bolt of electricity flew by Olivia's head, causing her to jump back.
"I think he said leave." Melissa said with her most serious face.
"The stars are aligning. Can you hear it? I'll be back my sweeties. You're too tasty." Olivia said, turning into a sleek panther, roaring, and immediately crashing through the glass doors.
-
When Raiden awoke, her mother's house was trashed! Her mother sat in the corner, crying hysterically while a small fire burned in the corner of the room. There was debris everywhere, chairs strewn about the room and Raiden raced to smother the flames! As she did, her mother's hysterical cries softened to a sob and she looked at Raiden. Raiden stood paralyzed, wondering what had happened. It seemed like minutes of her life were gone, but she looked at the cracked clock and it was two hours later.
"Where were you?" Brenda asked.
"How long was I out?" Raiden asked.
"Out? You fully disappeared! And that freak ruined my house!" Brenda shouted.
"Mom, I'm..."
"Get out! You brought this here. You bring me nothing." Brenda said angrily, "Get out."
Raiden opened her mouth to speak, but stopped. She did as her mom asked. She immediately left the house, determined never to return.
-
I stood in the middle of Times Square, trying to compose myself. This was the first time I was going to see him since...well, in forever. After what I been through, I needed to be around friends, to be watched over.
"Hey." Max said, hugging me.
"Hey!" I said, hugging him back.
"I missed you." Max said.
I smiled, "I missed you, too." I said quickly,
-
[Brandie Carlile's "What Can I Say" is playing in the background]
I stood in the doorway of the office, looking in. I couldn't move an inch. There were two people I didn't know and Connor stood as he saw me. I stood there, looking in.
[Brandie Carlile's "What Can I Say" fades]