*HF* The Sword of Haresh
By Mufasa
The Sword of Haresh
Prologue:
Bhutan... 500 B.C.
"Faster... faster... Get a move on..." he said to himself. Pasha knew there was trouble. What in the world had possessed him to travel so far from his native Delhi to see the holy man of a religion he didn't believe in? Oh yeah... He knew why...
Xynn, the damn "Buddhist", had told him that there would be great profit in it... a chance to acquire some treasure called the Sword of Haresh... All they would have to do is slip past the guards, find where it was held, and steal it. Yeah... Simple... Easy...
"Yeah, right... I knew I should have studied to become a yogi..." Pasha
further chided himself. It was not until he arrived that he actually
understood what was happening...
What Xynn DIDN'T tell him is that Haresh was no mere Hindu... Haresh was a sorcerer... a sorcerer who placed a portion of his power within the sword... a sword that would not be wielded by anyone but himself.
There was something a little more sinister to Xynn as well... and his actual plan. It was more... more than he ever dared to hope imagine... terrifyingly so...
Pasha stopped in his tracks as he saw the cold, glistening blade placed
directly under his chin. Inside, he could feel his heart beating in his
chest and his knees shaking. "Please... No..."
Xynn stepped out of the brush, his round Tibetan face with a savage glare. Pasha had no idea what was more horrifying... the look in his eyes... the orange glow radiating from his tanned skin... or the sound of his voice... the EVIL sound of his voice... "Pasha... Pasha... Pasha... What's wrong? You skipped out before we could divvy up the goods."
Pasha tried to step away... step back... act calm... but it was impossible. He knew the end was coming. "Xynn... why... why did you kill... Why do you..."
Xynn's laugh started as a chuckle, but grew more guttural... his eyes
glowing orange with power... "Why don't you read my mind and find out,
Pasha... or use your powers to throw me aside? Oh yes... I forgot... You can't, right now, can you? While you were thinking that you were playing this 'weak, Buddhist chimp', you never sensed that in actuality, I was more... and that I was playing YOU!"
"Please... Let me go... I'll never tell any..."
"Oh... Really, I don't care about that, Pasha... You see, I DO need you. Haresh was ALWAYS a stubborn one... and didn't want to teach me his nifty tricks, because he said that my heart was rotten. The old fool never realized just how right he was. You see... unbeknownst to you... I used my powers to keep him from sensing us... and YOUR powers to attack him. Then, while he was shocked, I went up to him and ripped his spine out. Oh... wait... that was the part you saw..."
Pasha dropped to his knees, his eyes pleading. "Please... For the love... I have a family... I have children... Just let..."
"Oh... Come now... Right now, Haresh's powers are healing him... because of his life force in the sword right now. Before he heals, I need to stop him... by severing the connection. He knows my power... I cannot use my own sorcery on the sword and take his power for myself... He knows how to adapt to it... You know... Just as I've learned to adapt to you..."
"No... You can't..."
"Luckily for me, HE has not learned to adapt to you, a witch of the mind... and there are only certain magics that can be used against me... None of which you have! Anyhow, just as you helped me slay Haresh... you shall help me take his power... and his sword..."
"No... No... NOOOOO.."
"It will only hurt for an instant." Xynn brought the sword down swiftly
across Pasha's ribcage, spilling his blood and internal organs. As Pasha looked up, dying, he felt his energy... energy that would one day be referred to as telekinetic/telepathic energy... absorbed by Xynn... and used to replace Haresh's bond with his own... and take his power for his own...
It was one thousand years before the current Sorcerer Supreme defeated him. Relatively young and inexperienced, Shamen had barely come out on top by imprisoning Xynn on another plane within the Sword of Haresh... and hidden the artifact in the most rugged terrain of Bhutan, so no man could ever free him. Unfortunately, he had not covered all the bases... Xynn had not acted alone...
End Prologue
Chapter 1
Lunch was good, especially at these restaurants where they cooked REAL
Mexican food. Once you have eaten at La Cocina de Margarita, you never go back to Taco Bell or Chi-Chi's. It is just impossible.
Justin Mills knew. He ALSO knew that there were ingredients in the food
designed to make yuppy Yankees with weak stomachs trot off to the bathroom. Lucas Christopher seemed to be doing well, but he was having gas. Unfortunately, Justin saw that the guy had taken Pepcid AC. Damn... Oh well... He'll still have a surprise when he goes to the bathroom in a few hours...
"So, Mr. Christopher... You still have not explained to me..." said Justin who still as yet had not realized that his mouth was overflowing with food. "Why should I travel to the other side of the world... Run through mountainous terrain of some place called Bhutan... and retrieve a sword for your boss... Mrs. Katt?"
Lucas Christopher placed his hands together and pulled them apart rapidly, just showing his agitation. Justin's first impression at seeing his conservative haircut and full red beard was "stuffy, conservative jackass." The guy looked like he could be a banker or an executive or something. However, it was obvious what this guy was... A stooge. He worked for the mysterious Erika Katt... Some old widow he has NEVER seen... but prefers to keep herself out of the negotiations. There was something odd... something that he just could not place his finger on.
"As I've told you before, Mrs. Katt is an elderly widow whose husband died tragically in the Korean War. This sword collection was one thing he started before he died. She has spent her entire life building this tribute to him. This sword... called the Sword of Harold or something... is the last piece of this collection. It would mean so much and she is willing to dole out 20 million dollars. It is worth more to her than all of her considerable wealth."
Justin pondered it over. It seemed all good... Run over to Bhutan, pick up the sword, please some elderly woman, get paid big bucks... Sounded simple. Jerry Ortiz, his assistant, had checked out Katt Enterprises beforehand. It was legitimate... The old lady specialized in cat food and kitty litter. Hmmmmmmm... She might even get me a discount on supplies for Phantom... and I could have Rhiannon ALL over me... not like I want it that bad... heheheheeh... um... er... "All right... I'll go for it."
"Good! Good... Excellent... Now, here are your airline tickets. Mrs. Katt has provided first class round trip tickets for you and a partner to Bhutan as well as generous hotel accomodations and living expenses... ALL included. The plane is scheduled to leave in three days... provided that is okay with you?"
Justin smiled as he shook hands with Lucas. "Sure is... and thank you. I'll be glad to help out Mrs. Katt in anyway I can."
"Good... You will be paid in full upon presentation of the sword to Mrs. Katt. Now, if you will excuse me, I must travel to New Orleans at once to inform Mrs. Katt of this excellent news. Thank you again, Mr. ?"
"Mr. Wolfe... Tim Wolfe..."
"It was a pleasure." With that, Lucas Christopher walked out the door of the restaurant, downing two more capsules of Pepcid AC. The black limousine pulled up immediately, opening the door to receive him. As it pulled away from the restaurant, he leaned back, loosening up his tie and unbuttoning his cuffs.
"I trust it went well?" said the stunning blonde in red across from him. "He has agreed?"
"But of course, 'Mrs. Katt.' He was only glad to help an 'elderly widow' such as yourself."
The blonde looked at a picture of herself in the mirror, checking for a
wrinkle or a grey hair or any sign of aging. "Well... Because you succeeded in securing the deal, Lucas, I'll forgive that off-the-wall remark... Of course, you and I both know that I look fairly good for my age."
"Just out of curiosity, why did you provide two tickets to Bhutan?"
Suddenly, Lucas grabbed the sides of his head oblivious to the blood running down his nose.
"That is for me and me ALONE to know! Should I wish to inform you, I will! Now... I think that we should hurry. I would like to make it to Bhutan before dear Mr. Mills."
---------------------------
"BHUTAN?! Let me get this straight... you want me to go to BHUTAN with you?! What the hell am I going to do in BHUTAN?! Sit around with the Hindus?! Meditate with the Buddhists?!"
Justin mulled it over. "Well... I figured you would do what you would do anywhere else we go... Get yourself in trouble while I go run around and retrieve this sword."
"Well... Yeah... I guess I COULD pick some pockets of some tourists while I'm there... but still! There is only so much you can do out in the middle of nowhere! Can I bring Phantom?"
Phantom the cat curled up on Justin's lap, purring as Justin's hand
scratched his belly. Immediately he sent a telepathic message to Rhiannon LeBeau, the current loudmouth. Forget it, Rhiannon... You aren't dragging ME along on this trip!
Justin laughed as Rhiannon paced around the room shouting. "Come on! This will be fun! Well... I don't know... I mean... I can't take you when I go pick up the sword."
"Not that I would WANT to push through all those weeds..."
"But it gets you out of the states for a while. Besides... we'll be staying in a kickass hotel... alone... where we can shag..."
"HEY!" SLAP! "None of that talk in front of the cat! What are you trying to do?! Corrupt his poor innocent feline ears?!"
Phantom playfully batted at Justin's hand. Hmmmm... Not that I can do anything ANYWAY... Stupid bitch... How DARE she knock me out and have me neutered?!
"So... Are you in?"
"Sure... I am... No problem. Just let me pack... and wash this blue gunk out of my hair."
"No problem."
End Chapter 1
Chapter 2: The Plane Trip
"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Transatlantic flight on Villa-Airways to Paris. There are connections in Paris for Rome, Italy... Berlin, Germany... Moscow, Russia... and New Delhi, India... Anyway..."
Rhiannon snickered as she saw the flight attendant go through her routine. "Can you believe that... Where do they get these people? I mean... All anyone pays attention to when these airheads go through their speech is that they have blonde hair and breast implants!"
"Hey... You have blonde hair and... big bre..."
Her head snapped toward Justin's. "Hey! At least they are real!"
"Well... how do you know that their's aren't?"
"I know! We women ALWAYS know!"
"Hey!" Justin stood to his feet, knocking the back of the seat in front of him over.
"GAAAAH!!!" the guy in front of him said as he struggled to at least get back to an upright position.
Justin, however, was oblivious to this action. "Are your breasts real?"
The flight attendant quickly gasped as she processed Justin's statement. Forgetting her speech, she turned to his direction and slapped him as hard as she could muster. "You male chauvinist pig! How DARE you?!" she screamed into the microphone.
At that moment, another flight attendant walked up, pulling her back. As the two of them went off the plane, Rhiannon burst out laughing as hard as she could. Dazed and somewhat confused, Justin sat down, finally releasing the man in front of him. "Hey... She didn't answer the question!"
Finally, the man in front of him sat up. "That's it, I think I'm going to have to set someone straight... This is RIDICULOUS... I'm betting that there are nothing but a set of immature brats behind us!" Moving to the aisle, the man turned around to confront them when suddenly... "Now, look here... What the?!"
Rhiannon's laughter was cut short by the man in front of her. “KHALID?!"
Jean Grey craned her head around the seat to see who they were. "What the... Rhiannon?! Justin?!"
Khalid slapped his forehead with his palm. Damn... Not ANOTHER long-ass trip with Justin!!!
Justin stood up. "Khalid! Hey! Haven't seen you since after we got back from Thanksgiving! (Relativity)" Without warning, he gave him a slap on the back, knocking him into the empty seat across the aisle. "About time you showed up!"
Khalid slowly pulled himself off the seat, struggling to catch his breath. "Too soon... if you ask..."
Jean laughed at the two. "So... Where are you two headed? Is it a roMANtic trip for two to Paris? Or are you headed to Rome!"
"Nope... We's headed to Bhutan. Um... I've never been there and this is
Justin's Christmas present to me!"
Khalid leaned over, with his hand on the seat. "I've got a gig, there... though I won't be doing Christmas tunes... Jean's coming for the ride."
An evil sneer grew across Rhiannon's face. "Hey... I just had an idea... Jean and I need to do some catching up... Why don't you two sit..."
Khalid shook his head back and forth feverishly. He'd seen Justin while he drove to Indiana for Thanksgiving (Relativity). He KNEW he didn't want to sit next to him all the way to Paris! "Er... No... I'd rather not interfere with..."
Justin slapped his shoulder again, this time knocking him toward the
entrance... and into the now-calmed down flight attendant who was coming back on the plane. "Nonsense! Rhiannon was acting cold to me anyway!"
"Hey!"
The blonde flight attendant helped hold Khalid steady. "Sir... Are you being attacked by that man? I'd be GLAD to have him..."
Khalid waited to catch his breath. "Don't tempt... HURKKK!"
Justin lifted him off his feet and walked back toward the seats. "Geesh, Khalid... What is with you, eh? Stalling up everything! The plane can't take off until everyone is seated!" Setting him in the window seat, Justin plopped down in the aisle seat next to him. "Good thing I'm around to keep you in line! Just like when you acted up in the rest room in Ohio... (For the REAL story, check out Relativity... down on the board!) You're my favorite teacher, you
know! Gotta make sure..."
Khalid leaned back into the headrest, trying to drown out Justin's voice. This was going to be a LOOOONG trip!
Jean chuckled as she telepathically spoke to Rhiannon. You know,
Rhiannon... That was pretty mean to do to Khalid!
Please, Jean... Have you ever been on a trip with Justin?! I intend on getting some sleep! Earplug?
Jean heard Justin's talking continue. Don't mind if I do... Oh yeah... Khalid just "told" me to tell you something... He'll get you back!
"And we can talk about Pontiacs, and football, and cartoons, and..."
Khalid sighed... This is going to be a REALLLLLLLY long trip!
End Chapter Two
Chapter 3
"YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!! I KNOW YOU ARE KIDDING ME... THERE IS NO WAY IN HELL THAT THIS IS THE TRUTH... TELL ME THAT THIS IS A FUCKING
JOKE!!!!"
Jean Grey, otherwise known as Marvel Girl, cringed. She had to admit... When she asked to go on this trip, she had envisioned a restful stay out in the middle of nowhere where she could recover from visits from her so-called family. (See recent MG stories! The Greys aren't so nice and neither is Maddie!!!) The strain of the last year has been horrendous on her... as well as everyone in the HFC's. It was obviously taking its toll...
"Mr. Hunter... I realize that you are upset... and understandably...
especially with recent developments in the states..."
Khalid paced back and forth in the hotel lobby, barely keeping himself calm. Yeah... You have no fucking idea... Like my life and career is falling apart and everyone is declaring hunting season on Khalid Hunter... "All right... Mr. HUANG... You see, I make it a policy not to cancel out on gigs simply because something better comes up. I put a GREAT deal of trust in that if I hold up my end of the bargain, my CUSTOMERS hold up their end. Mind you... I have a VERY busy schedule... and it has been hectic. You see, I could have stayed home... Hell... I would have RATHER stayed home rather than jet over here on the other side of the goddamnned world. I can make quite a bit of money simply around my home. Yet... my agent Jerry Bauer convinced me that you were serious in bringing me out here... and I trusted him! He trusted you! And now I've found out that my gig has been cancelled?!"
Xian Huang handed over a check to a Swiss Bank Account. "Yes... I
understand... As we agreed, one million U.S. Dollars..."
Khalid, not being a fool, took the check and tucked it in his pocket.
"Yes... However, I have a question for you... Have you heard of common
courtesy? You couldn't have told me this before I boarded the plane back in New York... BEFORE I boarded the plane in Paris... BEFORE I boarded the plane in New Delhi?!"
"I assure you, Mr. Hunter... This was a last minute decision... due to
unforeseen circumstances. The Prime Minister's mother-in-law had a nasty heart attack last night... and he was the person you were supposed to entertain. I'm sure you can understand. As a consolation, I am having another check cut. This is not standard policy of the government of Bhutan. This is a freak occurrence... I hope you can understand."
"I suppose... but what am I supposed to do for the mean time? The next plane back to Paris does not arrive until Tuesday... That's four days!!!"
"I will pull my strings as best as I can... Please understand... We are
doing the best we can. Enjoy your stay here at the people of Bhutan's
expense... We..."
Khalid glared out the window. "Look... I traveled around the world for
this... You want to make me happy? You find me an arena... and you find me a piano and tune it... and get me a fucking audience!"
"Mr. Hunter! You can't be serious!"
"Damn serious... I traveled here to give a concert and that is exactly what I'm planning to do! I don't care if you have to drag people off the damn street... Either you get me a piano and an audience or next time you call, I WILL stay at home!"
"I... I..."
"Good day, Mr. Huang..."
"Fine! Tomorrow morning... 10:00... I'll have the concert hall set up."
"Thank you. Have the Steinway piano tuned by 8:00."
With that, Khalid left the lobby to his suite. Jean tried her best not to laugh... If she had one thing to say about Khalid, he certainly knew how to get around obstacles and keep moving. One angry outburst and he was already getting paid more than he would have originally... AND giving a free performance. Jean had to wonder to herself... Why in the world was his position as White Rook ever in question in the first place?
----------------------------
"I can't BELIEVE I let you drag me here! There is absolutely NOTHING to do here! I'M the thief... it should be me running out there to get that sword! Why do I have to be stuck here?"
Justin pulled out his backpack and "work" clothes. "Didn't you say that you wanted to hang out here and steal stuff from people while I went and played around in the woods?"
"Well... Yeah... but STILL!!! DON'T ARGUE WITH ME!!!"
"But arguing with you is fun! Your eyebrows get all curled... and your face turns a little red... and then you make that cute little pouty look..."
"I do NOT pout!" Rhiannon screamed as she pouted.
"Oh... and your lips are SO round and full... Mmmmm... WOOF!"
"Hey! Don't you start that! I happen to own CATS! They wouldn't like that!"
"Sure they would! Phantom told me all the time about how he wanted a pet puppy..."
"Phantom does NOT want a pet puppy! Puppies are ugly and disgusting and..."
"And George said that he wanted..."
"Let's not EVEN talk about George! Not after how much I had to pay for
insurance because he decided to gnaw on some assassin's hamstring!"
"Hey... They had no business trying to kill you anyway! Fine... I'm not
leaving until tomorrow anyway... Let's say that you and I shag!"
"Hey! Not here!"
"Why not?"
“Because this is like… Well… you know… Not right! We shouldn’t shag! We said that we were going to wait!”
“Wait? BAH! I’m sick of waiting… SHAG! SHAG! SHAG! SHAG! SHAG! SHAG!”
“NO! NO SHAGGING! I’m not in the MOOD to shag! You never last long, anyway.”
“Hey! You’re just insatiable! You KNOW I can go all night!”
“I get tired of it after a while! No! No shagging!”
Justin made the puppy-dog eyes. “Please…”
Damn… He does look rather cute like that… In a pathetic kind of way… “Well... Fine... Okay!" Rhiannon withdrew a deck of cards, dealing each of them a hand. "One game of Shag coming up... Two of spades wild with three of clubs as doubles... Now...
End Chapter 3
Chapter 4:
DarkWolf was off... He had to admit that the accuracy of the map was damn surprising... almost as if the person who made it had been there. Then again, that would probably have never been a problem in the Black Hellfire Court. It was reasonable to assume that someone as old and rich as Erika Katt had resources of her own to locate these items. Well... Yeah... but if she could locate them, then why did she have to hire me to go get it?
Was he having second thoughts already? No... It should be a piece of cake... Just a quick 15-mile hike in the woods... slip through an ancient temple chock full of deadly booby traps... swipe the sword... run back to the states and get the rest of his money. EASY. Yeah... EASY... REALLY EASY... Almost too easy...
"It's too late to turn around... Rhiannon would keep yapping at me! Nah... Hurry up and get it so this old widow can go on with her life."
The first five miles were pretty uneventful. Nothing really that bad. So, he had slipped and tumbled a couple of times... Even at one point dropped his backpack. (Well... he had to scale down 500 feet to get to it...) But as always, he kept going.
It was strange, in a way, that the farther he got from people, the more at ease he felt... Like, he wasn't the "dumb" one... the "clueless" one. People had a habit of treating him like he was "slow" or like he needed constant prodding. No, that wasn't the case. They would never know him... never have a clue to the pain inside. How could they... They never asked... never wanted to understand... Just like his parents.
No... You said that you were going to try and patch t hings up with them... That's what you told Malik Hunter... what you PROMISED yourself.
People didn't realize how he internalizes his surroundings... what he pulls and doesn't pull. He takes what people say to him and applies it the best way he can. That was how he got around after getting kicked out... before Paramount... and before the Black Hellfire Court... and well before the Dark Fire Court. Surely if he is the Dark Slayer, then he must have SOMETHING in between his ears. Sometimes, what it comes down to is how well you listen... what you really pay attention to.
"Look... I don't know you... and I'm not going to pretend to know you. However, let me tell you my first impression. I see a highly intelligent young man not much younger than myself who can't focus. That's what I'm getting. It isn't about lack of brains or lack of heart, because they are both there... I think it is lack of support... and maybe lack of drive... I could be wrong." That was what Khalid told him that third day of class... after he accidentally got the bow of the violin caught in Rogue's hair... and laid out half of the woodwinds when he jerked his arm back...
"All right, DarkWorm - and yes, I am calling you DarkWorm... you have to EARN the Wolf - So far in this course, you have been clumsy, unfocused, inattentive, brazen, and undisciplined. In other words... you are a fuck-up. Guess what... While it is MUCH easier and more fun to beat you and everyone else into a pulp, which would REALLY appall that bleeding-heart liberal sissy you call a music teacher, I am going to do something else. As my best friend Charlie once said to me, 'G-Spot, there is only one way to cure a fuck-up... Put his sorry ass in charge.' Guess what... That is EXACTLY what I'm going to do, DarkWorm. Your ass is in charge. See them?" Daemon said as he pointed to the strike team. "You are in charge of them. You know what that means? You are ALSO responsible for them. If one of them gets hurt, he or she fucked up. If one of them gets killed or maimed, YOU fucked up. So... This is how I'm going to cure this little concentration problem of yours in the field. In any case, you might want to be more careful during these training scenarios... because if you goof off at the wrong time, one of your people die. If one of your people die, then I get to kick your ass... and it will hurt. Have I made myself clear?"
There were other tidbits of wisdom. Don’t eat the yellow snow. Chocolate causes acne. Beware of scary-looking shape-shifters that rhyme with Count. Don’t wear black to Rhiannon’s house unless you intend on walking out with cat hair all over…
When he found the temple, his breath was just taken away. At first he could see nothing but more and more trees and vegetation, and then out of nowhere it just jumped at him. Giant marble columns wrapped with thick green vines reached out toward the canopy of leaves above. The ground had patches of stone peeking out from underneath a covering. It was amazing… How could a building so massive just HIDE like that? Damn… What is the deal? This looks more like it should belong in Rome than over here between India and Tibet…
He felt it beneath his feet… The ground was giving way. Easily slipping back into his combat training, he sprung forward. Wrapping his hands firmly on the marble columns, he glanced back toward the path he was on. Big pointed spikes… BLOODY spikes… Not that they would have been sharp enough to get through his skin, but he was not going to risk it. As Daemon said, if someone had been with him, that could have been his/her death. What would he have done, then?
Slowly, he set back down, this time walking forward. What had the letter said? Hop two… skip one… jump three… and run four. No… or was it skip two, hop… Fuck it. He made a mad dash through the hall. Bad mistake.
Well… if the wall crumbling past him did not break his mood, then it was the poison darts shooting at him. Luckily, none of the needles could penetrate his outfit, much less his invulnerable skin. There was also the hall filling up with fire, but luckily he dodged in time.
The minute he dodged, though, that was when the floor fell out from under him, yet again. This time, waiting for him at the bottom was not a row of bloody spikes, but an altar with a skeleton on it. Seeing the giant spiders, running out of the long-decomposed corpse, he quickly moved to the side, frantically knocking the dust and cobwebs off of him.
That was when he saw it, glistening on the wall opposite the altar. The Sword of Haresh… The entire room was bathed in the green light emanating from the jade hilt. Even the blade of silver could not seem to match its glow… its power… The closer he got, he could actually feel the temperature rising… and a warm wind rushing at him from the sword… “Old relic?! No one wants it? Shhhhyeah, right!”
At that moment, a green beam of light shot out, wrapping itself around him… completely overwhelming him. Aaaah… You have arrived… I’ve been expecting you.
“What the?! Hey! I guess Rhiannon was right… One of these days, I KNEW I was going to hear voices in my head… Hey… Where are the little green men? I’ve been…’
ENOUGH!!! Yes… This one is strong… He is definitely worthy to channel my power… though his mental capacity seems fragmented.
“Hey! I object to that… My mental capacity is just fine, thank you! And who are you talking to?! It’s not like I’m not in the room or something! Geesh… I swear… Swords, these days… They just aren’t like they…”
SILENCE… You are nothing… you are nothing but my vessel… the vessel of my destruction. As soon as I have a sacrifice, I will no longer have to deal with your soul.
“Whoa… Hold on there… Sacrifice?! Soul?!”
Yes… Candra… you REALLY have to hurry and find me a sacrifice. I can tell right now that he is going to give me a headache.
“HEY! What is THAT supposed to – CANDRA??!!”
“Mrs. KATT to you, Mills.” In a flash of red, Candra appeared on the other side of the altar. “I believe that my dear friend Xynn has already introduced himself… or is he STILL rude after all these years?”
Oh… How rude of me… Oh well… Perfectly in character, too…
“What?! Hold on… Why did you spend all that money to have me come out unless… Hey… What’s this about taking my body?!”
“Oh yeah… You didn’t know that? Shame on Lucas… LUCAS… Come out here… Someone wants to talk to you!”
In a flash of red light, Lucas Christopher appeared yet again, but this time in fighting clothes. His red outfit was decorated with assorted knives, grenades, and weapons. His belt went all across him, just barely glowing yellow. There was something to this guy… Something he couldn’t put his finger on… Then he saw it… it was very faint… The guy was vibrating... “There you are, Mr. ‘Wolfe’… I knew I forgot something… How careless. Will you forgive me?”
“Sure I will… Come closer where my fists can take care of you properly!”
ENOUGH! Pick up the sword…
“No! I don’t WANT to pick up the sword! It’s got that ugly jade kind of color to it and my girlfriend can’t STAND jade! Not to mention that the blade looks kind of rusty. You want me to get Tetanus or something? No way!”
What you want is inconsequential! You cannot resist me! I already own your body…
“No way, you sicko! Justin don’t swing that way! You should ask Luke over there, though… I think I saw him giving you a good eye…”
ENOUGH! The green beam strengthened pulling DarkWolf’s hand forcefully toward the blade. DarkWolf resisted with all his might, but even his strength was no match for the power of the blade. As he felt the energy crackling around it, he knew that he could not touch that jade hilt. As much as he resisted, though, he could not pull away. Then, the green light entered his eyes… totally blinding him… and before he knew it, he felt the blisteringly hot jade in the palm of his hand and the warm energy shooting up his hand… washing over him…
“So this is what possession is like… Um… Can I take a rain… HURK!!!”
In the ceremonial room of the temple, a bright flash flared up, consuming him. This time, DarkWolf actually managed to scream… scream as the cascading mystical energies flared up in the room, blinding everyone… and he felt himself invaded by this disembodied sorcerer. “And Finally… I am earthen once more.”
Candra walked slowly over. “We had a deal, Xynn… You get a body, and in return find my heart!”
Xynn spun toward her, aiming the sword directly at her neck. “No, my dear… You forget. I need to sacrifice a mind-witch to sever this mortal’s connection with his body so I can access my power again.” He sneered as he approached her, starting to laugh. “And the psion I see in front of me will work just as well as…”
Before he could approach her, a boulder was hurled at him, knocking him directly off his feet. He was back up, immediately, moving toward her, when she held her hand out. “You fool… You cannot sacrifice me, much less access my power… for half of it resides in my heart… which was stolen by that damn girl… who will ALSO serve as your alternative!”
In the palm of her hand, there was a small flash of red light. Then, an image of a stunning beautiful blonde with blue eyes. Unlike Candra, however, her youth was genuine… and her smile radiant. Even through this psionic hologram, Xynn could feel the power resonating from this one… Could it be? This young one’s latent power may possibly rival that of the Phoenix Elemental herself… How is it that one so young… so mortal… could hold so much potential, but has not been slain by the Mind Elemental itself. How could it be that this power has not been trained?! Nevermind… Curiosity aside, this one would make a MUCH better sacrifice than Candra could ever…
Xynn laughed… “Yes…”
Candra looked at the image of Jean Grey in her hand… and crushed it. It’s falling into place. I’m taking my revenge… on Jean Grey… Dark Claw… and BLAZE!
End Chapter 4
Chapter 5
“I would like to thank you for your performance, Mr. Hunter… It was a delight returning here from my mother-in-law’s side to find that you were giving a public a performance. My wife and I were both pleased. She happens to be a BIG fan of yours.”
Khalid chuckled at the dinner table with the Premiere. “I’m flattered… I should apologize to Mr. Huang for my outburst, yesterday. It was a long trip and…”
Chen Huang shook his head rapidly back and forth. “Nonsense… I should have been more forthcoming than to simply send you back on your way with nothing but a check. I can tell, Mr. Hunter, that you are a man to whom money is arbitrary.”
“I wouldn’t say THAT, necessarily… To me, money is just not as important ad the actual job. If I could find a way to travel around the world, play for free, and still manage to eat and get around, I probably would… provided that it is more than a one-way deal. I guess yesterday that I thought that my generosity was being taken advantage of. I’m glad to see that is not the case.”
“I’m sorry that image came across… Now, I understand that in addition to this, you are doing a performance in Ontario?”
Khalid nodded. “Yes… a week before Christmas, as a matter of fact. I…” That was when Khalid felt it… He grabbed his eyes as the feeling washed over him… His senses rising to the point that they were almost unbearable… No… Can’t afford for my aura to flare up here… The buzzing was overwhelming, almost to the point of driving him to his knees. Then, the image came… It was of Justin evilly laughing… but around him was something else… something that most definitely WASN’T Justin… and just as quickly it left his mind. What the hell was THAT about?
The Premiere was already on his feet. “Mr. Hunter… Are you okay? Do you need medical attention?”
Khalid waved his hand no as the yellow aura just as quickly faded. “No… I’m… okay… I just…” Khalid’s voice cracked as he realized what happened… That his powers flared up in public, just like they had tried to do at the grocery store in Lehigh (Relativity). Yet… This didn’t FEEL like Mufasa, as before… He sensed something… and it had to do with Justin. “Premiere… I’m afraid that I’m feeling a little bit under the weather. Perhaps it is best that I retire to my hotel room.”
The Premiere nodded his head, with a smile. “Please… Feel free. You are a guest of the people… and as your performance shows today, you are a most worthy guest.”
“Thank you. Good day.” Khalid rushed out the door… pushing what had just happened waaaay to the corner of his mind. In his haste, he didn’t notice how the Premiere’s wife cleaned the table… by magnetically moving the plates into a tub.
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“All right, Rhiannon… remember… no stealing.”
“But stealing is fun! And I have to support Phantom and George… and don’t you know? I’m addicted! I can’t control myself!”
Jean Grey laughed at her. “Sure you can… You just don’t want to! Hmmmmmm…” She looked at a roll of fabric the merchant was showing her. “Do you think this would make a nice dress?”
Rhiannon’s hand moved to her mouth. “Excuse me… How often have you seen ME in a dress?!”
Jean spun around on her feet, wrapping the soft silk around her. “Still… I’ve always had a thing for silk… It’s nice and sexy…”
“So… Lemme guess… The Jeannie-bird is in LOOOOOOOOVE!!!!”
“Hey!”
“But with whom?! The smooth-talkin’, lady-killin’, THIEF, Jonathan Delcroix? Or the rough n’ rowdy, beer swiggling, lead-pipe swinging JOHN, um… what’s-his-name?”
Marvel Girl snapped toward her with a sneer. “What about YOU and Justin, Rhiannon? I heard you two on the plane… talking about Shagging! Ooooooh… Shame on you both! You KNOW that you shouldn’t be doing any of that!”
“Hey! Don’t YOU Shag? Shagging’s fun! You should join in sometime… Why I remember one time at home where we got Sharon in on it… That was HILARIOUS!”
Marvel Girl’s eyes opened wide as she leaned back, gasping in shock. “WHAT?! You two DO that?!”
“Oh yeah! Of course! Don’t you know? Shagging is ALWAYS more fun the more people you have...”
“I don’t want to hear anymore…”
“Geesh! It’s not THAT bad… I mean… It’s only a game…”
“You consider it a GAME?! Now I KNOW it is sick!”
“Hey… I’ll be glad to teach you. It is quite addictive once you start…”
“GROSS!”
Before the two of them could continue their argument, they saw a plasma grenade land in between them. Instinctively, Marvel Girl’s telekinetically hurled it into the air, exploding it above them. That was when the psi-bolt knocked her off her feet… which were still bound in the silk cloth she had been looking at.
Outburst responded with three cards at the target. “CANDRA! All right, Bitch… You had it coming!”
Candra sneered. “Do you REALLY think that you can harm me? Please…” Lucas pulled out a sword ready to go after Outburst, when Candra placed her hand in front of him. “No… I’ll handle this personally, Lucas.”
Outburst swung her bo at Candra, barely missing her head. Candra responded by telekinetically hurling her against a tree. “Hey! If you are going to fight… fight fair!”
“Oh, little girl… I don’t know WHERE you picked THAT up… I would have hoped you’d have known better!”
Outburst sneered as she kicked over her head then at her stomach. “I do… I was just hoping you’d fall for it!”
In a flash of orange, Marvel Girl threw the silk cloth off from around her feet, telekinetically transforming into her Red Rook’s uniform. Catch me once, shame on you… Catch me twice, shame on me… “All right, Candra… You should have learned your lesson the LAST time, but I’m more than ready to do a review! Rule number one is… Don’t piss me…”
Before she could attack Candra, she felt a hand on her shoulder. “Jean! Look… You’ve gotta hurry… Khalid’s been hurt BADLY…”
Immediately, Jean felt a lurch in her stomach. “He has? What?! Candra must be distracting us!”
“I think he might be dyi…”
As Justin took hold of her wrist, that was when Jean realized something was wrong… TERRIBLY wrong… “HOLD on! How come I can’t sense your mind?!”
Immediately, Justin backhanded her. She had erected a telekinetic shield to take the brunt, but he easily slid through it. “Because… JUSTIN is currently taking a nap… What’s wrong, Jean… Just finally realized that you were telling the truth, but that Candra was distracting you from ME!”
Jean telekinetically picked up the stones around him. If she couldn’t hit him with a direct telepathic or telekinetic assault, then she would hit him indirectly. The only problem was that with his superstrength and thick skin, he was virtually invulnerable… None of her attacks worked before he got to her… and with a punch, laid her out.
Candra slid a kick right upside Outburst’s temple. “Too bad, Rhiannon Cherie LeBeau… You fight well, but not decisive.”
Outburst stopped, leveling her bo staff directly under Candra’s chin. “What?! How do you know my name… my FULL name?!”
Candra laughed haughtily. “I’m surprised… All that time, and your father never told you? My… my… and I would have thought that it would have been obvious by the time you reached puberty… Remy… He was ALWAYS damn pathetic… just like his father!”
Angrily, Outburst jabbed her first in the chest and then in the jaw. Then, two cards flew directly in the chest, knocking her into a tree. “Don’t you DARE talk about Gambit like that! My uncle died saving my…”
Candra laughed even more, this time picking Outburst into the air. “ ‘UNCLE,’ is he? Now that is something totally new to me… No, sweetie, Remy LeBeau is NOT your ‘uncle’. Not by a LONGshot.”
Outburst struggled against the telekinetic hold, but she couldn’t bust free. But when she did, she’d have two charged cards waiting to blow the bitch’s head off. “Like YOU are hardly reliable source, witch! You better hope I don’t find your heart, first… because I’ll fucking shatter it!”
Candra’s laugh turned colder… more evil. “No, Princess… Trust me… I was THERE. After nine months of carrying you within my belly, NO ONE should know better than I… So, do you REALLY think you want to kill your ‘Mummy-Dearest’?”
“NO! You aren’t…”
“Oh… Keep the faith … while you wear my face… and use your ‘uncle’s’ powers… Even Munroe knew the truth about you. Go ask her yourself!”
“ENOUGH… We waste valuable time, Candra… We must leave IMMEDIATELY. Destroy the girl and come on.”
Outburst’s eyes widened. “Justin?! No…” Before she could do anything, she felt Candra force herself inside her mind and shut down her systems, one by one. Outburst felt the life draining from her… and then blackness enfold her.
“She’s dead… Let’s go.”
Lucas walked up to Outburst, holding sword high above his head. “And now for a troph…”
Before he could finish, Candra kicked him in the stomach and raised a knife to his throat. “NO! Leave her be! Do you hear me?”
“ENOUGH… We must leave NOW! Teleport us…”
“I can’t, Xynn. The strain of forcing myself into Outburst’s mind has rendered my powers weak. I cannot vouch for our safety.”
“FINE then!” His patience more than worn, Xynn took off toward the mountainside, heading back toward the temple. Marvel Girl hung limply over his shoulder, still unconscious from his blow… blissfully unaware of the fate soon to befall her.
Candra pulled the knife away from Luke’s chin and gestured her head toward Xynn. Follow him… stay with him. After he left the area, Candra slowly took her red cape and placed it under Outburst’s head as a pillow. Then, she kissed her gently on the forehead and struck off after them. “I hope you forgive me, someday.”
End Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Khalid sighed as he walked through the mountainside woods. This was NOT exactly what he had in mind… to be hiking through the woods, carrying a sleeping teenage girl over his shoulder. What if this were the United States? A 6-foot-2, 250 lb., 23-year-old Black man carrying a 5-foot-3, muscular, 16-year-old teenage girl out in the middle of the mountains? They wouldn’t even question it… Statutory rape. As his father told him after he turned 18, they don’t have to prove that it happened… All they have to prove is that there was an OPPORTUNITY for it to happen.
Taking her with him was a mistake. Why was it a mistake? Well… When all is said and done, Outburst is a kid. In fact, that was the biggest beef he had about the Hellions, Upstarts, Marauders, and the newly-formed Dark Riders. MOST of them were kids! Hell… a lot of the Inner Circle members are kids. Who the hell in their right mind would form a strike team made of kids?! THAT’S INSANE! They are KIDS… They have no business preparing for wars…
Then again, Khalid also had problems with the mindset of the people in these clubs. They train these children to control their powers to the point where they may have to kill… With the understanding that they in turn will lay everything, including their lives, on the line to defend the Hellfire Club. What kind of life is THAT?! What kind of education is that?! Do they ever really learn how to be independent thinkers? Do they ever really learn that there IS a life outside of the Hellfire Clubs? Do they know that there is MUCH more to life than training, battles, corporate takeovers, inter-club gossip, and accusing the Black, White, Red, Beige, and TEAL courts of conspiring against them?
It’s damn scary, in a way. When he thinks about Rhiannon LeBeau, or Justin Mills, or Abby Gannon, or Greg Jameson, he sees teenagers… He sees CHILDREN. When Casey Jones or Grover sees them, they see THREATS. Is that the desired end for these children? To force them to grow up too early? To train them so that they become adults who view EVERYONE in degrees of how much a threat they are? Stop, you aren’t giving either of them enough credit. These people you are referring to as “kids” could probably stomp you into the dirt… because they have been conditioned that way!
Khalid… Why do you stay in the White Court anymore? You can’t change anything. They don’t respect your position. They don’t respect you as a person or the values you have. They think you are a ‘hick’ who joined the Hellfire Club purely out of money… and because he was friends with the White King! HA! If they only knew… Grover barely knew me at all before I joined (It’s the truth! He didn’t!). They’ll get REALLY snotty if they ever find out that he’s my cousin… and that I have BABY pictures of him lying around my house.
Of course, that was another issue entirely. Should he tell Grover? What would he say? “Surprise, surprise… Your White Rook is ACTUALLY your Black Cousin.” Oh yeah… That would REALLY go over well… Yep… just like… “Oh… and before I forget, the Black Warlord is ACTUALLY your White Cousin. Whoa… Don’t kill yourself, Cous… At least we aren’t related to Maul!”
No… There was another matter. Was it his place? Cougar knew all these years… He could have told him EARLIER. Hell… He could have told the entire FAMILY earlier, rather than nodding his head because Khalid found out by accident. What about Gomurr? Sorry… He just doesn’t buy that Gomurr genuinely didn’t know. It made TOO much sense now why Cougar and Gomurr were at odds… They were in a pissing contest over Grover!
Khalid stopped walking as he glanced at the ground. To most people, they would not see any sign that the ground was trod upon. Khalid, however, has grown up tracking… trained by his grandfather. Even without his heightened senses, he can easily make out characteristics of who passed and how long ago they did.
That was how he confirmed his “vision” that Justin was definitely not himself. There are very few men just shy of six feet that weigh 410 pounds. He noticed before that Justin tended to pronate a little. Whoever is in his body is supinating. (Which means that Justin’s feet and calves are going to be KILLING him later on.)
From her position on the ground, Outburst jerked awake, two cards charged to throw at Khalid. “What the… KHALID??!! Where are… How…”
“We’re tracking down your boyfriend, who is carrying Jean over his shoulder. He took off pretty fast through here, followed by a woman… about 140 lbs and 5’ 7’’ and a man… about 6 foot… 190 lbs… and has weapons out the wazoo. Am I close?”
Outburst got to her feet. “Damn, you’re good. Come on… Let’s get going.”
“Hold on… Rhiannon… You need to tell me EXACTLY what happened. Other than Justin’s possessed and he just kidnapped Jean, I don’t know a thing that is going on.”
Outburst snapped toward him, her eyes flashing with her mutant signature. “Well, smartass… You know just as much as I do. Quit being a damn prick and take me to him!”
Khalid put up his hand, meeting her glare with his own. “Hold on… The insult and the order are BOTH out of line. I don’t give a DAMN whether or not you are still in the Hellions or not. I’m sure as HELL not walking my ass into what is more than likely a trap without some kind of warning. Now, I can take you with me, or I can leave you. It is YOUR choice.” Outburst’s bo swung around at his head, but Khalid caught it in his hand. “Don’t piss me off, Rhiannon… You tell me EXACTLY what you remember happening…”
“What the hell can YOU do?! Run back to town and play piano?! No… Go WHINING to the White King Grover to come save your ass… Oh… better yet? Go beat up another defenseless gay man!”
Khalid’s aura flared up, using a lion’s paw of photons to backhand Rhiannon. Immediately, Rhiannon was back on her feet, coming at him. Having formed a staff of his own, he easily blocked her strikes as well as her charged cards. Then, he suckered her, elbowing her in the chin and wrapping his hand around her throat. “Enough… We have no time for this.” He dropped her on her butt and casually started walking past her down the path. “Stoke the temper and let’s get on. You need to tell me everything that happened…”
At first, Rhiannon LeBeau was shocked. He just acted like he was two different people. Then, she thought about something else… She had let her frustration from earlier get to her… and perhaps she WAS just a little mean… but to attack her like that was totally unjustified. Was he losing it?
Khalid, however, was upset about something else. He felt it the second Rhiannon snapped at him. The buzzing… the senses growing rampantly… the way he almost enjoyed doing that… the beginning of the growl in his chest. Those sensations… those thoughts were the classic signs – the classic signs of something he was not ready to deal with.
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Jean woke up. Her head was KILLING her. What happened? “Justin… Rhiannon?” She blinked her eyes, waiting for them to adjust to the darkness of the area. Then, she realized… Her wrists and ankles are bound. “JUSTIN??!!”
Justin’s smiling face appeared before her. “You called?” Quickly, he covered her awestruck mouth with his own and kissed her deeply. Jean’s eyes opened wide in shock as she shook her head. Abruptly, he ripped his mouth off of hers. “Admit it, Jeannie… I just take your breath away!”
“Justin! What the hell has happened with you?! You have to figh”
At that moment, Justin’s extradimensionally-possessed voice rose two octaves, mocking her. “Justin… You need to FIGHT this. Is THAT what you were going to say, Jean? Well… You can keep on saying it when I take the Sword of Haresh…” Justin pulled the glowing sword just in front of her delicate cheek, rubbing the silver blade gently back and forth. “…and drive it through your small intestines! Then, as the blade harnesses your psionic energy, it will ALSO drive your friend Justin out of this body. Then, you can talk to him ALL you want in the afterlife about how you want him to fight me.”
“No… It’s the sword…”
Xynn laughed gutturally. “Is it? No… It is me IN the sword. You see, I owe a certain Sorcerer Supreme some PAYback! He nearly died before he imprisoned me in this sword. And once your friend has been disconnected from this body, NOTHING will stop me from accessing the power that is mine… AND TAKING what is mine!”
Marvel Girl tried using her powers to bust free… to even lash out at the madman in front of her… FORCE him to release her friend. Yet, to her, he and her prison were not there. She could do nothing. She felt… powerless. “You’re after Shamen? Look… I don’t know how they did things in your place, but we pick up the phone and call lawyers. I have a good friend who’s a lawyer… You might like her.” Yeah… and she’ll kick your ass while she’s at it, too!
“No… No thanks. You will do just fine. And…” Xynn groaned. “CANDRA… You told me that you were going to take CARE of them!”
Four cards sped through the air, slamming into the restraints on the altar before Xynn could cover them. Having nothing to lose, Marvel Girl kicked her leg out, striking Xynn between the legs. Then, she telekinetically lifted herself into the air. “About TIME you guys got here!” Lashing out with her powers, she broke the altar into pieces, hurling them at Xynn.
Outburst leapt down into the cavern below. “Yo! Bitch! I still have words for you!”
Candra laughed as she ran to meet Outburst. “Really… If that is who I am, then what does that make you?”
Khalid peered down from the hole on top to the fight below. There’s another man… a man with weapons… Where is he? I don’t see… With a flash of his eyes, Khalid hurled a photon bolt behind him. Unfortunately, the guy was too quick for him. With one kick in the jaw, he knocked Khalid into the cavern below and followed him down with two swords. “Damn…”
Lucas Christopher immediately came at him. Khalid whizzed his head to the side, barely enough to miss getting decapitated. He finally concentrated enough to pull a photon staff together, but it did little good. He couldn’t think well enough to use it! “Well well… So it IS true… MuFAsa, the jazz pianist, IS a mutie… though you better stick to piano… and leave the fighting to us PROFESSIONALS!” Luke’s foot reached out, again crashing into his jaw. “Hmmmm… Oh, but that is what you did to Timothy Harrington, isn’t it? You beat the shit out of him… scarred up his face.” At that moment, he held Khalid pinned to the ground, with his swords at Khalid’s neck. “How does it feel to be on the receiving end? I could kill you right now… just as you almost did to him. You know what? I think it will be much more fun letting him do it. Oh wait… you don’t know… That reporter John Gardino managed to convince the justice system to release him TODAY. And from what I hear… he’s ALREADY decided that you are on his hit-list… not publicly, of course!”
At that moment, Khalid’s aura immediately changed from red to yellow.
“Now, what is this? You doing a light…”
Xynn’s concentration broke as he had tried to catch Marvel girl. He sensed it happening. That man… He’s the… “Luke! KILL HIM NOW!”
“What the…”
In a flash of light, Marvel Girl was in front of Candra. “Hey! I’ve been waiting to kick YOUR ass…” She telekinetically shoved Candra into a wall. “It’s up to you. Here… or on the psychic plane.”
Candra laughed. “You are WAAY out of your league, girl.”
“No I’m not… but since you couldn’t decide…” Marvel Girl slugged her. “Fist fight! First blonde to get blood in the other’s hair wins!”
Candra tackled her, moving her fingernails toward her face. “I’ll see you DEAD for what your interference a year ago! I WILL find my heart once again… AND have my vengeance on you!”
Marvel Girl threw Candra into the air, crashing her through the ceiling. Almost immediately, she burst through the other side, kicking her in the face. “Oh… You’re breaking my heart! Then again… considering that you LOST yours…”
The rubble rose into the air, shooting at her. Candra added a psi-bolt on top of that to stun her. “No thanks to you! It is only a matter of time… and then it will be YOUR heart I’ll crush with my hand!”
Marvel Girl fought through the haze. No… She had to divide herself… A telekinetic shield AND a psi-barrier. She cursed her lack of training as a psi. Power to power, Candra was no match… but sheer experience was kicking her. She needed to do something unexpected… the column behind Candra… “Bitch… You can’t have my heart! It is taken! You know… you met him… He was the one who slapped you upside the head with a lead pipe as I telekinetically hurled your heart into the teleportal!”
Candra shrieked as she built up a charge. “Oh… I’m taking off your HEAD for that one!”
Marvel Girl giggled. “Later.” She flew out of the way as the marble column came crashing down on her. “Bitch.” Marvel Girl walked up to the unconscious Candra, checking the hair. “Hey! Whaddya know? Blood! Looks like I won!”
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“Little girl, why don’t you go home and play with your Barbie Dolls?”
Outburst slammed her bo across Luke’s kneecaps. “Yeah… You know, they ALL say that? I think it means that they don’t have anything original to say.”
Luke reached down, deactivating his belt. Then, she could see it better. He was vibrating… vibrating REALLY fast. She dodged as she intercepted his sword with her bo… but was miffed to find that his sword sliced through it like butter. “My mutant power is vibration… and these swords are vibrating at such a frequency that they are as strong as adamantium!”
Outburst was pissed. She had got that bo for her birthday… and it had been diced. “AW HELL!!!” She started building up the charge as she dodged Luke’s moves. “You little jackass… I LOVED this bo! My boyfriend… you know… that guy you guys got possessed by that SHITHEAD… HE gave it to me! Of course, I told him that I couldn’t stand it… that it wasn’t NEARLY as strong as the one from my Uncle Remy…”
“You mean, your FATHER!”
Outburst landed a punch in the nose. “SHUT UP WHEN I’M SPEAKING! Anyway, I LOVED that bo! And you’ve sliced it in half! You know what that makes it?” At that moment, Outburst flipped into the air above his head, sliding the charged split-bo down the back of his shirt as she landed. “That makes it YOUR bo. MERRY CHRISTMAS!” She kicked him in the rear and jumped back.
It exploded… and it wasn’t exactly a small explosion. It spoke well for Lucas Christopher that his mutant power to vibrate really fast actually saved his life. Yet, he force of the explosion still KO’d him. As Outburst saw him slam head-first into the wall, she had to cringe on that one. Oh well… The son-of-a-bitch… He deserved it ANYWAY. Now, it was time to confront someone ELSE...
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Khalid had no idea why his mutant powers kicked in by themselves… or why it had switched him with Marvel Girl. Hell… There were PLENTY of questions that needed answering. Why, of all times, was his aura flashing yellow right now. According to everyone else, it did that in a trance. Well… This wasn’t exactly a trance.
For one thing, he was actually conscious of what was going on right now. He could see something black surrounding Justin’s life energy… pulsating with it… totally affecting it. That, emanated from the sword. The problem with the sword was that it TOO was glowing with Justin’s life energy. That mean that somehow, the sword had bonded itself to Justin. Just how Khalid knew that, he didn’t have the faintest clue. Hell… With the exception of that brief instant Thanksgiving Day, he had no recollection of even being able to SEE life auras. Why all of a sudden, now?
Anyhow, Justin… No… this creature that had taken Justin… was fighting REALLY franticly, now… like he was afraid. Well, this Xynn guy or whatever his name with is fighting with a sword, making sure Khalid can’t get anywhere near him. Khalid wasn’t sure why he would want to get near him. Justin may as well have been a Juggernaut as far as Khalid was concerned. Strategically, he would want to hit long distance, hoping Justin doesn’t tag him with a flying knife or something. Khalid wasn’t stupid… He didn’t have a chance.
Yeah… and that was what Cyke said my problem was… that I rely too much on sucker attacks and don’t do anything decisive… or I’m fighting like I don’t have a chance, not forming a plan as I go.
Khalid barely ducked in time as the sword flew over his head. Most people would try for getting Justin to release the sword, figuring that was causing it. Well… it was too late. That entity was already inside Justin. It was trying to kill Jean in order to kick out Justin… and take his body. Khalid also suspected that the entity couldn’t access its own power until Justin was gone. In that respect, they had succeeded already… even though if Xynn took off in search of another psion, then it would only be a temporary win.
“It was too soon for you… I was to use you to gain entry to his realm!”
Khalid dodged the sword yet again. It didn’t make sense. Justin was a damn merc… and HAD weapons on him… and could probably shatter his bones simply by throwing him into the wall, but this guy wasn’t doing anything but swiping the sword at him. As if he were afraid to catch… something…
“Well… I don’t like to teleport. I’m not very good at it and it hurts like a bitch! Well… That and you possessed my student and are currently trying to kill me with a very big ugly sword!”
“What you want is inconsequential! You are but a…”
“Really… Then, why are you going out of your way not to tag me? You could have ended this fight LONG ago!” One photon bolt to the eyes and Xynn was blinded. There would be little point in sending one to burst the eardrum, because that was made of skin… that and he wanted to do as little damage to Justin as possible… as if he could ever muster enough power to do actual harm. Sometimes I wish my power manifested as blasts…
Khalid punched him in the chin. That skin to skin contact was when he felt it happen… His yellow aura slipped around Justin… and for an instant, he thought Justin’s thoughts, stood where Justin stood, and knew what Justin knew... A spirit bond?! How…
Justin screamed as a black orb ripped out of his chest into the air. Then, he collapsed to the ground. Xynn had not accounted for this. Khalid had expelled him from Justin’s body… and in doing so, severed his connection with the sword… which contained the majority of his power, forever.
Khalid leaned over as he recovered from the contact. Strangely enough, now his photon aura had reverted back to red. “Now… looky there. Poor evil Xynn doesn’t have a home… or any power.”
You have made an enemy, today. I WILL again possess the Sword of Haresh… and then I will vanquish…
Khalid's eyes flashed briefly, teleporting the annoying black orb from his sight. Strangely enough, Khalid didn’t remember teleporting the disembodied spirit anywhere. To him, all it seemed was that the black orb simply faded away, having used the last of its power to leave the pointless message.
End Chapter 6
Epilogue
Salem Center:
Rhiannon LeBeau slowly walked up the access road toward the place she hasn’t been in a long time. Graymalkin Lane… Salem Center… Granted, her parting had not exactly been amicable, but it was not in anger either. It just wasn’t the right place for her, anymore… just like the Hellions weren’t the right place for her anymore.
At first, the white of her long hair had blended into the sky, giving Rhiannon the first impression that once again, Ororo had shaved her head bald. As she settled down, Rhiannon could not help but notice that the woman who had once been a mother figure to her was upset. Her emotions rarely were present, leaving everyone to guess by the weather outside. However, today it very clearly showed on her face. Ororo Munroe was almost to the point of tears. Were they tears of joy or tears of anguish? “Rhiannon… I received your call.”
“I want you to tell me right now… Tell me that the bitch doesn’t know what she is talking about. It’s impossible… Uncle Remy wasn’t even that old… He COULDN’T have been… but the bitch told me to ask… and…” She stopped, her breath almost gone from the speech. “Ro, I need to know. Why did she send me to you?”
The flurries that had been dropping to the ground had slowly changed… slowly becoming drops of sleet. Rhiannon didn’t notice, however. While the rain absolutely soaked Ororo, she had kept it away from the teenage girl before her. Then, Rhiannon saw it… a tear sliding down her cheek. “Rhiannon… There is something you need to know.”
Aw shit…
“Two years ago, a time jumper had kidnapped Rogue and taken her to 1982. Using some sort of device he took from Sinister, Elizabeth, Remy, Logan and I followed after the perpetrator, determined that we would rescue her. We found Rogue beaten and powerless in Central Park… apparently narrowly escaping an attempted rape. Remy took her to a hotel, while I continued to investigate with Logan. At some point, we found the REAL Rogue about to be killed by Fitzroy. After rescuing her, we rushed back to the hotel to find Candra about to kill Remy. Elizabeth emerged through the shadows and stopped her, but Candra got away…”
Rhiannon’s world came crashing down around her. It was true… It was all true… “No… No… No… No…”
Ororo dropped her head. “I am sorry you had to find out this way. I had hoped that it would have been Remy who would have broke the news to you.”
“God DAMN it! That son of a BITCH! HE KNEW! HE FUCKING KN…”
“Rhiannon! Stop it! He did know… but he was not the only one. He didn’t tell you because he feared for your safety.”
The tears were flowing freely, now… smearing the makeup. Outburst wiped her eyes as she went on. “He could have told me! I can take care of myself! I mean… Why… why… WHY!!!!”
Ororo hugged her… letting the cold rain slap against the ground… and even the two of them. She had to feel for Rhiannon… It was not everyday that she learned that her father was dead and that her mother was evil.
There was one thing that Ororo neglected to tell Rhiannon…
Jubilation Lee had seen a fight on her first day of college… A fight in which she saw a man who was a dead ringer for Remy LeBeau throw charged cards to mask his getaway…
Could Remy LeBeau possibly be alive?
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Lyon’s Hill, NC
Robert Cougar knew that something was up when he went to answer the doorbell at his home. He supposed that it was his son Zeke coming by to visit, however as he approached the door, he didn’t sense and life readings coming from the other side. Forming a knife in his hand, he opened the door.
Nothing… absolutely no one.
“Hello, Dearie.”
Cougar spun around to see the woman in the purple robe standing behind him. How?! I don’t sense… “Leave my home!”
Slowly, the Necromancer reached up, peeling the hood back so he could see. Her long blonde hair fell to her shoulders, framing the evil smile across her lips. “Oh… What’s wrong, Roy? You not in the mood to see me?”
Cougar formed another knife in his hand. “YOU! What is the meaning of this?! How dare…”
The Necromancer jerked her hand, shooting a green orb into Cougar’s chest. He was jerked off his feet, slamming into the wall behind him. “Tut, tut, tut, Roy… You see… You… would be insurance… insurance that your grandson… I mean the Black one, not the Blue one… your grandson arrives on his date with destiny.”
“I should have known… It made sense before… the way you were acting…”
She hurled another green orb at him, striking him in the chest. “We don’t have your grandson, yet… but once we do, he’ll have no CHOICE but to go along… to save you!”
“I won’t allow it!” Cougar was about to stab himself in the chest when the knives disappeared. Before he could do anything, another orb struck him… rendering him unconscious.
The Necromancer grabbed him by the chin, shaking it back and forth. “Too bad, Roy… They’ll just think you are on another trip. We never got to be naughty… Perhaps while you are in captivity.” With a green flash of light, the two of them were gone.
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Pridesville, NY: Khalid Hunter’s home
Khalid shook his head as he paced back and forth in his bedroom. “Relax, Mom… I’ll be fine. I’m leaving for Deernight Falls on Thursday. No… I’m flying up there… Yes, I KNOW there is going to be a snowstorm. I’ll be fine. Geesh… Calm down, Mom. All right… all right… Look, I think you are being a little too antsy about this. I’ll be fine. Take care, Mom… and I’ll be home for Christmas.” Carefully, Khalid set the phone down and sat on the edge of his bed.
Although he tried to tell his mom that everything was okay, it WASN’T okay. Over in Bhutan, when Rhiannon challenged him, he felt it happening… he felt it trying to come to the surface. Why? Why was…
What the hell… He KNEW why it was happening. It was coming back… HE was coming back… The moment those thoughts crossed his mind, his senses again burned within him, making him dizzy. Then, the thought burned clearly in his mind. You can’t help it… You KNOW I’m back… Quickly, Khalid reached around on his dresser, picking up a glass of water and following it with a couple of aspirin. “No you aren’t, Mufasa… You’ve fucked up my life before… you aren’t doing it again.”
Khalid lied back against the soft mattress on his bed, at first forcing his eyes shut. After that day he had nearly beaten Harrington to death, he had learned that occasionally, he had to force himself to relax… bury those same thoughts and feelings that had caused him to do that… to lose control like that. If he could just relax… remain calm… and swallow his temper… make sure that it doesn’t affect his thoughts…
He would have to remember to talk with Grandpop about that spirit bond thing… or even why all of a sudden the aural vision popped up out of nowhere. Granted, things like this weren’t out of the ordinary… They occasionally happened almost all through his life, but he wasn’t sure what it was. In a nutshell, Khalid wanted to know what was happening… and why it was happening now. Granted, it wasn’t endangering anyone like before, but it was still something he needed to check out… and maybe while he was at it, Grandpop might be able to do something about Prince Mufasa.
As soon as his thoughts started rambling and spiraling toward the nightmares that came almost nightly, now, Khalid knew that he was asleep.
Five minutes into REM, there was a fingersnap next to his ear. His eyes flew open, peering into the dark of the bedroom. Slowly, he sat up, rising to his feet. He growled as he turned to face his visitor. Two photon blades formed in his hand, ready to attack. Sniffing the air, he stopped, the photon blades disappearing.
“Danke for the greeting, but tonight is busy. Hurry up.” Black clothes landed on his face.
After he dressed, Khalid and his guest faded into the darkness…
The next morning, Khalid awoke in his bed, completely exhausted. He had no idea why he was painfully exhausted… where the bruises came from… or why his throat was raw. He couldn’t remember dreaming or even doing anything active in a dream. It was strange, in a way. He should feel scared. For some reason, he was positive that he should feel scared. Yet… he wasn’t.
For some reason, he had the feeling that this process was almost… inevitable…
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BHC Academy, Office of the Headmaster
Gomurr sat on the corner of the desk, studying his charge. Granted, Justin Mills was no longer his charge, but he didn’t care. He would always see everyone as his charge… as his responsibility… and occasionally, as his failures. “You need to tell me EXACTLY what happened. Leave out diversions… leave out the speculations… and PLEASE leave out the spatula jokes. Those are scary. How did you come across this sword?”
Justin moved the sword around, checking out his reflection in the silver of the blade. He was scared of magic… Always HAS been scared of magic. If anything could penetrate his skin, more than likely, it was of magical origin. Hell… One of the reasons he was kind of jumpy about being the Dark Slayer was because they think he was supposed to have some kind of specialization in it… because of monsters. The only problem was… he hated magic. “Easy… I was minding my business in some temple out in Bhutan… then the guy in this sword just SPOKE to me. It was kind of funny in a way… like GRRAAR GRAAAR kind of like that. Anyway, I find out that Erika Katt is actually Candra and her stooge is some guy with the power of being a human vibrator…”
“Justin!”
“I’m telling the truth! Anyway, this sword shoots out this green gunk at me and jerks me toward it. I mention something like… So this is what possession is like… and the next thing I know, I wake up in the airport with this thing in my hand! It must have been some kind of groovy funkadelic acid trip. Hey… You mind?” Justin nodded toward the bowl of candy.
“Help yourself.” It was strange, in a way. Justin had the body of a man… and was as dangerous as a man… even was in a man’s business… but in some way, had the innocence of a child. He was one of those people that it was impossible to stay mad at.
Naturally when someone like that just walks in with the Sword of Haresh on his back… a sword that at last mention was bonded to one of the foulest mages to have ever lived, it gets suspicious. Xynn was evil, no doubt… and stopped at nothing to get what he wanted.
In order for DarkWolf to be bonded to the sword, Xynn had to have been released from his prison… and driven out of his body. A feat that was virtually impossible, especially with the sword connected to power he has wielded for centuries. There was no sign of corruption in the sword… That was driven out with Xynn. Strange… almost as if DarkWolf and the sword were purified…
The End