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Issue #17 |
"Total Eclipse" Part Six Of Ten Written By Tom Moses |
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Alex Summers and Ororo Monroe sit idly in the study of Charles Xavier. Moments ago they had been summoned to the expansive office with a hasty command; now they sit and watch their mentor stare at them blankly. Never in their careers had they witnessed a day when Charles couldn't find the words to express himself adequately, but it seems as though words cannot express the flood of what Xavier is feeling this day.
Charles hadn't spoken a word since his guests entered the office, simply sitting in his chair with his hands folded atop the desk. "Charles?" Ororo breaks the silence that seems to plague the room. "You wanted to speak with us?"
Xavier says nothing, simply leaning slightly back in his wheeled chair. "Is something going on that we need to be aware of?" Alex makes his voice known shortly after Ororo's question.
Only a moment more of silence follows the former students' unwillingness to entertain Xavier's brooding. "A situation has risen in Genosha, and Polaris has made the decision to keep us out of the information loop." He speaks slowly, failing to hide the anger in his voice.
"Communication is an important aspect of our work, Charles, but is it of dire importance that Lorna spells out everything she encounters?" Alex is quickly hushed with a wave of Xavier's hand.
Several pieces of a broken pencil fall from Xavier's left hand. His focus locks with Alex's face. "Havok, I can appreciated that you hate having your methods questioned, but your naiveté is becoming absurd."
"Excuse me.."
Xavier scowls not in anger toward the younger brother of the first leader of the X-Men, but his eyes make a single twitch and immediately Alex forced to seating upright, a look of pain in his eyes as he sits, completely frozen. "I don't have time to consider your insecurities. This communications breakdown is detrimental to everything I've worked for!"
"Charles.."
"No, Storm, I don't mean anything other than what I've said." Xavier halts her speech without a second malicious intent. "I've worked too hard to have my life's work stolen out from under me by some green-haired upstart!"
Charles Xavier rolls from behind his desk, "Strom, we're going to have to accelerate our plan. You are to assume control immediately, as I suddenly have much to prepare for."
Ororo uses no effort to hide the pain it takes for her to stand quickly; still reeling over the injuries she sustained in Japan , she requires the aid of a crutch or cane. "Charles, what is this important that you wish me to forget the conditions we spoke of? Alex and the others are not finished being tested; how am I to make the necessary changes to our strategies without that benefit?"
"Storm, consider that your first command decision, you must deal with what you have and make due. With Magneto awake and moving about somehow unnoticed by my telepathy, the X-Men are granted with a severe limitation. I apologize, Storm, but there are a number of people I must speak with. You will find everything in order that you require, Robert is well adept at handling the financial handlings of the school, and Havok is a fine field leader. You have many things that I did not when I gathered the first X-Men; you will do well in my absence."
Ororo Monroe stands, watching Xavier remove himself from the room. Rightfully confused and terrified at the sound of Magneto's name. With all but a snap of his fingers, Xavier has broken his promise to her to allow enough time to transition and take control of the X-Men. The color drains from her face as the door latches closed. This is it. She is in control.
"Gah." Alex's voice returns with a loud collapse to the floor. Xavier's hold on the field leader relinquished the moment the door had been closed. Short of breath, the blond haired mutant remains on floor, seemingly dizzy with his encounter with Xavier's mind. "What just happened?" he asks, making no effort to stand.
Ororo Monroe, called Storm throughout most of her adult life, now stands behind the desk once belonging to Charles Xavier. Looking about the room, she is taken by surprise by the mass of mangled electronics on the floor. Xavier's study has always been a collected place and immaculate in appearance. The broken video phone sent a feeling of dread down the spine of Ororo, as she was suddenly aware Xavier's disappearance could in fact be permanent. "I am honestly not sure, Alex, but there are more pressing matters the two of us need to address."
New York City Sewer System, 1 p.m.
Thick brown water splashes past the knees of the Marauder known as Riptide. He'd been running for what felt like an eternity, but he is close now. The Grey child in his arms kept silent by the mild sedative Sinister had given him, his main concern is keeping hold of the unconscious shape shifter without losing the small lead he has gained on the members of X-Factor. The adrenaline prevents him from realizing the pungent odor he is obviously running through.
He is indebted to Essex once again for the procedure that increased his physical ability nearly ten fold. It was a surprise that the only thing Essex wanted him to do was retrieve this brat and the shape changer, but it wasn't like him to question his employers. Without another thought on the matter, Riptide continues through the muck of the sewers, intently listening for any sign of the members of X-Factor who have been on his tail.
"Stop." The single word causes the Marauder to toss the unconscious shape changer from his shoulder and jump into a defensive stance. In the darkness, an even blacker figure walks forward. As his eyes show in the dank sewer light, Riptide sighs a breath of relief.
"You weren't supposed to meet me for another half mile," says Sinister's mercenary, hardly out of breath after the nearly five and a half mile sprint.
"According to the information you were given, yes. But the serum Essex has given you is due to expire in the next few minutes, and we could not risk X-Factor catching up to you before we completed our transaction."
His breath becomes slightly haggard. "But he said this was permanent."
"He lied. You are the past, Marauder; we are Essex 's future. Now hand us the child and the woman, or we will be forced to take them."
Still defiant, Riptide stands without motion, mulling over the lies Sinister has fed him in order to retrieve this child. Footsteps behind him make him wary of his position, as X-Factor is surely not far behind.
"You heard the man." The second man's voice made itself known.
"And I know you can hear the running not far behind us. If Essex wanted this child, he shouldn't have cheated.."
Tired of the talking, the shadow of a man reaches his hand out from a distance of thirty yards; in a flash of light the child disappears from Riptide's grasp and appears into the vicinity of the 'man' known as Jaunt. "Dex, if you will handle this problem, we will be on our way."
The questionable young man in Essex 's charge allows his eyes to flicker with sparks and grabs hold of the Marauder without the slightest of warning. Every muscle in Riptide's body tenses the moment the electricity touches him. Unable to scream through the pain, Riptide suffers through the terror in silence and falls unconscious, half his limp body submerged in the human waste that flows beneath the city.
"Get the woman; we have a schedule to keep." Jaunt smiles at the thought of the praise he'll surely receive. With a wave of his arm, Jaunt forces energy around himself and Dex as well as their prisoners. The four are gone without so much as a whiff of brimstone.
The Xavier Estate, 2:30 p.m
"She's still scared out of her mind then?" Warren Worthington sits in his infirmary bed, nursing the soreness of his fractured arm.
His first visitor since being remanded to the infirmary by the overzealous Doctor Reyes, Bobby Drake leans against a shelf bolted down to the floor. Unnerved by the conversation, Drake doesn't say anything of the sort to his friend and allows him to continue speaking of his troubles with the current woman in his life.
Drake's hand desperately searches for a pocket in a nervous fit, largely the biggest point of debate he's brought to the table whenever the X-Men discuss uniform changes. "She won't come out of her room; she sits there crying whenever I try and talk to her."
"I would never claim to be the expert in what you're facing, Bobby, but there's still a chance you can get through to her, or else she would have left the mansion."
Frustrated, his fingers pass through his still drying hair, and Bobby Drake sighs. "God, it was so much easier when they'd just leave me for one of their relatives."
Silence follows the frosty X-Man's confession of self pity, and more so after he attempts to hide his pain with humor. Warren is left wondering what he could possibly say to give Bobby a hand of help. Unable to find the words to aid his friends, Worthington 's thoughts once again drift to the lover he lost not long ago. It had been easy before: with all the excitement buzzing around the mansion and the Enterprises building, his mind had always been occupied. Sadly sitting alone in a hospital bed didn't bode well for the mind of the angelic mutant.
Several times Bobby makes a motion as though he's thinking of something to say, yet every time he steps away from the thought. Discovering a chair to sit in, he finds himself content with the silence; however, the silence he enjoyed is not long lasting. A low and annoying tone echoes throughout the infirmary and surely the rest of the mansions lower levels.
"No one picking up?" Worthington asks with piqued curiosity. "Where's all the able bodies when you need them?"
In a swift motion, Bobby turns his chair and uses his legs to push against the wall, propelling himself down the sterile floor and colliding with the communication network display. Though it's not part of the main system, the infirmary is linked to the emergency line; it takes a moment to patch through the line and take the call.
Quickly keying in his password, Bobby is face to face with another blonde woman from his past. "Well, good morning, Darkstar." His voice oozes with his usual sarcasm, though his tone is lost hidden behind the laughter Warren couldn't help but spill.
"X-Men, I know this comes as a surprise, and there's no telling what Frost would say if she heard me say this, but X-Factor has been attacked on all sides. A child has been stolen by an associate belonging to Sinister; we need assistance."
The message cuts off just as suddenly as the call came through, short and to the point. Bobby and Warren stare blankly at one another, curious over what exactly Darkstar wants them to do.
"It seems, my long time cohorts, that Essex is involved in many more endeavors than making our lives miserable." Wearily, the shaggy furred Henry McCoy states from his prop against the doorway, "May I suggest we start searching for his safe haven?"
Undisclosed Location, Upstate New York , 2:30 p.m
The room is well lit, the walls are painted a soothing blue, and several themes of children's television adorn the walls. There is a toy chest in the corner filled to the rim with all the latest plastic play things any five year old could want. Jacob Grey lays sleeping in a small bed, sheeted in bright colors and balloon patterned comforter. The child's room is perfect down to ever last detail, in a sick recreation of the bedroom Jacob knows as his own. Innocently unaware he is anywhere but home, the child is lulled to a comfortable sleep, content and frighteningly unaware.
Several rooms away, separated by several steel reinforced walls, the sickeningly pale Nathaniel Essex strokes at his chin. Smiling. The child lay sleeping, completely unaware that he is anywhere but at home; the culmination of a plan that had played itself seamlessly causes the man to silently stroke his ego as silently as he stands watching.
Essex is aware of the lackey standing behind him, though he chooses to ignore. Dex struggles several times with coming up with the words to announce his presence. He knows it's futile; however, the courtesy is something Essex demands of everyone in his charge. "Sir," he finally manages. "Won't the Marauder alert the X-People about our whereabouts?"
A smirk accompanies a small laugh formed in the scientists' throat. "The clone will be dead within the hour, Dex; that is the least of your concerns."
"May I ask what my main concern is?" Dex is careful with the words he chooses, slowly backing toward to the door as he speaks.
His hands behind his back, Essex turns to face one of his few successful experiment constructs. "If Henry McCoy is half of the mind that I believe he is, the X-Men will not be far behind."
"Does Jaunt know about this?"
"I doubt it. Your ilk has a tendency to think that when a single play is complete, the game is finished. I believe this will serve as a lesson to all of you not to underestimate those against me."
"Those against us, right?"
"Hardly." Annoyed, Essex turns to the monitor. "Dex, you and yours are prized successes, but you are hardly my allies. Rather, you are tools which I intend to use to justify the means of my ideals."
Silently, Dex leaves the room. Essex is aware of the turmoil going through the young man's mind, although he is more interested in watching the sleeping child. "Sleep well, Master Grey, for tomorrow may prove to be an exhausting day."
Xavier Mansion, not far below the surface of the Earth, 4 p.m
Florescent lights illuminate the metal room. Computers are abuzz with random searches, filling the background with an annoying sense of business. The injured Archangel enters the room, closely followed by the often times overzealous Dr. Reyes, though not a single person pays attention to the pair as they enter, as there is but a single question currently on everyone's mind:
"Where's Sunfire?"
The white-haired mutant, Ororo Monroe, is easily not amused by the absence after calling the all hands meeting minutes before. Each person gives her an unsure look; not a soul living in the mansion has seen him since the exercise in the Danger Room this morning.
"His room is completely empty, and in true Sunfire fashion he hasn't said a word to anyone." Alex Summers repeats himself again, "He isn't answering his com device, nor can any of the computers locate its signal."
"This is all I need." Storm rolls her eyes at the added problem to her plate. Retreating to her seat, she props her crutch against the table, keeping it close to her, and searches the faces of everyone seated at the table. She takes a moment and locks each of the six faces in her mind: Cecilia's look of disinterest; Kurt's distinguished worry as he is most obviously reading her emotions; Warren's habit of professionalism drinking in every detail; Henry going through a million problems in his mind, never giving himself a rest; and Bobby's way of finding something humorous in every situation as his eyes search for any opening to crack wise.
Alex sits at her right, and the two open seats are like an eyesore for both X-Men. Ororo's throat becomes drier as she searches for a way to begin her conversation, as everyone in the room begins to succumb to the restlessness.
"Have you found anything further with that disk of Sinister's?" Alex senses Ororo's trouble and offers a different route of beginning the day.
Snapped to reality, Hank jolts his attention to Alex's question. "Not as of yet, but the amount of information is staggering. I'm having Cerebro's search engine go through each line, hoping to unearth some clue as to Essex 's whereabouts."
"Interestingly enough, apparently Sinister is not only interested in doing us harm." Warren glances to Bobby quickly as he finishes. "Darkstar called several minutes ago requesting assistance. Bobby and I tried to call Xavier's study, but we couldn't get a clean connection through the comm."
"Charles is no longer with us," Ororo finally speaks up, not completely sure she is ready to deal with the questions that might find her. "Magneto has awoken from his coma, though Lorna ensures us the X-Terminators have the situation under control; however, Charles is not satisfied with the speech she gave him and has left to put one of his contingency plans into action."
The entire room seems to go silent. Even the background computer noise fades into silence as each person in the room develops a tunnel of consciousness, only fixated on the white-haired woman. Everyone's trivial differences from one another change to a uniform surprise. Havok and Storm allow a moment of silence to allow the information to sink through.
"Let me get this straight." Cecilia pours through the shock that the rest of her teammates seem unable to let go. "Magneto is back among the living, and Xavier disappears in favor of some secret plan?" Her eyes roll as she realizes herself the words she speaks. "Any idea who that leaves in charge of this circus?"
"Myself," Storm speaks simply. "Xavier has been planning this for some time; however, Magneto's return upset the natural transition he and I agreed upon. The transition was the driving force behind all the Danger Room session, testing everyone's compatibility as a team function, to assess what areas were weak, and if I would need to go on an active recruiting drive."
"So does that mean Alex is fired too?"
The one time interim leader of the X-Men shoots the jovial X-Man a look hoping to inject an amount of seriousness into Bobby. "No, jackass." His voice is littered with a slight anger over their mutual dislike of one another. "We're not waiting for Scott and Jean to come back; Storm has agreed that I'm taking on full time leadership of the group. Which means: you need to stop looking at me like the kid brother of the guy in charge and realize that you."
"Children, please." Kurt Wagner's German accent fills the room, interrupting the two grown men's argument. "These are serious times. If you have personal problems, I suggest you take care of them on your personal time."
"Thank you, Kurt," the lead woman voices and slowly makes her way to the main computer terminal behind the circular table at the center of the room. A quick search of the video archives allows her to find Darkstar's short message asking for help. "There is much we need to do, and we can't waste a minute with these stupid quarrels."
Each X-Man sitting around the table gives his or her undivided attention to Storm as she drinks in the emergency message. "Where do we stand?" Warren voices his concern in the relative silence.
"Doctor Reyes, what is your assessment of Warren 's injuries?"
"The sprain in his arm is going to take another week to heal at least, the irregularities in his bone structure notwithstanding. If it was just the sprain, I'd release him for duty, but his body still needs time to heal from the after effects of the severe hypothermia he was subjected to."
The room's atmosphere changes to one of all business as the X-Men mumble different ideas to one another, all the while waiting for Storm to assume her natural control. " Warren , you are off the active duty list until Doctor Reyes releases you; I myself cannot participate with my injuries either. Alex, this means your group is severely limited."
"We'll manage," Alex says, brushing off the concern. "Hank, see what you can do about finding Sinister's hiding place; Bobby, go with him."
"What of the rest of us?" Kurt asks. "Surely we need to prepare."
Alex Summers takes a moment and glances at Ororo, finding that she is busy with her endeavor to reach hold of someone involved in X-Factor. "Cecilia, do what you need for Warren and prepare your supplies. Kurt, give me a hand with a strategy."
"Talk about feeding his ego," Bobby mumbles to his friend just as they walk through the doors of Hanks' laboratory. Hank ignores the statement just as he had throughout the trek down the maze of hallways that is the underbelly of Xavier's mansion. "Are you even listening to me, Hank?"
"Not particularly, Bobby," Hank muses, stopping only as he reaches the main computer actively searching the disk Sinister left behind. "This is not the time for your problems with Alex to take center focus. One of these days, I will have to ask you why you have such disdain for him."
Bobby Drake scowls at his friend's back. "He's just Scott's kid brother. Doesn't mean he's anything like Scott."
"Humph," McCoy sounds, only to ensure Bobby that he is hearing him, though he doesn't pay much attention, as the task at hand is more important. "This is interesting."
Several keys are pounded in succession, calling the image Hank finds onto the larger screen on the projection wall of the lab. Several pictures illuminate the metal wall, indicating three floors of a subterranean structure located on Essex 's disk. Petting the fur on his face, Hank doesn't follow suit with his colleague. Bobby's smile is disregarded, and Hank hesitates for a moment.
"This is most curious."
"Why?" Bobby asks. "Just because Sinister is smart doesn't mean he doesn't make mistakes."
" Essex is leading us into a trap." Hank rolls his chair just far enough to join Bobby in staring down the entire tactical layout of Essex 's base structure. "He's daring us to come for him, and knowing what you faced with his female lackey, I'm surprised you are not more concerned."
