The Secret Destroyers *HF*
By Avalon
CHAPTER ONE~
NIGHTMARE GLIMPSES
The stars above the Black Hellfire Clubs grounds blazed brilliantly in the ebony black sky. The wind slowly, respectively wafted through the gardens, and all the animals within remained silent. The prestigious, ivory covered buildings loomed darkly in the center, like crouching giants waiting for prey. Through the windows were many scenes. In the head Inner Circle building, Silver’s desk lamp clawed to keep the darkness back, as the Black King stayed up late reading reports for his business meeting the next morning. His eyes scanned sleepily over the pages, as he wondered why the hell he was doing this. A few windows over, to the right, the Black Queen known only as Nemesis also sat up. She was awake, however, for different matters. She spoke on the phone, a conversation held with a reporter from the Daily Bugle. She was attempting to find ways to convince him to drop his expose’ on the dealings of the Club.
"What do you mean you can’t be bought? Everyone can be bought! Name your price. Money? Women? Men, perhaps?" she listened furiously as the reporter made some speech about honor, and the publics right to the truth, and then even more furiously listened to the dial tone as the reporter hung up. She flung the phone across the room in a fit of rage, smashing it against the marble wall. Perhaps he couldn’t be bought, but he’d at least have the decency to die, she reasoned, as she went about the arrangements for Mr. Benjamin Urich to be...removed from the equation. Further away, in the smaller but no less noble building set up for the Advocates accommodations, another light punctured the cold darkness. This light belonged to the young Scribe, Avalon. Inside his rather lavish room, he sat panting and sweating on his bed, his nightmare still lingering in his mind. It had been so intense, so real. Flashes of his past, slashing their way through his mind. Places, pain, faces, pain, labs, pain, people, pain. It hadn’t been the first time his sleep had been disturbed by dreams like this. In fact, it happened regularly, waking him every night. He used his electromagnetic abilities to float from the bed over to the door. He opened it, and quietly flew down the hallway to the bathroom. The Advocates may have rooms which mirrored the Inner Circle’s lavishness, but they had neither their size nor their privacy of their own bathroom. He came to the room he sought and entered it, moving directly to the faucet. He turned on the tap, wet his hands and splashed the water on his face. His hair tendrilled down his face, as always getting into his eyes. He wet it back, and stared into the mirror. Quietly he spoke, reassuring himself
"That was years ago. Why does it still affect you? Your in the BHC now. Everything’s...better..." That last comment reverberated through his mind. Was everything truly better? He believed so, but he had never really ever had good times, so he didn’t know what to compare the present to. He stopped his doubts, turned off the tap and hovered back to his room, blue light emanating from his electric field bouncing of the walls as he went. He had to get some sleep. His days were always full now, and they were especially full whenever the Inner Circle had a meeting, like the did the next day. He yawned, and tumbled to his bed, the sheets greeting him on his return. He would lay awake for hours, pondering, and when morning would arrive, he would wish it hadn’t of.
Avalon hurriedly flew over the grounds the next morning, still adjusting his uniform in many places. He was late, and the Inner Circle didn’t accept tardiness, especially in their Scribes. He made his way to the principal office, blazing in a blue ball of energy through the doors, down corridors and eventually he found himself near the grand hall in which the meetings took place.
All eyes were on Avalon as he bursted into the room, not in his usual undisturbing manner, and hurried to his place, nervously muttering his apologies as he made his way to his seat. He sat down and drew out the records from the past meeting, along with a pen for the dictating of this one.
"Well," said a rather inpatient King Silver "Now that our Scribe has decided to make his appearance , we can start our meeting. Advocate Avalon, if you feel you’re settled in yet, may you read the minutes?" Avalon winced. The King was far more biting than usual. The Scribe didn’t know, however, that Jack Silver had a heavily important meeting for his pharmaceutical company to attend, and that the hold up had pushed back the time frame which had been so carefully constructed last night. The minutes were read, the topics discussed, the new business, such as the Queen’s need for money to deal with a security problem, was taken care of, and by the end of the forty-five minutes, the King quickly hurried for the door, leaving everyone wondering where he was off to in such a manner. The Queen was the next to leave, in the company of her Princess Siryn, with a smirk upon her face. She would see how incorruptible this Urich reporter truly was. As he packed up, Avalon cursed himself for being so reckless before. There was no time, however, as he had to get to his training session with the Upstarts and Marauders. He didn’t understand why this was necessary, though. He had such great control of his powers now, and being the only Advocate there was embarrassing to say the least. He was too young to be taken seriously by his superiors and peers, and the others his age so him more as a rank then someone to hang out at the mall with. Nevertheless, he was obligated to attend, and Gomurr the Ancient was a stickler for time.
The Headmaster ground his teeth against each other. Certainly, the boy had responsibilities, but that didn’t mean he could use his position to hold up the right for the other students to learn. Gomurr decided he’d wait another two minutes, in which if Avalon didn’t appear, he would be indexing ancient scrolls and manuscripts for the next few months. The other students all watched their teacher as he became gradually more and more frustrated. DarkWolf leant over to Monet and whispered
"Geez, it looks like the little guy’s gonna explode. What do you reckon will come out when he does?" The girl giggled slightly, and was dealt a stern glance by her short teacher. Certainly his physical frame wasn’t very intimidating, but he had mastered the art of the evil eye for sure. It was then that Avalon came stumbling through the door, his grand uniform tripping him up as he went.
"And where have you been for so long, Avalon?" asked Gomurr in his stern tone. The boy nervously flicked the hair from his eyes and addressed his teacher
"We went overtime in the meeting, sir. I’m sorry I’m late, but it couldn’t be helped." he didn’t mention the fact it was his fault that the meeting had gone too long. Gomurr glared at him, deciding in his mind whether or not to punish the boy. The old man’s face cracked into a fatherly type grin, as he said
"Such things can’t be helped, I suppose. As long as you weren’t off taking the giggle tobacco I guess I can forgive. Take your seat...and don’t ever be late to class again, or you’ll be arranging my attack staffs in order of which I received them." Avalon bashfully retreated to his seat, and all the class couldn’t help but think that the Ancient’s leniency had come from the Scribe’s position.
"Today," began Gomurr, interrupting the thoughts of everyone attending "We learn about the mutate’s dormant psionic gene. The gene which every mutant possesses, but few actually ever manage to discover."
"Mutant gene?" blurted the Demon Lord Belasco from his oddly darker corner of the room "Why the hell are we learning **** like that?!? It’s going to be of no use to me. Your being discriminatory, old man." Gomurr smiled like a snake towards the demon sitting in his class.
"Tell me, Belasco, what is the purpose of learning? To gain knowledge, of course. That is what anyone would tell you. It’s a simple answer. So I teach you about a mutant gene. So that means you can’t take advantage of it, and peep into the thoughts of others, so what? Knowledge is power, Belasco, and the more knowledge you have, the more power you have. In case that was too long a come back for you, shut up and listen!" The class chuckled, and Belasco accepted his defeat by the short man. He’d press on, but he’d received too many detentions lately. If he was forced in to cleaning the old guy’s toilet again, he’d start Armageddon himself. This was know way for the Demon Lord of Limbo to be treated.
The class finished, and everyone attending gave a sigh of relief. They all much preferred being out on the field learning their skills in a hands on way, rather than being locked in the cavernous class room studying from texts and listening to the headmaster. Everyone shuffled out in mass of sarcastic jokes and laughing. As Avalon separately made his way to the door, Gomurr called out to him
"Wait, Black Scribe Avalon. I need your help. I’ve been told to get copies of the information found in my archives onto the BHC computer network hard drive for easy reference. I’m afraid, however, that these new fangled computer contraptions have their own brand of magic, meaning they won’t do a thing I ask. Perhaps, if you’re not to busy..."
"Sure," sighed Avalon "Why not." he followed the grateful Gomurr into his office and began typing into the computer as the Ancient headmaster dictated his memorized manuscripts.
It was midnight when Avalon returned to his room, the next few weeks booked up to transfer all Gomurr’s information into the computer system. He sighed at the thought, and fell onto his bed, exhausted. He rolled over, and turned the light off. It wasn’t long before he was asleep, and the nightmarish memories once again raced throughout his mind.
Outside, in the darkened grounds, a dark figure stood. He belonged to none of these pathetic groups that housed in these overly lush buildings, nor did he want to be. He had watched from a distance as Avalon had flown overhead in his magnetic aura, and continued watching when the boy had arrived at his room and gone to sleep. After all this time, the youth had been located. The master would be extremely pleased....
~CHAPTER TWO~
ABDUCTION
It was a Saturday morning, and the BHC was moving at a slower pace for a change. The Inner Circle went about leading their beautiful, expensive lives, the Upstarts and the Marauders hung out with each other in the gardens, Gomurr discussed excursion possibilities with Shockwave and Avalon, as he did ever Saturday, slept in. At least Gomurr wasn’t so rigid as to not grant the Scribe weekends free from his new duty.
Siryn awoke in her new bedroom, it’s morning light glaring. She brushed the sleep from her eyes and lay there for a moment, before throwing the covers back and moving from her bed. It felt strange, sleeping in Blink’s old room. No sooner had Siryn been enrolled into the Upstarts then she had been promoted to the Inner Circle, as Queen Nemesis’ Princess. This meant that she had the possibility of one day becoming the Queen herself. It was an awesome preposition. The red haired girl walked in bare feet over to her wardrobe, removing her choice for the day’s clothes. Nemesis was entertaining a guest for the weekend, so that meant Siryn was free for the next two days. What was there to do? She thought for a moment as she dressed, before grabbing her guitar and heading out the door.
The cold, sterile darkness of the gargantuan system of labs was a deep contrast to the scene that had been at the Court’s property. Long metallic hallways stretched forever in all different directions, endless insanity for someone who didn’t know which way to go. The mysterious figure from the previous night hustled his way through these technological walkways, avoiding the circuitry which hung down from the roof in certain spots. Eventually he found his destination, an immense door which required the figure to make verbal and fingerprint identifications.
"Specimen No. 3;39;46;26, AKA Pug, requesting entrance into main research facilities."
"SCANNING..." came the emotionless voice of the computer system, as red lasers made their way across the surface of Pug’s eyeballs and fingertips.
"IDENTIFICATION CONFIRMED. NO. 3;39;46;26 DESIGNATE: PUG GRANTED ACCESS TO MAIN RESEARCH FACILITIES." said the computer as the giant doors slowly slid their way open. Pug made his way through them hurriedly, and after he’d entered, the doors immediately shut again. The main research lab was crammed with equipment, with large tubes fixed to the walls. Some of the tubes had specimens in them, presumably mutant as they were far too obscurely formed to be human. Pug quickly moved through the lab, the specimens apparently disturbing him. Eventually he found what he sought, a large, overly muscled man sitting in a gargantuan chair at what seemed the focus of the whole room. He was dressed darkly, and his face was odd.
"Sir," said Pug as he approached the man with visible respect "I’ve located him. I’ve finally located Avalon. He’s joined a club, of sorts, called the ‘Black Hellfire’."
"What position does he serve in this....club?" asked the man, his interest piqued by the news.
"I’m not sure, sir. It appears that he’s some sort of...note keeper. That seems to contradict, however, as after a meeting he attended in which he kept notes, he then went to what seemed like a classroom, with other people his age. After that, he remained behind to assist the teacher with his computer work. He didn’t arrive back to his room until midnight." answered Pug, his manor like that of a secretary. The older man pondered this.
"Interesting," he replied "Return to this ‘Black Hellfire Club’. I want you to return Avalon to me. Tonight. I’ll prepare the equipment you’ll require. You will fetch him for me...."
"Yes, sir."
"...And, Pug...."
"Yes, sir?"
"Do not fail me this time. You’ve located Avalon too many times in the past and bungled his return home. This is your last chance before I strip you of your DNA and use it to prolong myself." threatened the dark one.
"Yes, sir." shuddered Pug, as he watched his master stand and went about the search for the essential equipment.
It was around ten when Avalon awoke. He slowly rose from his bed, the sheets tangled around him. It had been another long sleep of nightmares, and he was grateful for the embracing day. He looked out his window, at the passing people. The Marauder leader Psishot was sitting on the edge of a garden bed with the two werecats Puma11 and Catana, and the two Upstarts Nate and DarkWolf. They were all quietly laughing, trying to look cool and doing a good job at it. About fifty metres from them stood the new Black Bishop Rahsas, recently promoted, speaking with the new Mage Harbinger and the Black Rook Deadpool. They were less humorous then the other group, looking as if they were having a sort of private board meeting. Avalon moved away from the window, and went over to his chest of drawers. He removed his black Smashing Pumpkins "Zero" shirt and torn jeans, and slipped them on. He remembered the first time he had worn his own choice of clothes, not a uniform or gaudy outfit. Everyone who had seen him was rather shocked. They had seen him too quiet to wear such...outlandish choice of clothing. He smiled. It seemed he’d only been able to express himself in the BHC through his choice of personal clothing. He felt too uneasy to talk to people. The clothes did what he couldn’t.
Siryn walked down the main pathway, through the exquisite, well managed gardens. She marveled at the lush beauty the Club surrounded itself with. There were certainly worse places to live and work. She soon came to the area she sought. She ducked between two trees and found herself in her private little area, the place she came whenever she just wanted to think, to play her guitar and reflect. She went and sat on her usual boulder, and began to placidly strum the guitar, and sing in a hushed tone with her eyes closed.
"She’s addicted to nicotine patches." she sang, as the birds chirped and glints of sun cut through the leaves of the trees. Her mind felt easy for the first time in days. She needed more free weekends....
Avalon had been walking down the main pathway, thinking he’d take one of the cars and drive into town and buy some new albums. He was surprised by the sound of music being played, coming from behind the row of trees next to the walkway. He slowly stopped walking, and peered through the leaves. He could see someone through there, strumming a guitar, and singing breathfully. Avalon considered whether or not he should disturb this person. He thought maybe it’d be fun to hang out with another musician. He pushed aside his usually bashful thoughts and whisked away the flimsy tree branches. Siryn turned around, startled, as she saw a figure come stumbling through the leafy branches. She was even more surprised when she saw it was Avalon, the usually shy Black Scribe.
"Ummm.....hi..." he said, as he picked the shrubbery from his hair.
"You usually burst in on people enjoying a solitary moment?" she smiled with a sarcastic expression.
"Well....I was just passing by when I heard you playing. You’re really good..." he said awkwardly
"Uh...thanks...," Siryn said, embarrassed "You know, you’re probably the first person to hear me play. Even if it was because you were stalking me." She smiled again.
"Damn...I’ve been caught. That book taught me nothing!" Avalon joked. Siryn chuckled, and the Scribe sat down next to her on the rock
"Can you play?" she asked.
"Yeah...yeah, I can. I learnt years ago, and haven’t had much practice lately, but yeah, I can." he replied.
"Well then, let’s see how good you are." With that, Siryn handed the guitar to Avalon.
"I usually play my own stuff..." he said, as he flipped the guitar around to accommodate the needs of a left hander.
"But I know how to play the Pumpkin’s song ‘Today’. Have you heard of that?"
"Yeah. I love that song."
"Well, then..." he said as he began the opening riff. The song was rather approriate, he thought. It was such a beautiful day, and the fact that he was for the first time socializing amazed him. Maybe life in the BHC was getting better...
"You’re nothing more than a specimen...." echoed the voice "...Nothing more than a number. A lab rat to be dealt with as I see fit...to be extinguished if I see fit."
"That’s not true." he tried to argue, but it was of no use. The voice wouldn’t listen. The voice wouldn’t believe. Frankly, neither did he. Then the voice became visible. It had jet black hair, a face as pale as death, and the sharp, pointed teeth of a wild animal
"Do you truly believe that?" Sinister asked. Avalon’s throat stuck. His heart pounded, and he raged against the restraints holding him in place.
"Do you believe your nothing more than trash to me, trash to the world? You may be the son of Magneto, but your a bastard son, a bastard baby that only I may make better. Perhaps reverse your terrible birth right. Your perhaps I’ll kill you in the process. Either way, it’s of no matter. Your genetic material, nothing more."
"NO!!!!" Avalon screamed. It wasn’t true! He was precious! Every human life was precious! He was about to do something, say something against Sinister, but it was too late. Sinister had disappeared, and in his place was a different voice
"Do you believe you’re nothing more than my salvation? Nothing more than a way to keep me alive?" asked the mysterious one.
"Who....who are you?" asked the boy.
"Someone you know." the voice responded.
"You...don’t sound familiar..." said Avalon, confused at what the stranger said
"Look through your window..." it said
"What...?" replied the younger of the two.
"Look...through your window..."said the voice, giving no explanation. Avalon felt strange, as if he was receding. It was then he awake, heart beating in his bed. Another dream. There had been Sinister’s voice, and the different voice, as there had always been. And as always, the voice didn’t say who he was, but he had told Avalon something new.
"‘Look through your window.’" pondered Avalon. What the hell did that mean? Was it some kind of metaphor? A double meaning? He had no idea. He got up from his bed to go to the bathroom to splash his face, and as he did, he caught a glimpse of a lonely figure standing out in the middle of the gardens. ‘Look through your window’. It had been literal! Who was this standing out there in the dark? A psionic? A mutant? A metahuman? Avalon had little time to question, though, as he saw the silhouette raise something. Avalon squinted, and saw that it was a massive personal cannon. He began to run for the door as the weapon was launched, and his room erupted into a storm of light, noise and heat. When the energy settled, the entire room was nothing but ash, with an immense hole in the side of the wall. Nothing was left but char, and not even Avalon could be found. It appeared as if he too had been disintergrated along with everything else....
~CHAPTER THREE~
RESURRECTION
The three figures of King Silver, Queen Nemesis and Gomurr the Ancient stood in the burnt remains of Avalon’s room, as on-lookers peeped in through the massive hole in the wall.
"Could he have been burnt to nothing?" asked Nemesis emotionlessly.
"It appears that way, Nem. If only we had better security on these grounds. I told you that, but you wanted to spend the money on a new fleet of cars..."
"Well we need to travel, don’t we? But, I see your point now. I could only imagine if this had happened to one of us..."
"That’s all your concerned about? Nemesis, we’ve lost Avalon, for God’s sake! He’s probably dead! Don’t you feel a scrap of remorse?!?" roared Silver, his guilt getting to him. He didn’t know, however, that with the apparent death of Avalon, Nemesis felt secure that one of her many secrets died with him. It was at this point that Gomurr, who’d been studying the room, spoke up...
"Excuse me, sires, but I have reason to believe that Avalon is still alive. In terrible danger, but still alive..."
"What?!?" blurted Nemesis, corrupting her otherwise cool facade.
"I recognize these signs. The scorch marks, the colour of the ash, they’re unique to a certain form of teleporting."
"Mystical based?" asked Silver.
"No. Technological. It’s called a Trans-Structure cannon. Basically, you fill in the co-ordinates of the destination you wish the target to go to, pull the trigger, and within ten minutes the target is at the place you set. It’s simple molecular displacement. I’ve encountered it before."
"Is there anyway we can locate Avalon?" Silver asked, his anxiety over the loss of one his followers genuine.
"Yes, it is," replied Gomurr, now diverting his attention away from the remains to back to the king "All I need to do is measure the energy readings of the past twenty four hours."
"Of the entire earth?"
"Unfortunately yes, seeing as we have no idea where he may have been sent to. It may take some time..."
"Do you have a time frame?"
"Hmmmm...that’s tricky. Perhaps a day. Maybe less, maybe more. I am not sure..."
"Whatever you can do to help, Gomurr, is greatly appreciated."
"No appreciation needed, Black King, I’m as concerned of the safe return of my student as you are. I’ll leave now and prepare what I will." With that, the Ancient one, turned and left the gutted room. Nemesis stood brooding. Silver stared at her.
"Why don’t you care about this disappearance, Nem? It’s almost as if...as if you’re hiding something."
"Of course I’m hiding something, Silver," she spat "We all hide something’s. But this...this doesn’t matter. This is just a matter of face."
"Does Avalon know something about you?" the King questioned.
"Why Silver whatever do you mean?" she evaded, before she also turned and began walking out the room "I have urgent things to do. I suggest you get back to work while Gomurr goes about the locating of the young one." Silver was left standing alone, wondering if he had the correct attitude to be the king of this court. Outside, the other students of Gomurr all had their own opinions. None had ever truly known Avalon. He’d been around for awhile but not many had conversations with him. They had no idea of what was going on...
The sound of machines humming was what he awoke to. Sounds of electrical life thumping. His mind was glazed, and he had no recollection of anything. It was as if his memory were a vault. He looked down, to see his wrists and legs strapped in metal to the ceiling of this odd, computerized room. He was held in place on the roof, his clothing made of a strange lycra type material, the suit plain white, with a collar up to the back of his neck. These weren’t his clothes. He knew that much. Someone had put them on him.
"Are you resting comfortably?" a voice came. Avalon’s mind slowly registered the presence, and he looked down on the disfigured little man staring up at him.
"I....know...you..." Avalon breathed.
"That’s true. You knew me, years ago. We were friends. Then you had to leave." said the short man again. His clothing was much like Avalon’s, only his body suit was black, with purple rectangles on the arms and legs. He wore a brown jacket which stretched to his ankles, the arms of the jacket torn off. Although he was short, his body was lanky, his jaw long and narrow, his lips barely defined, and his skin was a strange magenta pigment.
"Are you in any pain?" he asked "Do you need some more shots? I enjoy giving shots. Pleasure and pain all at once." this odd little man said. Avalon’s mind was barely registering. He assumed through the fog that he’d already been drugged up to the eyeballs. Or perhaps it was a result of the explosion. Yes, he remembered that now. Looking through the window, seeing this man before him, then a burst of bright light.
"It takes a while to get accustomed to being corporeal again after being fractured atomically. It’ a rather...nineteen sixties type feel...he he he..." the little demon chuckled, as he hopped over to one of the many machines attached to the wall, removed a syringe, and injected it a pipe in the apparatus.
"There you go. My own personal batch. You should enjoy it. By the way, you probably won’t remember this when you wake up, but my name is Pug. We met years ago when.........*" Avalon could no longer hear. The drugs had reached his system and he was once again enveloped in the confusing darkness. What was going on here?
"We don’t deserve this treatment," the big man had said. "I know you’re used to it, boy, but I had a life before I was caught in here. A life away from the experiments, away from the injections and the disinfectant."
"You mean," the young boy Avalon had said "There’s an outside world?"
"Of course there is," the big man had answered "I came from there. You came from there. To this damn hell hole. He’s killing us, y’know? Twisting us, changing us, then he’s going to get tired and throw us away. We’ll be in the world again, but we’ll be dead in it."
"I always thought it was my imagination. I guess there...memories now," the little blonde boy paused "Gulliver, do you think we could some day go to the real world? Get out of here and leave? Would you take me with you?"
"Sure."
"And Pug? And De Locke? And Soma?"
"Settle down, child. We’re not escaping yet. But I promise you, when we do, we’ll take everyone with us."
"Including Pug?"
"Yes. Including Pug."
"Good. Pug’s funny. He’s my friend."
Once again he awoke to the sight of the steel floor below him. Was that a dream? No, he knew it wasn’t. It had been a memory. One that had gone forgotten until now. Gulliver. It had been long since he5’d thought of that name. Certainly, he had read it when he had proofed the BHC members files, but he had done so as if distanced from it. Now, with the name rolling through his mind, he couldn’t help but feel guilt. He had left Gulliver and the others for his father. How could he ever forgive himself?
"Ahhh, dear Avalon." came the voice. It was the voice he had just heard in his dreams. Gulliver.
"Gulliver?" asked the boy from his dizzy state.
"Yes, dear boy. You wouldn’t believe how hard it has been locating you. Bringing you back to me. It’s been some time."
"...Four...years..."
"Yes...four years, indeed. You have been busy in that time, haven’t you?"
"...Wha....what do you mean?"
"What do you mean what do I mean? You know...forming a team, seeing your father, losing a team, joining a team. It’s all been rather hectic, hasn’t it?"
"How...do you know all that?" Avalon asked. Had Gulliver been following him? Spying on him?
"Through Pug. He’s kept a keen eye on you, my boy." Gulliver smiled. Avalon was surprised to see him again. He’d always felt this man was like a big brother to him. A big brother, of course, can be trusted at least most of the time.
"Pug’s been....watching me....following me?"
"Only through necessity, Avalon. Only through necessity..."
"Necessity? What necessity dictates my being chained to the.....goddamned ceiling...of all places...." mumbled the youth with aggression.
"The necessity of survival, I’m afraid." stated Gulliver with a cheery smile.
"Survival? What are you talking about?"
"Avalon....we were all the....lab rats of Sinister. He twisted us and perverted us, bending our souls to help him in his personal quest. It just so happens that the good doctor wasn’t perfect. In fact, he messed up on quite a number of occasions. Those occasions came with the injecting of the meta serum into each of us, to enhance our mutant and athletic abilities. You remember the serum?"
"Yes...I do..." Avalon shuddered as he recalled the thought. The endless hours of countless injections to re-structure his genetic codes.
"Well, it appears the serum had it’s....errors. It created a virus within our bloodstream’s which I’ve called the ‘degeneration virus’, a virus which slowly rips apart the chromosomes in the body until death comes. It can take weeks, months, years, perhaps decades, but it does happen." Avalon was stunned. Did he have this virus? He asked
"Do I...?"
"Have it? I’m not sure. I have it. Pug has it....and....there’s some bad news, Avalon..."
"What?" he asked.
"Soma....died of it....last month...quite suddenly...." There was silence. Avalon’s head spun, but it was not from the dizziness with in his head. Not Soma, he thought, not the most innocent of them all. She had been so full of life, despite the tragedy of hers.
"There’s more. De Locke is dying of it, right now, at this very moment. I’m sorry to be piling everything on you, but we have little time. Acting quickly is a must. You see, each one of us was injected with a unique strand of serum, so there’s a possibility..."
"That I may not have it?" asked Avalon, jumping the gun.
"Yes, there is. If that’s so, then there’s a possibility we can gain a cure from your blood. We may save ourselves yet..."
"So why the chaining to the ceiling?" asked the Scribe of the Black Court, biting back his remorse for Soma, his fear of what was happening.
"Well, at the moment, the machines you’re "chained" to are analyzing your blood, checking your DNA strands. I’m sorry to put you straight into them before asking, but as I said, time is of the essence." Avalon was now unsure of what to say. He now could feel the tiny needles sticking into him, one set draining blood from him, sending it through computers and machines, and another set of needles pouring it back into him.
"You should probably rest. I’ll read the information gathered, and, everything bearing well, we will have a cure. Rest well, Avalon. You deserve it."
"But I’m not sleepy..." the boy said, just before Gulliver punched a button beside him, which launched anesthetic into Avalon, sending him to sleep. Gulliver walked out, the doors sliding behind him as he went. The boy, as he had always been, was naive. Gulliver smiled to himself. Even if he couldn’t siphon a cure from him, he would still strip the boys cells and keep his own life preserved that much longer. It was almost poetic. Avalon was going to die in the one place he wished he never would have to ever see again. Sinister’s laboratories...
~CHAPTER FOUR~
REVELATIONS
Gomurr sat in front of the computer screen, becoming increasingly more aggravated as they device refused to do what he wished it to. Every time he attempted a command the blasted thing would scream with an error message. Finally, his patience wore thin, and after much cursing, he decided that the best idea for locating Avalon was not through technology, but the old arcane ways. He turned off the electrical lights, replacing them with the bask of candles, as he also lit incense and unrolled his meditation mat. He quietly sat down on the tiny mat, and began chanting, focusing his mind on nothing but the chant, nothing but the darkness of his clenched eyes. Slowly, gently, images crept to him. They were of crystal clean labs, strange mutations kept in tanks along the walls, a strange little man with purple skin, and of a dark presence pretending to hold itself in the light. Then came the sight of Avalon. Gomurr could see him clearly, his arms and legs encased in massive bonds, the boy himself held to the ceiling, while strange machines took and gave back his blood. The Ancient knew that the boy was in trouble, even if the boy himself was oblivious to the fact. With his age-old senses tuned on Avalon’s whereabouts, Gomurr arose from his sitting spot, gathered his hat and staff, and passed through his doorway. His destination was to King Silver’s office, then, after that, to Avalon’s assistance.
Gulliver sat in his throne, built only to serve his ego. On the right arm rest, a small computer screen flickered. The huge man quietly sat in the chair, reading the information that spewed from the tiny monitor. Pug looked on, standing hunched over about twenty metres away. He knew what that information was about. The results of Avalon’s blood tests. He crouched in nervousness. This could be their salvation, their first glimpse of hope in years. Pug feared that if the cure was found, Gulliver would only remedy himself, and leave his servant and De Locke to die. He knew the man was capable of worse atrocities. Pug was pondering this, when suddenly Gulliver sprang up, grabbing the monitor in his immense hand and crushing it. The giant roared as he increased his body size, using his strength to thrash out at anything nearby. Pug retreated even further back as he watched his master rip apart the lab. Finally, the large man finished, his anger exerted, and he began scaling back to normal size. Pug eventually mustered enough courage to approach the master.
"Not...not good news, sir?" he asked. Gulliver stared at him wildly, the rage still deep within his eyes.
"Of course not, you moron." he spat.
"We won’t be able to siphon a cure from Avalon?" he asked, biting back his fear of his master.
"No, we won’t," Gulliver bellow "Because Avalon has the virus as well..."
"He does?!?" asked the startled Pug. Not Avalon, too! Not that innocent little boy he practically raised!
"Oh, get over it, Pug. So what? He’s of no use now. All those years of hoping he’d save me, and now, he lets me down."
"Are we going to let him go now...like you said we would?" the purple skinned mutate asked. Gulliver laughed at Pug, a cold, merciless laugh.
"You think...after he left us for dead to go search for his bastard father, I’d actually let him live? You think, after he went, without barely a word, to travel the globe and join some aristocratic club, I’d actually let him live? You’re a fool, Pug! My plan all along was to rip the cure from his blood, then extract my revenge on the little son of a whore. But now, considering he too has the virus, I guess I’m just going to have to extract my revenge."
"But..." Pug stuttered "But you loved him like a little brother. You helped him escape from Sinister! You loved him for God’s sake, Gulliver! Doesn’t that mean anything?!?" Gulliver’s eyes widened. This was the first time in years that Pug had used a disrespectful tone, the first time in years he hadn’t used the word ‘sir’. Gulliver didn’t like it. His hand reached out and grabbed the head of Pug.
"Listen carefully, worm. Whatever I felt for Avalon is dead. It died when he betrayed us for his father. It died the night he left, without a word, to America, to form his ‘Acolytes’ and to praise his precious daddy. You don’t care that he left all of us, even dear Soma, just for the love of a megalomaniac? It sickens me! To my very stomach!" Gulliver let go his grasp, and Pug went wheeling backwards, gasping for air and gasping from shock. He lay on the cold floor, wondering if perhaps his jaw was broken. The dark figure of Gulliver stood over him.
"Perhaps my motivations aren’t clear. You know I loved Soma. She was my world. When we were trapped in Sinister’s cages, she was my source of light. She was all I cared for, really. After we escaped, I thought life would be perfect. Then Avalon left, and everything fell apart. I discovered that accursed virus, I discovered we were dying. I was frantic. So we returned here, hoping for Sinister’s mercy. Wasn’t it a surprise to find this place abandoned? Very surprising," he laughed a menacing laugh "So I became the doctor. I learnt from the files I found, and I tried to save us. And then, Soma died. I was crushed. Devastated. I lost my will to love. And I lost giving a damn about you or that bitch, De Locke! You two and Avalon the traitor can all burn in hell for all I care. All I want to do is find a cure for myself, so I can continue to live, find Sinister, and tear him apart! I won’t rest until I find him. Until I make him pay for what he did. You? You’re just a lap dog. My current help until you die from the virus. Have I made myself understood, Pug? Do you need further answers?" Gulliver finished. Pug sat in silence, his fear rattling his bones. Was all this true? He knew Gulliver had changed, but this much? Had he truly become that cold-hearted?
"Now, I have a job for you. Go to your little drug cabinet and fetch me something lethal. I don’t care what. Just something to inject into Avalon and watch him die." Gulliver smiled his evil smile, and turned, dismissing Pug to go about his duty. The short, gangly man hopped up from the floor, and whimpered away. What to do? He couldn’t just let Avalon die...
Beast Charming breathed outward nervously as he listened to King Silver go over the details of the rescue attempt. He knew what he was in for when he joined this club. He just wish he had had some more teaching before he was plunged into a mission. He wasn’t sure why he’d been accepted into the Black Court. He knew his mutant abilities weren’t much. A psionic ability to "charm" people, and microscopic talons on his fingertips and toes that allowed him to cling to stable surfaces weren’t exactly powers that were going to intimidate an Alpha level threat. Nor was his extensive knowledge of adhesive glues, which he best used in the glue shooters he constantly wore on his wrists. As he was surrounded by these monoliths of power, he couldn’t help but feel just a little...inadequate...
"We’re not sure of what threats we may face, we’re not sure how many of us will return, but one thing is sure. We stand by our own. We do not allow our fellows to be taken without their wish. We do not stand by as our brethren go down. We fight! We stand up! We say ‘We are the Black hellfire Club, and we do NOT get pushed by anyone!’ I wish us all luck....dismissed." Silver finished his speech, those who had listened and had not retreated into thoughts of fear or inadequacy thoroughly motivated. The two teams moved out, lead by Gomurr, to the vehicles awaiting them. The Inner Circle members of Silver, Nemesis, Siryn and Deadpool followed behind, making their way to their private cars. As they went, Nemesis turned and said to Silver
"Motivating speech, Jack. I like a man with conviction." she smiled her own smile, as Silver pondered this enigma of a woman. Ten minutes ago, she had been steadfastly denying the call to arms. Now she moved ahead, as if eager to go into the fray? She was indeed one of her own mind. He couldn’t help but wonder to think what link she had to Avalon that she had hinted at before. He remembered that Avalon had been brought into the Court under Nemesis’ insistance, and that the then Bishop Silver had felt a little startled at her conviction to have him join. It was almost if she had to have him in there for a purpose. Trying to get Nemesis to reveal aspects about herself was like trying to break down brick wall with nothing but a feather...
~CHAPTER FIVE~
ENTRAPMENT
Gregor walked quickly across the fields of the IHFC’s grounds, to his car awaiting him on the other side. His manner was more brutish then it had been in a while, reflecting his days gone past with the BHC, when he was the tyrant king. He had changed a lot over the past few months, and things had changed along with him. He felt unsure and insecure about himself, as if he had no idea of who he truly was, though he never let on for a second. He knew one thing for sure. He was still a secretive person. At the moment, Gregor felt a presence, and was surprised when the White King SuperGrover dropped from the sky behind the current Red Rook.
"Hello, Gregor. Where are you off to in such a huff?" the blue skinned, red clothed man said. Gregor hesitated. Perhaps SuperGrover’s help would be of some use, but Gregor couldn’t help but keep his actions his own.
"It has something to do with...well, do you know the Black Scribe Avalon?"
SuperGrover thought to himself.
"Hmmm...yes, I recall meeting him. He was in the library one time when I visited Gomurr. A rather quiet kid."
"That’s right," replied the former Black King "Well, I heard he’s been....abducted. I was going off to...help..."
"Isn’t this the BHC’s concern now, Gregor?"
"No," said Gregor, surprising Grover with his apparent insult at the White Kings question "He’s my responsibility. Listen, Grover, you just wouldn’t understand...this is something I need to do...I need to help him..." Gregor said as he reached his car, slid the key in and unlocked it.
"Well, listen. If you’re going, I’ll come too. It’d be fun to be side by side with the BHC again. Check up on how Gomurr is. Kick some ass. Take some names." Grover smiled his special grin which intoxicated many young women with love, as the pair hopped into the car, and drove off, through the gates and onward.
The fleet of cars had been parked outside the abandoned building, while the teams and few gathered Inner Circle members had ventured inside the bowels of the hollowed out abandoned building. They had searched for twenty minutes before Gomurr had come across a strange metallic door set in a tiny room in the basement. Each person present tensed as the door was slowly lifted open by Belasco and DarkWolf. The doors slammed against the concrete floor, and everyone peered into the darkness, hoping for their eyes to adjust. Nemesis muttered something, as Silver gave the command to forward in...
Moments earlier, Pug had looked up at the peaceful face of Avalon as he lay in a state of total unconsciousness. Pug had handed the syringe containing the lethal serum to Gulliver, and the huge man had begun his lecture on obedience and alliance, when suddenly the intrusion bell had sounded.
"What the fuck?!" Gulliver bellowed, as he lost the grip of the syringe and it shattered on the ground. "Computer!" he bellowed. "What is the meaning of this?"
Security breach in sector A-1. Gulliver gritted his teeth in frustration.
"Computer, take according procedures!" he commanded to the seemingly omni-present machine "And Pug! Take care of the trash!" he spat, as he left the room to go about his business concerning the breach. Pug once again looked up at Avalon, and winced, as he took out a second syringe, attached it to the drip, and slowly began to squeeze, until all the liquid within the tiny chamber had been pumped into the young mutant’s blood.
"This kind of shows our worth, doesn’t it?" spat DarkWolf as he walked through the dark tunnel with the rest of the two teams, the Inner Circle trailing behind.
"We’re nothing but cannon fodder to them. We get wasted first and they get to run away. It sickens me..."
"Oh shut up, DW!!!" hissed Nate, fed up with all the accusations DarkWolf had been spouting for the past twenty minutes. The Iceman watched his American allies, his red eyes warming the darkness with their glow. For what was supposed to be a strike-force, they were somewhat casual in their gaudy outfits and pop culture language. Just as he was thinking of how they should be entering the enemy’s lair with more stealth, a noise from up ahead sounded. Everyone froze, and peered forth.
"Stand your ground." Silver quietly commanded, as the noise grew close. Suddenly, into the light bursted dozens of mutated creatures, not recognizable as either a human or mutant. Their eyes contained no sanity, only a lust for blood which could only be taken care of by the individuals standing before them. The BHC members braced themselves, readying their weapons or igniting their energy haloes, just before Silver gave the order to attack. The two masses of opponents met head-on and hard, the mutated beasts savagely ripping at the determined warriors, as the dark figure of Gulliver watched from a safe, invisible distance away.
~CHAPTER SIX~
BATTLEGROUND
The Iceman was the first to make contact with the mutations. His fists, made of ice through the use of his powers, were shaped like two picks, which were thrusted into the flesh of the first creature. It cried out as it’s oddly green blood spurted forth from the freshly carved wound. The next to reach one of the beasts was DarkWolf, a beast himself. His muscled, hairy arms ripped at the body of one being who consisted mostly of unstable, slime like puss. The green mutate stood little chance as DarkWolf released his fury. Eventually, each member of the two groups clashed with the other, until the battle ground became stained with all manners of blood...
Avalon was in a state of unknowing. One minute, his mind was floating, anchorless, with no weight, the next he was sped back to reality, his mind and heart screaming to life. His eyes were more awake then they had ever been, and they began darting around quickly to assess the situation. Eventually they found Pug, the short man’s face pale and concerned.
"Avalon...hurry....we must escape." he said, as he hit a button to the side and Avalon was quickly, but not so gracefully, released from his constraints. He fell to the floor with a thud, and felt his arms and legs grateful to be free again.
"What’s going on?" asked Avalon, slowly rising, his mind amazingly nimble and quick as usual.
"I gave you a ‘wake up’ shot. Gulliver was planning on killing you but..."
"What?!?" questioned the blonde haired youth with amazement.
"He’s become insane, Av. Completely nutsoid. After Soma died, he stopped caring. Became cold. Brutal. He only wants to find a cure for the disease so he can continue to live that he may gain vengeance on Sinister."
"But...I thought...."
"That you had the cure in you? ‘Fraid not, pal, you’re as infected as the rest of his lab rats." Avalon reeled. His forehead broke into sweat and clenched his stomach with nervousness.
"We don’t have time for you to go getting all ‘I’m going to die’. We have to get out of here. Gulliver may return any minute." said Pug, as he guided the bewildered Avalon out of the tiny, darkened chamber.
Moments earlier, Gulliver had been watching the brawl. He grimaced as his troops blood fell, and chuckled as he saw the blood of the Black Hellfire Courts’ fall along with it. The struggle displayed in front of him ensoaked him in his interest, almost so much so that he missed the warning beep on his wrist communicator that Avalon’s bonds had been undone without proper authorization.
"Pug." he mumbled, as he turned in a huff and charged through a nearby doorway, which sliced its way closed as he went through.
About fifty metres away, Nemesis had spotted a movement in the shadows. She had watched it for a few minutes, before the unseen stranger had seemingly retreated further into the darkness. She attempted a psi-scan, but found that the entire compound seemed to have some sort of bafflers located within the walls. She scowled as she turned to the King Silver and simple told him
"Follow me." with that she dashed towards the area which the movement had occurred in, followed by a confused Silver. He dodged punches and attacks as he followed the Queen, who was gracefully negotiating the battle field and the soldiers upon it.
Gregor and SuperGrover had heard the noise of battle when they had pulled up in the driveway next to the armada of black cars and limos. They had quickly exited the Red Rooks’ sports car and had headed towards the sounds, SuperGrover a little more eager for battle then he would care to admit. They had come to the entrance of a dark tunnel and were greeted by the sight of Gomurr being pushed back by what a appeared to be a monster.
"Agh!," he shouted, as he became fed up with the bout "To hell with you!". The creature screamed as flames engulfed its scabby body, and where once stood a mutate there was nothing at all.
"A little harsh, don’t you believe? Casting him to hell?" said SuperGrover to his old mentor.
"Grover, glad you could make it to our little party," said the Ancient, his mind and body focused on the battle before them, waiting for the opportune time to strike "I see you brought a guest."
"What’s the situation here?" said Gregor, ignoring the old man’s dry humor as he had always done.
"Nice to see you too, my ex-majesty." grinned Gomurr, teasing the old Black King as he had always enjoyed doing. For some strange reason, he found walking fine lines exciting.
"We don’t have time for this reunion nonsense, headmaster. I repeat, what’s the situation?"
"Well, we believe our Scribe Avalon has been taken prisoner within this place, and we have come here to liberate him. We encountered these...beasts...unfortunately, and have been detained since. I noticed, however, that our majesties seemed to have broken through the lines and have disappeared, hopefully they’ve found Avalon and we can get out of here...."
"Take me to where the Queen and...King...disappeared to Gomurr."
"A simple ‘please’ would be nice. You can’t go giving orders and expect them to be followed anymore, Red Rook." Gomurr snapped, feeling just a tiny bit vindicated. Gregor sighed. Why was the old man making this so damn difficult?
"Please show me where the Queen and King went, Gomurr." he said, not noticing the smirk on the White King’s face.
"Very well then," replied Gomurr, leaping back into the fray "But I warn you, you’ll have to keep up."
"I’ll have no trouble with that, old man." returned Gregor, as he tailed behind the Ancient. SuperGrover was left standing by himself, but not for long, as he too joined the fight against the seemingly incalculable amount of mutations. Many Black Club member’s were surprised to see the former Rook side by side with them, but, they felt, as he did, that it was like re-living old times. Some of the faces, however, he did not recognize, and their ferocity seemed to almost startle him. These ‘newbies’ would have to be watched. As much as he saw the dispute between the two houses as nothing more than nonsense, he still felt that, in the wrong hands, these fresh recruits could be a dangerous weapon to bring down the IHFC.
Gregor tore his way through nuisance attackers as he followed Gomurr, the old man joyfully leaping and bounding ahead of him. Blood soaked his clothes, and his hands shook with adrenaline. Eventually, Gomurr stopped at the edge of the shadows, as he waited for Gregor to catch up. The Red Rook smashed his way through a wall of enemies and gained the side of the Ancient one. He panted for but a second, before saying
"Where?" Gomurr pointed a bony old finger into the inky darkness swelling around the side of the room, and said
"In there. That’s where I saw them go. Good luck." Gregor stood surprised.
"You’re not coming?" he questioned.
"No, I’m not. As important as one student is to me, I can not risk my others. I will stay here, in case they need me. You go, Red Rook, and know, you have my respect. You have been cruel in the past, but what do you now is...extremely charitable. So very much unlike you..." he grinned his devilish smile at the last comment, and Gregor was not sure whether to smile or take offense. He decided that there wasn’t time, as he rushed into the shadows to see what they offered him. Gomurr regarded what was in process for a moment, before he too turned, and once again threw himself into the madness. As he did so, he noticed that more creatures were arriving. Only the heavens knew now how long this would take. He sighed as he wished he’d become a monk all those centuries ago instead of trying to seek out the Ascended One.
Avalon ran down the grimy, disused tunnels, too weak to use his powers to fly. Pug had guided them to the old sewer system which had been below the facade that housed the labs, and had said this was the only way to escape. The stench had almost made Avalon decide to surrender, but he had quickly banished that thought as he slid into the slippery tunnel. He’d been following Pug for five minutes now, not sure of where they were going, when his foot slipped and he had landed in the decades old sewerage water with a splash. Pug stopped in his tracks, and waited for Avalon to regain his stance, nervously mumbling to himself as he did so. He didn’t notice the huge, dark figure glide down behind him, from a trap door hidden in the ceiling of the tunnel. Avalon’s eyes expressed shock, and he had no time to warn Pug, before the hands of Gulliver clapped around the short mans’ ears, and twisted, the snapping of bone thundering.
"Poor, stupid, Pug," spat Gulliver, dropping the dead body of Pug into the brown, murky water "Always trying to ‘do the right thing’. Look where it got him. A funeral in a pool of turds and piss, with no one but a stupid little child to mourn him."
"I...I’m not a child..." Avalon said, biting back the nausea and fear ripping his stomach apart.
"You aren’t?" Gulliver questioned, with mock surprise on his face.
"I’m not," replied Avalon with more determination, standing. "Everyone has tried to keep me as one, but I’m not. I’m a man."
"A man?!?" laughed the huge Gulliver, using his powers to make his muscles more intense "You could have fooled me, boy! Yet, you insist on fooling yourself, don’t you? What does it matter, anyway? You’re going to die now. I’m personally going to throttle the life from you. Don’t worry, if I don’t do it, the virus surely will..."
"You think you can win, Gulliver? I doubt it. Look where we’re standing. We surrounded by water. My powers are electromagnetic, meaning I can conduct electricity. And I think we all know by now that you shouldn’t mix water with electricity." the Scribe said, his face the most determined it had ever been.
"You wouldn’t kill yourself just to kill me. You don’t have it in you." Gulliver sneered, the tiniest part of fear creeping within him.
"I wouldn’t? Like you said, old friend of mine, if you don’t kill me the virus will. If I have nothing to live for, why not take you with me? You deserve it. I’d be putting both of us out of misery." Avalon began powering up an electrical charge in his hand.
"But, you know what," he said, tears beginning to roll down his cheeks "I made a friend the other day. The first friend I’d ever made in the BHC. I had finally begun to pick up the pieces of my life, and then you came in, with your virus and machines and need to kill me. Well, fuck you, Gulliver..." he sobbed. "Fuck you for making me do this..." Just as he was about to launch his blast into the water, he saw Nemesis and Silver drop down from the trap door Gulliver had moments earlier, and it took all his strength to stop the charge, and draw it back into himself.
"What the hell you are two doing here?" he asked, stunned and angered.
"We’ve come to save you, boy." Silver said, as he threw a punch at the figure of Gulliver before him.
"I hate to say the cliché," Gulliver chuckled, as he caught the fist of Silver and began crushing it in his palm "But ‘Who’s going to come to save you’?" Silver grimaced as the pressure mounted on his fist.
CHAPTER SEVEN
~CRESCENDO~
Gregor sprinted through the dully light hallways he had found hidden behind the door that the Black King and Queen had disappeared through. His footsteps pounded heavily on the concrete ground, and he began to wonder why he had found no opposition. This was far too easy for his comfort....
Beast Charming lifted his glue gun and fired, coating three mutates in front of him with adhesive and binding them together. As he did so, he leapt into the air, did a somersault over the trio and landed behind them, before he once again fired his canon. Little did he know, through his feelings of finally being an actual warrior, that one of the smarter mutations was coming closer to him, sneaking up on him. Before it attacked, however, SuperGrover came flying down, and crushed the monster within his TK field. He grimaced at this, feeling as if killing had become almost second nature to him. Beast Charming, his back coated in the jade blood of the creature, turned stiffly, and stuttered a thank you to the White King.
"No problem...um....I’m sorry, what’s your name?" Grover replied, rather embarrassed.
"It’s Beast Charming. I guess I’m a newbie. Just became a Marauder..."
"Well, watch your back, or else you won’t be a Marauder for much longer, okay?"
"Yes, sir." grinned the young man, feeling slightly nervous talking to the White King of the IHFC. He watched as Grover flew off, further up the front of the battle. Beast Charming continued to attack the enemy, a little more cautious this time.
Siryn gritted her teeth as she used her powers to incinerate the enemy in front of her. She watched it burn as she went on to the next beast, and did the same to it. Painful screams rose through the atmosphere, but she did not care. She had only met this Avalon a few days ago, but she did not like to see her friends, even her new ones, come to harm. Another mutate screamed as she attacked it.
Deep below the battlefield, Gulliver laughed a deep, guttural laugh. Silver’s face contorted with pain, as the bones in his hand got closer and closer to breaking point. Through his squinted eyes, he realized that Gulliver’s gauntlet was made of metal. The Black King focused his mind, and felt the atoms in the glove shift, just before the huge man screamed in agony, and ripped the now spiked glove from his hand, revealing torn flesh and warm blood.
"You piece of shit!" screamed Gulliver, as he began charging at Silver. The King ducked out of the way, and the Queen, who had been standing next to him, managed to perform a double back flip, landing out of range of the huge man.
"COWARDS!!!," he screamed, his frustration coming to the front. "When I’m finished with you, I’ll make sure that Avalon suffers twice as much!!!"
"Don’t be so sure you’ll win, you bastard!" shouted Avalon, electrical energy ripping from his hands and exploding on the back of his old friend. Gulliver was sent flying, past the figure of Nemesis and landed face first in the water of the tunnels.
"You killed him?" Silver asked Avalon, still staring at the apparently lifeless body.
"..." Avalon did not seem to notice the King’s question, so as Silver began to re-ask it, the Scribe replied
"No. I didn’t. I made sure not to."
"But he was prepared to kill you! Why wouldn’t you do the same?!?" asked the Queen, astounded.
"I was never like that, Nemesis. You should know that!" replied the boy. The two royals were surprised, the scribe was usually far more respectful and polite.
"Don’t start bringing up the past now, Avalon. This isn’t the time!"
"Why not? I’d say it’s the perfect time? Why are you so afraid of people knowing?"
"It’s a matter of face. The BHC members would no longer respect me if..."
"Are you two finished?" came the voice of Gulliver, his head slowly rising from the water. The three allies turned, as the huge body of Gulliver regained it’s stance.
"If you mean finished with you, Gulliver, then I would have to say not by a long shot." Avalon replied
"Oh, how brave and witty you sound," Gulliver chuckled weakly. "By the way, why would you risk killing us all by using your powers in here, boy? How arrogant are you?"
"You’re one to talk! You wanted to kill me, you son of a bitch!"
"You were going to kill both of us only a few minutes ago, boy. I heard what you said to your little king there about not killing me. How holier-than-thou you become when we have company!" spat Gulliver. Avalon became frustrated, and snapped.
"I’m confused, okay?!? As soon as I think I have it in me to kill you, a damn memory pops up and I find I can’t do it!!! How could you have changed so damn much, Gulliver? I don’t understand..."
"You can’t understand!!! You’ve never known love, boy!!! Not for a woman!! You’ve been alone and single all your life!!! You’re still a virgin, for God’s sake!!! Don’t even try to understand!!!" Avalon felt embarrassed. He glanced at Nemesis and Silver, and they looked back at him. He saw a small smirk appear on the Queen’s face, and blushed harder. This was getting personal.
"...I....I...." Avalon stuttered, trying to think "Well....that doesn’t justify ANY of this!!! I may have never been in love, Gulliver, but that doesn’t matter! Being in love doesn’t mean you can kill others because you’re pissed off with the world! I’ve spent years looking for love!!! First from you, then from my father, then from the BHC!!! I haven’t found any form of it, but that doesn’t mean it gives me the right to take vengeance upon the world!"
"You’re a fool, Avalon! An absolute fool!," screamed Gulliver, as he once again began to enhance his size. "Now I’m going to do what I ordered Pug to do before. Kill you!!!" the huge man once again charged, but when he did, a fourth figure fell from the secret trap door overhead. Gregor stood mightily in the way of Gulliver, blocking the path to Avalon. There was no time for the huge man to stop and he crashed into the Red Rook. Gregor, however had been expecting this, and had at the last moment dived into Gulliver, and tackled him to the ground.
"Gregor?!?," said the astounded Nemesis "What are you doing here?"
"Saving all of your lives, it would appear," he said, as he wrestled with the some what stunned Gulliver. "Now go! get out of here! I can take care of this one!!!"
"But..." Avalon began, feeling as if Gregor was fighting a battle that was Avalon’s personal one.
"GO!!!" the old king bellowed, his fist smashing into the jaw of Gulliver.
"Best to go, son," Silver said "Gregor knows what he’s doing. We need to go help our fellow Club members. They’ve been attacked by an army of mutations."
"Mutations?" Avalon asked. He knew those mutations! Failed experiments of Sinister’s. They had always been locked away in a separate part of the lab. Silver grabbed the boy’s arm and pulled him along.
"Come on...there’s no time!" they ran, with Nemesis in pursuit. A virgin? That was...interesting....
"Who the hell do you think you are, interfering with my plans they way you have!!!" bellowed Gulliver, no longer as taken aback as he was.
"I am Gregor!!! Red Rook Uproar to the Red Hellfire Court!!! Once the Black King of the Black Hellfire Club!!! I am your destruction!!!’ bellowed Gregor, laying more punches into Gulliver.
"Oh, really?" came the response "How very melodramatic. I actually find your seriousness quiet comical." Gulliver brought a knee up into Gregor’s stomach, and the Rook fought on, even though all the wind had been knocked from him.
"You won’t find it so comical when I tear your heart from your chest and feed it to you!" threatened Gregor, shifting his weight so that he managed to flip Gulliver over his back and throw him three metres away, allowing for a little room between them.
"You’re...threats..." Gulliver wheezed "...do not work on me. You’re nothing but a child! I shall break you as I have everyone else that has opposed me over the years! I crushed Sinister, and I can crush you!"
"I sincerely doubt it!" spat Gregor, as he transformed the polluted sewer air into his powerful blast field, and rocketed towards the form of Gulliver. Impact was made, and the two went pounding into the wall, smashing through it. Bricks and dust rained down as Gregor stood above the fallen body of Gulliver.
"That was too easy." said Gregor cynically, as he looked around the area in which he’d crashed into, as water came flooding in. It was dark, but in the middle of the room a light poured down, and underneath it, in a bed surrounded by equipment, lay the body of a beautiful young woman. Her breathing was faint, and her face was pained, but through it all, Gregor could see what a lovely creature she truly was. He wondered what to do. The machines around her appeared to be the only thing that linked here to life, so could he take her with him? His thoughts were interrupted, however, when Gulliver’s hand snapped up, grabbed Gregor’s ankle, and flipped the Red Rook to the ground. The battle had started again.
Avalon now flew down the tunnel, his powers once again at full. He kept to a slow speed, so that the king and queen could keep up. Silver suddenly interrupted the silence by asking
"I know you both want to keep it a secret, but I think I have a right to know, what the hell is going on here. You’re both referring to some mysterious past connection, and quite frankly, I’ve had enough of being kept in the dark!" Avalon remained silent, waiting for the Black Queen’s response.
"What does it matter, Jack?"
"It matters, Nem," said Silver, stopping in his tracks. "Now I’m sorry to act juvenile, but I’m not taking another step until things are explained to me." Nemesis sighed with an annoyed breath, and Avalon released his magnetic field and gracefully dropped to the ground.
"All right...fine...but you know how much I despise...revealing...things about myself," Nemesis said, as she looked over at Avalon and asked "Care to explain to your king, Av?" Avalon pondered where to begin.
"Years ago...after I had escaped from Sinister’s pits to Australia, I learnt through various sources that my father was the ‘villain’ Erik Lensherr, better known to the masses as Magneto. I had never had a father before. The news shook me. I immediately traveled to America, and went about trying to find him, to tell him about me. I wanted a father so badly, you see. I had lost my mother. Even now my memories of her are few and faint. So, I was in the United States again, alone and afraid of being caught by Sinister. That was when I came up with my idea. I went about to form a team. A team that would grant me security and one that I could honor my father with. I formed the Acolytes, a group dedicated to the efforts of Magneto, named after his own personal army. We were a small militia, really. Nothing more. But, we did have one member with a special destiny. Nemesis. She never said anything about her IHFC and BHC connection. I think I probably would have felt less in control if she had...." Avalon stopped momentarily. He looked at Silver, as Silver looked at Nemesis with surprise
"That was it?!? That was the big surprise?!?"
"Like I said, Jack sweetie," Nem replied "I hate people knowing too much about me. Av’s knowledge about me made me feel insecure. It’s hard to respect those who are in control when they’ve served under their own minions."
"Minions?" questioned Avalon.
"Figure of speech," replied Nemesis "Shall you be continuing?"
"Uh, yeah.....So, as I was saying, I was in America, and was afraid of being recaptured. I formed the Acolytes and I once again began to feel confident. That was when I decided to talk to my father, face to face, so I left the team for a little while to find him. When I did he rejected me. Said he didn’t care, that there was no proof. I was crushed. I expected open, loving arms, and was greeted with accusation and disbelief. I went back to my team, only to find that they had been disbanded without my knowledge. I was crushed. I had been forsaken by both my father and my team. That was when I was contacted by Nemesis. She informed me of her new status, told me how and why the Acolytes broke up, and then offered me a position as Black Scribe. I didn’t know what the BHC was, but she quickly informed me. How could I resist? I took the position, on the promise to the Queen that I never mention her affiliation with the Acolytes."
"And look who’s being bad and breaking his oath?" Nemesis grinned. Avalon was surprised at her change of attitude towards him. It was almost as if now that their past tie had been revealed that she had no fear of him embarrassing her. He shook his head. He had never found Nemesis the comprehendable type...
"Well, that the big mystery is resolved, we can continue." said Silver, feeling foolish at the way he had demanded to know, and being let down by the seemingly trivial revelation. They re-started their escape....
Gomurr grunted as the mutate’s fist came crashing down upon his little chest. He was pinned to the floor, and was beginning to think of spells to use when Grover appeared. The boy once again used his telekinesis to shatter the creature before him, and he helped his old teacher to find his feet.
"Agh, thank you for the assist, lad. I’m afraid I’m not such a physically challenging opponent as I once was." smiled the old man.
"But when were you?" chuckled SuperGrover, teasing Gomurr.
"Good point, boy, good point. But don’t think that the fact I’m not very pumped means I can’t kick your ass." the Ancient shot back.
"Advice taken, sir," smiled the White King "Now, should we continue our attack?"
"Let’s." The two of them turned, and faced the mutations that had come to oppose them. Further away, Deadpool hacked through the limbs of a creature with his katana, not exactly sure why so many troops were needed to retrieve only one Advocate. Suddenly, one being broke free of the crowd of others. It was by far the biggest of all these immense creatures, and the most fierce. Its teeth and claws were made of pure adamantium, its body a form of hardened bone. Its eyes glowed with a malicious red, and it thirst only for blood. It snarled at the red clad men, and began inching forward, preparing for a long, hard, drawn-out battle. Deadpool regarded the beast, before he drew his hand cannon and shot the thing in the head. It was stasis in mid air for a second before its limp body fell to the floor. Deadpool once again holstered his weapon, and chuckled to himself. He was glad he had been brought along.
Further away, the Iceman, with Nate, DarkWolf, Psi-Shot and Beast Charming, attacked the share of mutations they had. DarkWolf snarled in a beastial manner as he ravaged one of the nearby creatures. Beast Charming was taken aback by this, and accidentally stumbled into the surrounding darkness. Little did he know, he activated a doorway, which slid open as he fell, landing on his back in a hall. One of the mutates followed him, and was crushed to death by the uniting walls that had slid together when Beast Charming had drawn his feet out of the way.
"Alright!" he exclaimed, giving a little victory dance. He gave no attention to the sight of the bleeding, crushed corpse out of fear of becoming ill.
Gregor lashed forward at the bulky Gulliver, who was growing larger and stronger by the minute. He once again, rocketed forward, but found that Gulliver remained steady in his tracks. The huge man laughed at the Rook’s attempts, as his giant hand clamped down on Gregor’s head.
"I do so love to squash the life from things. The sights of a living brain being crushed, seeing it bleed and die, is just so exciting. I never realized how exhilarating death could be until I started dosing it out. It’s so sweet. Nearly as sweet as love. Making death is just as good as making love." he chuckled. Gregor’s mind tensed, his teeth gritted, and he threw his hands onto Gulliver’s one, attempting to pry his head free. It was working, so he once again used his blast field, this time concentrating enough to create a spear. The weapon appeared in Gregor’s hand, and he thrashed forward, striking at Gulliver’s stomach.
"ARRRRRRGH!!!!" screamed the enormous man in hurt and surprise, letting go and clutching at his stomach. Gregor ignored his pounding migraine, and pressed his advantage. He struck at Gulliver’s head with the weapon, not satisfied until he saw the sight of blood spraying forth.
"Stop that, damn you!" bellowed Gulliver, now losing his immensity. He was now down to his normal size, his frame nothing but lanky and small. Gregor grinned as he brought a knee up into Gulliver’s face, over and over again.
"Die, you son of a bitch! You bastard! DIE!!!" screamed Gregor, taking pleasure in the pain he was creating. He stopped. What was he doing? What Gulliver had said was true. Making death was as addictive as making love. Gregor felt a sickness in the pit of his stomach. Why was this violence so joyful to him, anyway? What made it as good a drug as sex? He could not know why. In the time Gregor had been distracted, Gulliver had managed to once again use his power, but this time instead of enlarging himself, he had shrunk himself, and had used his tiny size to escape unnoticed, through one of the ancient, cob-webbed air conditioning grates. Gregor didn’t realize until it was too late, and when he did, he bellowed in rage. He had late that weasily arsehole escape! His anger got to him, and he tore at the surrounding area, destroying what he saw. It wasn’t until he once again saw the unconscious beauty that he stopped. Her calm face sedated him, and he began walking to her bedside. What if this were a trap, he thought. He couldn’t take the risk, and even if it wasn’t, he could hardly just pick her up and take her. The machines connected to her were those of supporting life, and if they were severed, it would undoubtedly mean her death. He sighed, and uttered his apology, as he left the room, to return the main hall.
Avalon was the first to surface from the manhole, and as he waited for his two superiors, he wondered how Gregor was faring. Gulliver was tough, but then again, so was the ex-Black King. Avalon’s thoughts were snapped by the appearance of the current majesty, Silver. The king, dressed in his rather simple costume of black body suit with metallic gloves and belt, was covered in the muck of sewerage water. Avalon looked down, and saw that the white lycra garb he had been clothed in was not turned a murky brown. Nemesis next appeared, and was seemed surprisingly clean, as if all the dirt and muck had naturally fallen from her.
"First thing I do when we arrive back at the mansion," she said, straightening up and returning to her usual graceful pose "Is have a nice, long, hot, clean shower."
"I’ll second that," said Silver "But to get clean, we first have to get out of here. If we shall?" he said, his gentlemanly manner showing through.
"We shall." replied Nemesis, once again bantering with her King. Avalon wondered why they both seemed so comfortable, as if there were no concerns in the world. His head and stomach both felt as if they were ready to fracture.
Belasco tore the limp body of the creature from the doorway, and saw Beast Charming standing on the other side with an embarrassed, shy smile.
"Thanks. Like I said, the body was jammed and I couldn’t get out." he said.
"No trouble," countered the Demon Lord "But next time you make your own way out. Understand?"
"Sure. No problems. Understood. Roger and out." smiled Charming, as he peered through the doorway. Belasco hated to admit it, but he found the little guy rather appealing. He was something unnatural, like an unnatural force was telling him to do so. Still, the guy was humorous, and there was always room for a jester.
Puma11 hopped above the heads of the mutates that had managed to surround her. She hissed in a feline manner, and dived back down into them, hacking and slashing with her fury. She loved the taste of battle, and loved her wild side. Fighting allowed her to indulge her animal nature, and it made her feel truly free. Nearby, Gomurr watched. His student seemed to take great joy from the pain she was causing. He would have to watch that. Too many of these BHCer’s were bloodthirsty as it was. He couldn’t lose another...
Gregor climbed from the hole the other had only minutes ago. He couldn’t decided if he was spinning from the fight, or from the stench emanating from the putrid water beneath him. His clothes were stained with blood and murk, and he thought of how much he spent on dry-cleaning after each of his missions. He walked from the man hole and down a hallway, and saw the other three further away.
"HEY!!!" he shouted out, getting their attention, making them turn. He quickly raced up to them, pushing back at the pain at doing this. He was surprised at how much damage Gulliver had done. For someone not Alpha-classed, he had certainly been a difficult opponent.
"Gregor, how are you?" queried Silver, his question more polite than out of true concern.
"I’m better than Gulliver is feeling right now." he answered.
"You didn’t kill him?" asked Avalon.
"No...I didn’t. He escaped before I...could...." Gregor said, ignoring his doubt about having it within him to kill anymore.
"....I...suppose...that’s a good thing, then..." Avalon said, not so sure himself.
"I found a girl down there," Gregor changed the subject "Well, not a girl. A woman. She was in a hospital bed surrounded by life support machines. I couldn’t move her out of concern for her well-being. Perhaps we could get some medics down here la..."
"WHAT?!?," asked Avalon, stunned. He had forgotten! She was still here! And Gregor had found here! "Where was she?" was the frantic question.
"In a separate room I found when I smashed Gulliver into a wall. She’s out of it, Avalon..."
"I’ll be back soon. Go help the others..." said the boy, his blue aura encompassing him, levitating him from the ground, and hurtling him back down to the sewers, before any of the others had a chance to object. They stood, open mouthed, at the surprise departure.
Gulliver lay, no more than three inches tall, in the grimy confines of the air duct. His barely awake mind was groggy with pain, and his blood poured from the many cuts on his body. He had not been in this form for years, since the last time Sinister had beat him. This was worse, however, this was only a shy step away from death. He could feel it calling for him, whispering in his ear promises of peace and tranquillity. The chance to see his precious Soma again. No, he raged, he couldn’t! He had things to do! He had to have his revenge on Sinister. He had to have his revenge on the one called Gregor. He had to have his revenge. Suddenly, a blue figure shot past, and Gulliver stirred. He peered from one of the holes in the grate, to see Avalon a hundred metres down the tunnel, going at a blinding speed. Perhaps in the day lay salvation. Gulliver began racking his body with pain, as he attempted to recapture his larger size.
Avalon finally made it to the place where Gregor had mentioned. The side of the wall was caved in, and as he peered inside, he saw the first glimpse of her he had had in years. He quickly swept in, and strode up to her bedside. He looked down upon her beautiful face, her crimson hair, almost purple in some way. She had not changed in all these years. Not one bit. She was delicate and yet as strong as she had always been. His friend
"De Locke." he whispered, hoping to stir her slumber. It didn’t work, and he felt mournful. He knew she was dying. His heart stood gravely, as he wondered what to do. He could not, would not leave her here. He would not wait for BHC medics to come sweep her away. He had to take her now. But how could that be done? These machines anchored her to life. Without them, she was gone. It was then that Avalon decided to make an attempt at something he had never been able to accomplish before. He concentrated, tensed his mind and will, and brought his field outward. This time, however, he kept it going, and absorbed De Locke and her life-giving machines into it. He brought within a millimeter of all it surrounded, and then concentrated harder. He lifted himself into the air, and brought the other objects, including his old friend, into it with him. He smiled at his achievement, and began to fly out of the room, slower than usual, but still faster than the speed he would have walking.
Gulliver crouched in the middle of the tunnel, his blood spoiling the already spoiled water. He coughed up his scarlet life as he waited, and wiped it away with the back of his hand. Avalon would help, he was certain. Almost certain, that was. He saw a figure further down, and knew it was the boy. He attempted a grin, finding the effort only brought him pain from his cracked lips and bruised face. Eventually, Avalon arrived, within the confines of his magnetic aura he held De Locke and her necessities.
"I see you found her." smiled Gulliver again, pushing back the pain, not knowing how sinister the contortions made his face look.
"Yes," answered the boy "I have. Now step aside. You’re beaten, so just let us go." Gulliver was surprised. There was no compassion in the boy’s voice. Only malice.
"I need your help, Avalon. I have been a foolish, foolish old man. I have made mistakes. I have seen my grievances. Please help me. Please save me." Avalon stared at the broken figure of Gulliver with a cold, stony face. He made up his mind
"No. Now step out of the way before I make you step out of the way." The threat came as an insult to Gulliver.
"You thankless creature!," he spat "I reared you! I was as if a father to you! I tell you I’m sorry and you spit in my eye!"
"You wanted to kill me, Gulliver! You think words can make up for that?!? I was sorry for leaving you and the others behind, but there was not a day I didn't feel bad for doing it! Now, after behaving the way you have, you want my mercy? I doubt it. Now, I'll ask once again, before I do it myself, move!"
"You’ll have to kill me first!" Avalon considered this statement, before he replied
"I don’t have to, Gulliver. I won’t stoop to your level. You're beaten and bleeding. If you don’t die now, the virus will get you later. There's no need for me to kill you, and besides, I don’t have it in me. I no longer think I have the capacity. Before, I was suicidal, but there is a chance for me. The BHC has some of the best scientists and doctors in the world in their pocket. If anyone can save me, they will. I could have saved you, too, Gulliver, had you simply come to me, asked me for help, but now? Now, you can die for all I care, and you can do it alone. De Locke is coming with me! Now, I will move...." With that, Avalon brushed Gulliver aside with no more than a thought, an electromagnetic force pushing him away. The Scribe continued gliding down the tunnel, his unconscious friend along for the ride. Gulliver looked on in a mix of emotions, as he lay in the pool of filth. In a matter of hours, he had crumbled into nothing, with no one. As Avalon exited the sewer, the old, battle torn man Gulliver began to weep, with the realization that this was all his doing. It was then that he thought of the small dagger he had concealed in his gauntlet. Why he had not thought of this weapon previously, he did not know why, but as he drew it out now, it was to serve only one purpose. He placed it at his chest, before he said,
"Soma, my love....I join you now.....with all my hatred purged from me...."
He plunged the dagger into his broken heart, and felt his life ebb away, as his body began to slump and his throat made gurgling noises. Peace was at last his....
Avalon emerged from the hallway, into the darkened room where his brethren stood amongst the dead bodies of many mutates. The sight was one of battle, he knew, but he could not help but feel sorry for the loss of all those pitiful creatures.
"There he is!" shouted the small figure of Gomurr, chuckling. Pretty much all in attendance converged on him, with questions of how was he, what had happened, why was he dressed like that, who was the girl, how was carrying her with his powers like....
"Let’s give our Scribe a little breathing room, shall we?," spoke the calm voice of Nemesis "How are you Avalon?"
"I’m fine, miss. A little tired, but fine."
"Well, let’s get you home. You’ve had a busy time. We all have." she said, she brushed at dirt it seemed only she could see.
"You heard our Queen, everyone!" voiced King Silver, a smile on his face "Let’s go home!"
~EPILOGUE~
PINK RIBBON SCARS
Special thanks to Gomurr, who helped me out with this final chapter.
Avalon sat, staring out the window into the pink colored afternoon. The sun was setting into night, as the electric lights began flickering on. The birds flew over head, desperately trying to reach their shelters before the cold stepped in and took over. Many young Upstarts and Marauders were outside, some holding hands, getting ready for a big night out on the town. As he had been doing for the past two weeks, Avalon sat vigilante over the bed side of De Locke, resting as comfortably as possible in the BHC medical center. He sighed with depravation of sleep, and thought about the direction of his life. About a week ago, he had been nominated for the position of Prince to Her Royal Majesty Nemesis, taking over from Siryn. He would become part of the Inner Circle, and retain his responsibilities of Scribe. In any case, he was still not sure he would get the job. There were other nominees, of course. It was just a matter of time to find out if he had it or not. He was not sure why he had been voted in for the promotion. Had it been out of sympathy? He did not know. He did know, however, that the doctors and scientists of the Black Hellfire Court had been working intensely over the past fortnight to find a cure for the degenerating cells within the Scribe. As yet, no hope had been found. He sighed a second time, as he thought.
"I'm going to die." This placid, almost matter-of-fact statement frightened him with the amount of distance he felt from it. Was it true?
"Can I come in?" a voice said from the doorway. Avalon turned, and saw Gregor standing there in the frame, a look of subtle nervousness painted on his face.
"Of course." replied the boy, once again wiping the blonde hair of his tendriling fringe out of his sight. Gregor crept in, and asked.
"How is she?" Avalon paused,
"As good as can be expected, I'm told. The doctor says if she makes it through to next Monday there's a chance that she can be brought around." came the answer. Gregor nodded, still looking at De Locke, before he turned his gaze at Avalon, and ambled over to the window, and peered out.
"It's a beautiful dusk, isn't it? Almost like an oil painting I had a few years ago..."
"You 'had'?"
"I..uh...I sold it. Didn't see the point of keeping it..."
"Oh." said Avalon. An awkward silence ensued, and eventually, the boy broke it.
"Look, I don't mean to be offensive, but is there a reason you came, besides shooting the breeze?" Gregor stood silent, pondering this rather simple question, as if the answer would affect his life evermore.
"There was...a reason I went to help you escape from Gulliver, Avalon. It wasn't just a sense of responsibility, though I had that too, but it was...something personal..." Avalon looked at the ex-king with confusion. What was he trying to say?
"Maybe....maybe it's best if I start by telling you a little something about myself. I'm finding this more difficult than I thought it would be, so perhaps I should ease into it..."
"Okay." said Avalon.
"I was born to a caring, loving mother. That much I know for certain. She wasn't a very wise woman, but...that didn't really matter. My father, on the other hand, was a violent, oppressive man. He didn't care for my mother, and saw her only as a means of pleasure. My mother feared for my well-being, and decided to send me to Australia, where I wouldn't be harmed by his prescence."
"Australia?," Avalon asked, his mind flooding with happy memories at the mention of the name. "You were in Australia, too?"
"Yes...yes I was."
"For how long?"
"A number of years...but that isn't the important part." said Gregor, brushing past the questions Avalon had waiting.
"What is then?" the boy said, wondering. Gregor tensed, his hands clenched and his mind not sure whether he should tell. After a moment passed, the large man spoke
"Magneto was my father, Avalon. We're brothers." Avalon sat, his mouth hanging open in surprise. That couldn't be true, could it? He didn't know what to say.
"I....I....."
"You...um...you don't have to say anything right away. You had a right to now. That's why I came to help you, Av. That's why I'll always come to help you..." Avalon continued to stare in shock, and no words came to his mind.
"I have to go. I have appointments to keep. Here's my number," said Gregor, holding out a card with a string of numbers jotted down on it "It's my personal line. Gimme a call when you decide on something to say." Gregor turned, and began to leave the room, when Avalon called out.
"Wait!" The solemn man stopped, and looked back at Avalon. The boy raised, and said with eyes uncertain
"I...never knew my dad. I never really had any family."
"I was the same. Erik Lensherr was never one for family, really."
"Can we...be brothers. True brothers?" Avalon asked.
"That's what I had planned all along." said Gregor, a slight smile on his face. Avalon walked over to his brother nervously, and embraced him in an awkward hug. Gregor paused, and hugged back, as the two unsure young men acknowledged their connection.
It was hours later, and Gregor had left. The two had talked for hours about many varied subjects, and Avalon had come to realize just how likeable the old king truly was. Of course, the time had come for good-byes, and they had made them. Avalon had settled into his regular chair, and as the grounds were shut down for the night, he got his first chance of sleep in days. This time, however, there were no more nightmares. He did not wake once during the night, and when the next morning came, he was refreshed, both in body and soul. He couldn't believe that his horrifying dreams had been purged from him. He felt truly happy at this, as he looked at through the window, at the beautiful day enveloping the world...
The End.
"No more promise, no more sorrow. No longer will I follow."
-Billy Corgan
Mystikal
Grey Pawn
Official XMBB Scribe
"I hate redundacy and reptition"
"I try to hide my intellectual inadequencies with a bad attitude and big words like intellectual inadequencies."
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