|
Post by kittypatter on Aug 18, 2011 18:43:30 GMT -5
Eve lay across the sofa in the darkened lounge, flicking through the late-night television shows lazily. The faces of cheery women hazed in and out of focus, trying to sell her things she didn’t want, or that she doubted anyone really needed. Everyone had gone to bed after a strenuous training exercise with Scott had gone badly wrong, and with bruised ego’s they’d all slumped off, grabbing anything they could get their hands on from the kitchen as they went. Sometimes she wondered what the point was in teaching them to fight. They could adapt their powers, and if they were in danger, sure, they’d be saved. But then imprisoned and hung out to dry like the freaks they’d been immorally labelled as. Just because someone was different, it didn’t mean you had to exploit them.
The television clicked off and she rolled over on the sofa, dropping the remote onto the floor. Everything was so peaceful, and she was so comfortable. Draping a hand over her eyes, Eva exhaled gently, shifting her back into place between all the mismatched cushions. ‘Comfortable, are we?’ A gruff voice reached her ears, but surprisingly she didn’t flinch. Logan stood in front of the television, a cigar in his right hand. He wasn’t going to smoke it – hell, he’d had enough of Xavier’s warnings for one day – just wanted to taste it between his teeth. Staring down at the blonde, Logan waited for her to sit up and greet him, but she curled deeper into the depths of the soft sofa. ‘You can’t stay here.’
‘It’s midnight, I’m tired. Go ‘way.’
‘It’s actually… 2 o’clock in the morning, and you should be in bed.’
Eve kept quiet, one arm flopping over the edge of the sofa. She could feel his shadow watching her, until he sighed and moved away, his boots heavy and loud in the quiet room. Suddenly she felt cold and lost, almost scared of the ancient building, even with its bedrooms packed with children, and Xavier on one of the other floors, watching over them like they were his children. Smiling, Eva opened her eyes, half expecting to see Logan a few spaces away, but he was gone.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Upstairs, John lay awake on his bed, clicking his lighter on and off, taking solace in the way it filled the room with light and then pitched it into black. It helped take his mind from other things, things he could do without. No one else shared the room, he’d been adamant about that. Why would he need someone laying snoring besides him, or awake and sharing their feelings? No, John did better by himself. Today he and Bobby had gone head to head in the training room, and he’d almost brought himself to harming the other boy. His fist had been raised, ready to break Bobby’s nose, but Scott had pulled him away and called an end to their session. He wasn’t jealous – of his power, nor Rogue – it was just the way he was, the way Bobby spoke of good and evil, like John was the shit on the bottom of his shoe because he liked to live that bit more dangerously. When the time came for it, and they'd need to fend for themselves, John would be the one standing strong. He'd make sure Bobby knew it, too.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Bradley glanced sideways at Lilly, coughing when she caught him staring, and went back to making the coffee. Wade was staring at her from the where he leant against the worktop, casually sharpening the blades of his swords. He was smirking; eyes alight with innuendoes and flirty winks that he figured she was going to return back. Feeling awkward, Bradley left with his mug of coffee, hearing Wade moved across the room towards the brunette once he’d gone. ‘No one’s around, what d’ya say?’ he grinned, placing the sword down on the table where Lilly eyed it uninterestedly.
‘What do I say to what?’ she asked, calling his bluff. That caught him off guard for a minute, and he went back to shining his weapons.
‘What’s a girl like you, doing in a place like this?’ Wade wasn’t looking at her, his expression impassive. Lilly tried not to laugh, but scoffed, running a hand through her hair with a yawn. ‘No? Smooth talking doesn’t work for you?’
‘The only thing smooth about you, is your face. Have you not hit puberty yet? Try again when you do.’ She grinned, patting his shaved cheek with a grin.
|
|
|
Post by sanelunatic on Aug 18, 2011 19:15:25 GMT -5
Lilly sat up on top of the worktop, legs crossed, skinny jeans tucked into stripy socks. It was unhygienic, she knew, but she didn’t care. Living with seven men did things to you. Wade had seemed at a loss for words for once and had disappeared to his room, something she was glad of. She brushed her hair over her shoulder, watching silently as Stryker walked into the kitchen with Zero, they were both talking avidly - well, Stryker was, Zero just listened. Neither of them noticed her and she cleared her throat, smiling when the older man jumped and Zero’s hand went to his belt, to his gun. ‘Lilly,’ Stryker said, ‘what are you doing up?’ She shrugged. ‘Bored.’ ‘That’s why you sleep, moron.’ Zero muttered. ‘Shut up, dickhead.’ ‘Both of you be quiet!’ Stryker snapped. ‘Lilly, go to bed, we have a mission in the morning.’ She opened her mouth to speak but he held up his hand. ‘You’ll find out tomorrow. Go.’ Reluctantly, she jumped down from the worktop, sending Zero a glare as she passed. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Cracking her back and wincing at the bright light that streamed through the curtains, Eve groaned. Sleeping on the sofa had definitely not been one of her best ideas yet. She set up, squinting and cursing whoever opened the curtains. She was almost certain it would have been Logan, in revenge for ignoring him, of course he would be that childish. Voices drifted to her from the kitchen and she stood up, stretching, before cautiously padding into the kitchen. Some of the little kids were a little too enthusiastic with their hugs and she didn’t fancy being ambushed. It was only John and Bobby though, arguing over some soccer team she didn’t care to know about. She ignored John’s signature, I-know-everything smirk and opened the fridge, it was depressingly empty, but what did you expect when living in a house full of hungry teenagers. She grabbed a lone apple and leant back against the work top, eyeing John carefully. ‘What are you smiling at?’ She snapped. He simply shook his head. ‘Nothing.’ He replied, obviously amused. She frowned. ‘What?’ Bobby looked at her sympathetically. ‘You might wanna, uhm, find a brush.’ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Lilly yawned and stretched her arms above her head, ignoring Wade as he eyed her bare stomach. She had got it pierced in a wild phase when she was sixteen and the small diamond glinted in the sunlight. She hoped it blinded him. ‘It’s too early.’ She complained, pulling the hood up on her jumper and glaring at anyone who looked at her. ‘You can come back to bed with me if you like, sweetcheeks.’ Wade murmured, slipping an arm around her waist. ‘One day you will mysteriously choke on all that food you eat. And I’m afraid I won’t be around to perform the heimlich manoeuvre.’ She said, smoothly stepping away from him. ‘You can perform something-,’ ‘Wade shut up.’ Stryker said, glaring at them both. ‘Now, you have all been brefied on this mission and I don’t want any cock ups like last time,’ he frowned at Wade and Lilly. ‘We go in, retrieve Logan, and get out-,’ ‘Then we shake it all about.’ Lilly snorted. ‘Wade!’ Stryker’s jaw clenched and he looked almost ready to explode. ‘I don’t want any fighting - if it can be helped.’ He nodded at them all and they looked blankly back at him. ‘Right, let’s go.' ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Eve glanced at Bobby as if for reassurance that he wasn't having a joke. He looked away awkwardly, eating a pathetic bowl of soggy cornflakes without a word. John was laughing at her from across the table and she glared hard at him, failing to subdue his fun at her expense? Had they seen her flat out across the sofa? Running a hand through her mane, Eve sighed and switched on the kettle, moaning as Pyro and John started up another argument. She leant against the worktop, head in hands and the kettle whistled besides her. Boys. 'It's too early, can you just hold off for a bit?' She asked, spooning a great amount of sugar into her mug. John leant over hs chair, leaning on the back with a malicious smirk. Telling him to be quiet was like telling Logan not to smoke. And they wouldn't listen to her. What was she, afterall?
Maybe once or twice Eve had given a lecture, but off heart and not paper, and rarely of anything of great importance. It had supposedly been 'first hand experiences', told to the class to show them what could happen out in the world. But she sure as hell wasn't going to tell them how she had really ended up here, Hunter by her side, clothes blood stained, rusty navy jaguar exhausted and dry of gas. No, they weren't to ever know what she had done. The kettle steam burnt her arm as she'd drifted too close, and Eve gave a cry, cringing away just as Hunter entered the kitchen. He looked sickeningly awake. Dirty blonde hair dishevelled, he padded around the island and smacked John around the pack of his head on his way to the kettle. He poured two coffees and handed one of the mugs to a gracious Eve. 'You look like crap.' He smiled.
'Just be quiet.'
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
So they were off to visit some bloke named Xavier who had a fancy school for mutants. Wade wondered if it was just a cover up, like Stryker had for this place. It seemed strange to think that anyone could purposely set out to help people like him, because working where he was, there hadn't been many shared smiles, and rather a fair share of gazes down the barrel of a gun. He rubbed his jaw absent-mindedly, looking up as Lilly slid into the back seat besides him. He gave a boyish grin and knocked his knuckles against the dark windows. 'Tinted.'
'Well, we don't want to scare them before we even get out of the car do we?' She smiled idly, loading a round into her gun. Bradley sat in the front seat, Zero driving.
|
|
|
Post by sanelunatic on Aug 19, 2011 8:38:06 GMT -5
Logan leant on the wall opposite Xavier, his crossed his arms over his chest and a large gray lump stirred on the desk. Two large eyes appeared in the mass of fur and it blinked, mewing at Logan. He wondered if it was hungry, but it was so fat how could it possibly be hungry? It made him uneasy and he looked away from it, focusing on the Professor who was looking out the window. ‘Where did you see him?’ He asked quietly. ‘In town. He was getting into some fancy range rover.’ Logan replied. Xavier wheeled his chair around, his face usually gave nothing away but it was pulled into a frown. After all, it was his school that was being threatened, there were children here. ‘Are you sure it was Zero?’ ‘I know him – no one else walks around with that smartass smirk.’ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Eve sat with Hunter, resting their backs against the school wall as they watched Scott’s latest training session unfold. This one was outside, a sort of obstacle course that Logan had built. In fact it was meant to be Logan leading the class but he had disappeared, leaving it Hunter’s job to supervise the kids that Scott wasn’t able to watch. Eve looked considerably better than she had that morning. She had showered, the scent of strawberries clinging to her skin. Her long blonde hair fell over her shoulders in soft curls and skin was clear and smooth, making her eyes stand out against it. She was a beautiful woman, you couldn’t fault her for that, Hunter knew that as soon as he had seen her, but he didn’t like her like that. They were best friends, and that was all they’d ever be. Hunter wasn’t paying attention to the kids, he was shuffling money, takings he had got from last night. No one asked him how he got his money, but most guessed, he wasn’t exactly the most honest man in the world. Eve’s eyes drifted from where Kitty had accidently dragged Bobby through a tree and they landed on the drive that wound through the trees and to the gates that were always locked. There was something odd in the air today, she could feel it and she shifted uneasily. ‘Some things wrong.’ She murmured. Hunter glanced up, watching her worriedly. ‘What?’ ‘I don’t know,’ she got to her feet, giving her a better view of the top of the gates that peeked over the trees. ‘Just some thing isn’t right.’ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Stryker had stayed behind with Fred, John and Victor in the first car. He said there was no reason for Logan to see him just yet, he would guess from seeing the other’s anyway. Logan probably already knew they were coming, that damn physic Xavier knew everything. This left Wade, Lilly, Zero and Bradley to do the dirty work. Despite going into a campus full of mutants, they weren’t bothered, they were kids after all, and Stryker’s team were trained killers. It would be as easy as taking candy from a baby. The cars pulled up outside the tall iron gates and crunched to a halt. Lilly jumped out, eyeing the gates and cracking her knuckles. She pulled her hair up into a tight ponytail, slinging a shotgun over her shoulder and leaning back against the car. ‘D’ya think they know we’re here?’ She asked Zero curiously. He shrugged. ‘Probably.’ He answered shortly. He looked at Bradley and jerked his head at the gates. They were electric and too easy for the man, who only had to blink for them to creak open. ‘Let’s go.’ Zero muttered. He looked back at the other car and nodded shortly before striding off ahead. Lilly lingered behind, walking beside Wade. The pair were the back up, in case reasoning didn’t work, and they were both itching for a fight.
|
|
|
Post by kittypatter on Aug 19, 2011 10:30:41 GMT -5
‘If anything was wrong, Xavier would have told us.’ Hunter tried to reassure her, but his eyes had wandered over towards the gate too, and he moved to watch them with just as much curiosity as the blonde. John had set fire to a hedge and was sitting back, watching it burn with a grin on his face, but his fun was easily stopped as Bobby remerged covered in leaves, and put it out. ‘Wouldn’t he?’ the two glanced at each other and then back towards the class. Something about this didn’t seem right, and Eve decided to put an end to it.
‘All of you inside.’ She ordered, waving a hand to usher them away from the course. One of the smaller kids was trying to move a log with his mind, but the fire had fogged up his glasses and he couldn’t see what he was doing. ‘Hunter, help get them inside.’ Moving towards the boy, she steered him gently away from the course, giving him a little push towards his friends. Hunter wasn’t sure what she was doing was right, and ignored the questions that John had started to ask. The young boy followed him around, flicking his lighter on and off agitatedly. He was bored of being stuck inside, in his room, in the lounge while the others watched shitty programmes. Even the lessons inside seemed to be less interesting than they once had. He wanted some fun! Some excitement – some fire.
'Don't make a fuss, John. Just get your ass back inside, yeah?' Hunter frowned, rubbing his jaw and watching a wildeyed Eve stalk around the garden. Her body was tense as she started down the drive towards the gates. Not wanting her to go alone, Hunter followed, jogging a little to keep up. ‘What is it? Eve, tell me what you're looking for - I don't understand. Did you hear something.’ Had she heard something that no one else could? That no one here possibly could. But the blonde shook her head, biting her lip, worried.
'Everything's really hazy.' she sighed, slowling the pace. They stood exactly halfway between the mansion and the gates, and there was nothing there. The breeze picked up a little, the sound of engines carrying on the wind, and that was when the range rover pulled up. A shadow flickered besides her and Eve spun around, prepared to fight whatever, or whoever it was. John stared up at her, his eyes dancing with excitement. Hunter's hands were grabbing at the boys shirt, pulling him close threateningly, when the gates swung open with an ominous creak.
'Shit.'
'I can help.' John protested, pulling himself free. 'Let me help.' This was the moment he had waited for.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Xavier saw them first, before they even got around the corner. He could see the vehicle glinting in the light. Logan saw it too and gave a grunt, as if waiting for the word to say he could fight, but instead, Xavier’s voice was calm. Stern, but calm. ‘Gather the children up-.’
‘Professor, they’re here for me.’
‘The children’s safety comes first, before any possible confrontation can be had. This may be your past, Logan, but it’s here now, and right now we have a school that needs to be protected.'
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Wade pulled the semi-automatic out of its holster and smiled down at it, but Lilly shoved it away. ‘We’re not supposed to hurt anyone-.’
‘You have a shotgun.’ He hit the back of her gun and it swung on her shoulder cautiously.
‘It’s just as a warning.’ Looking up, Lilly could see the shape of three people before them. They all stood and stared for a moment, and one of the boys looked like he was being strangled. ‘What’s going on?’ she asked, and Wade shrugged his shoulders lazily.
‘Maybe they’re going to offer one to us as a sacrifice.’
‘They’re going now, we should get this done.’ Bradley muttered, walking forward just as the tallest of the three sprinted into the distance. To get help? None of them seemed to be armed, and he was glad of that as they all walked up the drive slowly. The AK47 felt heavy and awkward in his hands, and he wasn’t sure if he was prepared to use it on a school full of kids.
A blonde woman stood before them, her hands out in front of her, as if declaring they couldn’t pass. As they grew closer, they could see her eyes were firmly shut, and the boy besides her seemed to pour the flames from his lighter into his palm. Bradley couldn’t walk anymore, he felt something hit his chest and he felt winded. The others stopped too - a concealed wall? Rolling the fire in his palm, John grinned at them and flung it forward. Wade half expected it to come at him, and raised his gun in warning, but nothing. It hit the invisible forcefield and seemed to mould together with the air, creating a wall of molten flames.
|
|
|
Post by sanelunatic on Aug 19, 2011 12:03:17 GMT -5
Bradley glanced at Lilly, the half sane one of the pair he had been landed with. The ‘wall’ hadn’t phased her and she just smirked. Her free hand twitched slightly, the fingers twitching and her eyes blazed darkly. The sun was high in the sky and burning down, which only made Lilly’s job easier. The blonde’s shadow seemed to move with a life of its own and thick black tendrils seeped from the ground, climbing and winding themselves up her leg. John took a step back, his eyes wide, the fire in his hand dying out. Eve’s focus was shot and her eyes snapped back open, darting down to her leg. She shrieked at the sight of the shadows and backed up, raising one hand. The shadows fell away from her but in her momentary fear, the wall had disappeared and Wade sauntered forwards slowly, pulling his swords from his back. He spun one, the blade glinting malevolently in the light. ‘Who’s first?’ He grinned. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Hunter burst into the office, panting like an animal. Logan spun, his metal claws flying out and he almost gutted the man right there and then. To say he was on edge would have been an understatement. He wanted to get out there, to help, to fight. It was his fault they had come here anyway, everywhere he went he brought trouble, he knew what they were capable of – if someone died because of him… ‘There’s three of them.’ Hunter said, running a hand through his hair. ‘Eve and John are trying to hold them off. ‘ John?’ Logan asked, exasperated, trust that kid to be involved. Xavier sighed. ‘Eve will be able to keep them away for a while, but John will lose control.’ ‘I should go help.’ Logan declared. ‘No, Logan, you need to stay out of sight. I doubt they want a fight either.’ The Professor frowned. ‘Storm, a cover of darkness would be nice.’ The woman stood from where she had been leaning against a filing cabinet, and smiled. She walked out of the office, her coat swirling at her ankles. Outside, she had expected a full blown fight, but it was unusually silent. She raised her arms, her eyes turning a milky white. Clouds rolled over the once blue skies, they were dark and threatening, blocking the sun out completely and sending them all into almost complete darkness. Her feet touched back down and as soon as she felt he concrete beneath her, she was grabbed from behind, a gun shoved against her head. ‘Sorry, Princess.’ Zero muttered, and then slammed the butt into her head, dropping her unconscious body to the ground.
|
|
|
Post by kittypatter on Aug 19, 2011 12:46:51 GMT -5
‘What was that?’ John whimpered, looking towards Eve for some kind of comfort, but she was staring at her legs, eyes wide. She could still feel the, well, whatever that had been, against her skin and it made her shiver. The two women locked eyes, their gazes dangerous. As Wade stepped forward, John raised his lighter at him, and the older man grinned at the face of the shark.
‘That’s neat.’ He noted, raising the blade. ‘Almost as neat as my own little toy.’
‘John – get back. Go back to the mansion-.’
‘Yeah, kid. We don’t want to have to fight you as well; it’d almost seem not fair.’ Lilly tipped her head in the direction of the school, waiting for him to run along. ‘You’re playing with the big ones now.’ Flames flew at her ankles, scorching the ground and teasing her boots as they licked around the soles. John was sending outbursts in every direction, his eyes dark. How dare she patronize him? He could fight now, and he would. There could be no shadows if it was dark-
When had it gotten dark?
All eyes glanced upwards, the sun disappearing and the orange from the mansion providing the only light. It fanned down on them like a ghostly stream, the darkness almost impossible to see through because of how far out they were. The trees suddenly seemed dangerous, the branches wild, the shuffle of feet more frightening than they had been before. The smell of smoke hit the air and Eve knocked John sideways, hearing his body scrape against the tarmac as he slid away from them. There was sound of a groan, and then laughter from Wade.
‘I’d like it if you leaved, please.’ Eve muttered through gritted teeth, gasping as something brushed past her. If she focused, she could sense who was where, and move around cautiously, safely. Closing her eyes, she suddenly felt more vulnerable than before, but bit her lip, forcing herself to focus. A voice came into her head, almost a mantra of words. It was Bradley, praying that he didn’t hurt anybody. Opening her eyes quickly, she suddenly felt rude, but only had a split second to feel compassion before someone knocked her down. Lilly had rugby tackled her to the floor, trying to jab out with the butt of her gun.
‘What the hell are you doing?’ Eve moaned, hearing the sound of a blade being raised into the air. Her breath caught in her throat, wondering where the man was intending to strike. John. If John got hurt, she wouldn’t forgive herself. But then Wade flew over the two of them, an explosion of fire filling the air and burning at her cheeks. The two women rolled away, knocked back a little by the eruption. John was standing behind the flames, his hands out before him, shooting in every direction. The fire caught the edges of trees and leaves and branches shattered onto the ground.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Hunter raced down the steps, muttering apologies to the kids that he knocked, and helping them up the stairs when the younger ones tripped. Bobby was struggling to carry one of the younger girls, Kitty passing his heels and going through the bedroom walls, checking for people they’d left behind. Out on the terrace, he could see the back of Storm, and nodded his head towards her proudly. Everyone seemed to be on top of everything. Smiling towards Rogue, Hunter went towards where he had seen Storm, but her body was now crumpled on the floor. Raising an eyebrow, he felt for the gun in the small of his back but he’d left it upstairs. With an inwards moan, he crept a few steps forward and peered around the door. A gun swung out at his face, but Hunter ducked and sent a punch into the stomach of the perpetrator. Stumbling back, Zero raised his gun again, only to find a fist flying into his face.
‘You don’t hit women, man. Did no one ever tell you that?’
|
|
|
Post by sanelunatic on Aug 19, 2011 13:39:21 GMT -5
‘Fucking kids.’ Eve heard the girl mutter and then the weight was lifted and footsteps were pounding away from her. She rolled onto her stomach, pushing herself up off the ground. A gunshot sounded in the distance and she stilled, listening for something, anything. John’s cocky laugh drifted over to her and she sighed, glancing around for Wade. He was nowhere to be seen, as far as she could see in the darkness, so she guessed he had gone ahead to the mansion. A blast of fire lit up the area for a split second and Eve watched as Lilly darted out of the way, pulling back the pump on her shotgun and firing at John again. It whizzed past his shoulder and she didn’t have time to fire again as a second stream of fire hit her and she dived out of the way. Figuring it was time for John so put his arrogant words into actions, Eve turned away and sprinted back to the mansion. Protecting the kids was more important than one girl with a shotgun. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ‘Stand still so I can fucking shoot you.’ Lilly muttered, lining up the sight on John’s chest. She had darted behind a tree, giving her chance to get a breather. The darkness was frustrating but for the moment she thanked it and she smirked as he glanced around, flicking his lighter on and off. ‘See ya’ later.’ Her finger squeezed the trigger. The gun clicked. Lilly’s eyes widened in surprise and she stared down at it before a wave of fury washed over her. ‘Fucking goddamn piece of shit!’ She cried, throwing it down onto the ground and giving it a kick for good measure. John was on her in seconds. His hand found her neck and he slammed her up against the tree. She glared, slamming her knee up into his stomach and he doubled over. She didn’t wait for him to get back up and sent her foot into his jaw, causing him to fall backwards onto his back. He groaned and sat up, but she straddled his waist, punching him on the side of his face. He fell back down and she smiled, grabbing his lighter and holding it up, flicking it open. ‘Cute,’ she said, ‘But I think it’s time to go back to kindergarten.’ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Zero laughed, straightening up and cocking his gun back, levelling it on Hunter’s head. ‘I’m afraid that little fact will slip my mind when I fight your girlfriend.’ ‘You lay one hand on Eve-,’ Hunter started forwards but Zero gestured with his gun and he backed up. ‘Eve?’ He mused. ‘Pretty name to match her face. She might be worth a bit more than another name to tick off my list.’ Hunter seethed. ‘Will it be you I’ll be sending the body to? Or has she got another little boy to play with?’ Suddenly Hunter disappeared. Zero jerked his head back, his eyes darting around the small balcony for any sign of the man. Someone grabbed the gun, yanking it out of his hand, and he swung but hit air. What the fuck was going on? Stryker had never said anything about a damn invisible guy. He heard the gun cock back again and realised he was in deep shit here. He moved round the side of the terrace, peering over the edge. His collar was grabbed and he was pinned against the wall. The cool metal of the gun pressed against his head and Zero had no doubt that this was how it was going to end. He stared fearlessly into the empty air and then there was grunt and the gun clattered to the floor. Wade was watching him carefully and he grinned when Zero caught sight of him. ‘What happened to you?'
|
|
|
Post by kittypatter on Aug 19, 2011 14:22:35 GMT -5
Hunter fell to the ground, instantly falling unconscious and Wade looked down at him with a boyish grin. ‘They don’t take a lot, do they?’ he asked, nudging the body with his boot.
Zero dusted himself down, staring at Hunter, confused. How had Wade been able to unarm the man, when seconds before, the man hadn’t even been there? He felt stupid, almost humiliated. And to be saved by Wade! Zero rubbed his throat and cocked his gun with a cough. ‘Come on, he’s got to be around here somewhere.’
Moving forward, intending to go out of the door, Zero grunted as he smacked against a wall and fell backwards. Wade was still standing and laughing at him, and as Zero lay flat on his back, he noticed the body behind him had gone. ‘Where did that wall come from?’ he asked, rubbing his temple. But looking up, there was no wall, just the archway back into the building. He could have sworn he’d seen one before. His eyes darted around wildly, worry and confusion on his face. Someone was playing mind games. The man was up in seconds, glancing around him for Hunter’s body. Wade hadn’t seemed to notice, and was running his fingers over the edge of his sword, feigning impatience as he waited for his partner to sort himself out. ‘Just go.’ Zero snapped, barging forward, gun out in front of him in warning. The next thing he saw, he’d shoot. Especially if it was that funny cunts little girlfriend.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
John had never really lost a fight with a girl before – mainly because they always got broken apart and no one ever got successfully declared winner. But this fight, he seemed to be losing very ungracefully. Her fingers slid onto his lighter, taking it from him, and he writhed around underneath her, powerless. Literally. Blood dripped into his mouth and he felt mortified. With one hand, he swung out and caught her across the cheek, intending to knock her sideways, though her hand came back and slapped him hard across the face.
‘Watch it, Kid.’ She snarled, pocketing his lighter and climbing off him. His body felt numb and he wasn’t sure if he could get up straight away, but he didn’t want to be defeated. Lilly was walking away when he finally got up to his feet, and in a flurry of rage and desperation, he took her down onto the floor, feeling her head bob as it hit the tarmac. The woman squirmed before him, but he held her fast, more interested in finding his lighter than hurting her. His hand slid beneath her, feeling through pockets and prising at her fingers which she’d closed into fists. A sneaky hand slid into her front jeans pocket, and as Lilly moved to wrench his hand away, John grabbed the lighter and jumped off of her.
‘You don’t take that!’ he snarled. 'Nobody uses this but me.' and he flicked open the lighter, casting a shadow of the two of them.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Eve hadn’t thought she was unfit, but as she ran up the steps to the mansion, she felt a stitch in her side and as he grabbed it, slipped on the top step. Hitting her face on the ground, she rolled over, nursing a bust lip, just as Bradley stopped before her. He looked down, an AK47 pointed straight at her face. Her throat seemed to go dry as she stared down the barrel, but the man shifted it away from her slightly. ‘Going to shoot me?’ she asked, unsure if she should crawl into a more comfortable position in case it startled him and he fired. Would he?
‘It’s not like that.’ Bradley tried, and as he glanced away, Eve swung out a leg and knocked him over onto his side. The gun clattered away and fired off into the distance, denting the eerie silence.
Wiping the blood from her lip, she scrambled up, but his hand was on her ankle and suddenly a jolt of electricity pulsed through her. Everything stung and her breathing came fast and then, just like that, it ended. ‘I can’t breathe.’ She moaned, grabbing at her throat. It was like her body had been sapped of all strength. Bradley tried not to look at her as he stepped over her and through the threshold. And that was when a fist came to his face and he toppled back onto the ground. Hunter stood in the doorway, nursing his fist.
‘That’s twice I’ve done that today - I feel like I’m in the Mafia, not a bloody school.’
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
John didn’t send the shadows until they were on him, and once they were he felt his blood run cold. What could shadows possibly do? Setting off flames, he had planned to take her down and distract her, but each hit missed, and the darkness was seeping higher up on his body. With a growl, John distinguished the lighter, but burnt his finger and dropped it to the floor where it remained open. His eyes searched Lilly’s, but her own were black and round, even in the gloom around them. Panicking, John tried to wipe them away as if they were specks of dust, but he couldn’t touch them, and when he did they stuck to his fingers, crawling over his skin, taking him down.
‘I’ll say the bears ate you or something. Wouldn’t want to say you were finished by your own shadow, would we?’ Lilly snorted, walking away.
|
|
|
Post by sanelunatic on Aug 19, 2011 15:22:34 GMT -5
Wade followed Zero through the hallways of the school. It was silent in here - no shouts or screams, or random punches being thrown. They turned a corner and Wade groaned at the dead end. This place was like a fucking maze! They turned and then Zero paused, one hand in the air, head tilted to the side. He could hear voices coming from a room down the hall. He motioned to Wade and the two crept up to the door, Wade holding his sword ready and Zero his gun. He nodded at Wade and placed his hand on the doorknob. Three, two...one. He swung open the door and the two burst in, weapons at the ready. They were met with silence. ‘Good afternoon.’ Xavier smiled. Wade grinned. ‘Where’s our old friend, wheels?’ The door behind them swung shut and Zero spun. His gun was suddenly sliced out of his hands and Logan stood, claws out, glaring at them both. It was weird them being all in the same room together. Like some weird school reunion, although of course it hadn’t been a school, and they weren’t friends. ‘There he is!’ Wade cried cheerfully. ‘Logan, me’ old buddy, old pal. How’ve you been? Still not learnt to smile yet, I see. We can work on that one.’ He winked. Logan snarled. ‘What are you doing here?’ With a sigh, Zero leant back against the wall. ‘I would of thought that would be obvious.’ He remarked. ‘Stryker wants you back.’ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Eve observed the man before her. ‘He didn’t seem like the others.’ She said quietly. ‘I don’t think he wanted to hurt me.’ ‘Yeah,’ Hunter snorted, ‘right.’ He cupped her chin in his hand, tilting her head up to face him. ‘Are you okay?’ ‘I’m fine, Hunter, really.’ He nodded. ‘Okay, well I’m going to find the Proffesor, we need to find out what’s going on. Stay out of trouble.’ He winked and then he was gone out the door, leaving Eve with Bradley. He groaned and she jumped, backing up against the wall. He reached a hand to his head, sitting up, glancing at her. Slowly, he got to his feet, retrieving his gun from the room as he did. He looked her up and down. ‘I’m not going to hurt you.’ He murmured, walking to the top of the stairs. She frowned. ‘Why not?’ ‘You seem like a nice girl,’ he shrugged, ‘I’m not gonna’ go walking around hurting nice girls.’ ‘But your friends-,’ He walked back to her, holding up his hand. ‘No. They’re not my friends, they’re just people I work with. Don’t judge me by what they do. I’m not like that.’ Eve opened her mouth but closed it again. What could she say to that? This wasn’t a cold blooded killer - so what was he doing with those other people? She would have asked, only he turned and walked down the stairs, the gun hanging loosely in his hand. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ In a last ditch attempt, John used the only trick he had left. ‘Y’know, you’re hot for a lunatic.’ He called. She stopped and he smirked. She turned around and walked back to him, disregarding the open lighter on the floor, its flame burning brightly. John however, had noticed it, and flexed his fingers. ‘You just don’t give up, do you?’ Lilly said, hands on her hips. Her hair had fallen out of its ponytail and framed her face. ‘Hey, I could think of a million other things I’d rather be doing with you.’ He winked and she snorted, but her laughter was cut off when a stream of fire jumped up and wrapped itself around her wrist. She screamed in pain, dropping to her knees and pulling away. ‘Let me go.’ John snarled. ‘Or what?’ She snapped, hugging her wrist to her body, the smell of burnt flesh rising through the air. ‘Or I’ll do it again, this time to your face.’ Reluctantly, she released the shadows and he grabbed her wrists. She hissed in pain as his hand tightened on the burn but he held fast, spinning her round and pushing her forwards. ‘Walk.’ He grinned.
|
|
|
Post by kittypatter on Aug 19, 2011 16:06:22 GMT -5
Logan shook his head ferociously, claws shrinking slightly. ‘Can’t you ever leave a man alone?’ he growled. ‘I’ve done my time – I’m free now.’
‘You don’t get to choose when you leave, Logan.’ Zero stated, raising his gun. ‘Just come quietly, we didn’t want a fight.’ His gun was at eye level, besides him, Wade was staring straight at Xavier, locked in some kind of battle.
‘Nice wheels.’ He commented, waving a gloved hand at the man’s wheelchair. ‘But don’t make us finish you off, old man.’
Xavier smiled at that then, his eyes alight with humour. Old man; he’d been called that quite a few times. People were so tactless when it came to judging someone. Oh, everyone did it, judged. But that didn’t make their decisions wise and true, and as Wade stood and called him old, well, he couldn’t help but pity them. They had no sense at all. ‘You may have more weapons that we do,' he admitted with a nod 'and more brute force, but that doesn’t mean you will win this. Where is Stryker?’ he asked, glancing around, as though waiting for the man to appear. ‘Can we not talk about this? Face to face? Afterall, if we are talking about the course of a mans life, shouldn't we arrange this more formally? Lower your weapons. We do not wish to fight either.'
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
John scooped up his lighter, keeping it tight in his grip. He would push her every few steps, just to remind her who was in charge here. As they got closer towards the mansion, Lilly stopped walking, her back tense when he tried to force her. Moving in front of her, John stared her down, raising the lighter up to her face, mad when she didn’t flinch. In a quick flash, the lighter was against her skin, the metal surprisingly cold. His other hand cupped her face hard so she was forced to look at him, and he made sure that it hurt.
‘Who’s the kid now, eh?’ he asked, closer than she’d like him to be. ‘You walk, or I’ll scar that pretty little face and all you’ll be able to do is hide in those shadows of yours.’ His tone was malicious, the adrenaline pumping. Dropping his hands, John gripped her arm and shoved her forward. His lip was sore and he knew he was going to end up with a blackened eye where she'd hit him hard. He wouldn't forget that - he also wouldn't forget how pretty she was, as he watched her walk ahead, hair bouncing on her shoulders, slender hips swaggering.
|
|
|
Post by sanelunatic on Aug 19, 2011 16:32:21 GMT -5
‘You’re a dick.’ Lilly spat. ‘You think just ‘cos you’ve got that little lighter you can play all hard man? I bet that was your first real fight.’ She smirked. ‘Do you wanna know how many people I’ve killed?’ John sneered down at her. ‘Not so tough now though, are you?’ ‘I’m going to make you suffer.’ ‘I’ll look forward to it.’ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Eve ran a hand through her gold locks. Just what the hell was going on? Who were these people? She drifted over to the stairs, gripping the banister hard and peering over it. She half expected the man to still be there, waiting for the rest of them like some kind of guard. But he wasn’t and she tried to ignore the disappointed feeling that settled in her stomach. She didn’t even know his name. She glanced at the window, two figures catching her eye, but they were gone within seconds, disappearing into the school. The kids had all escaped out of the back tunnels, leaving the school eerily silent. Suddenly, there were footsteps on the stairs, taking them two at a time. Eve stiffened, maybe it was Hunter, there was no reason to be scared. She closed her eyes, listening intently as the footsteps got closer, and as they did they slowed down until she could feel the person’s breath on her face, the way their chest brushed hers. Feeling childish, she opened her eyes. ‘Hunter, I-,’ Lips cut her off. They brushed against hers, and shocked, her eyes fluttered shut, her lips parting in a gasp. His tongue delved, arms winding around her waist as his lips moved against hers, becoming rougher, more needy. She leaned in to him, and then all too soon, it was over. Her eyes snapped open and he was there, his chest heaving and his hands still wrapped around her waist, their bodies pushed together. She opened her mouth but suddenly he was off her as if she was made of fire. He backed away and she just watched, staring in shock. What the hell had just happened? ‘I’m sorry.’ He muttered. His gaze fell to her lips and every part of him yearned to take her in his arms, to feel those perfect lips against his again. But he shook his head, running a hand through his hair. That had been a mistake. Eve stared. ‘What’s your name?’ She asked, her voice barely more than a whisper. ‘Bradley.’ He murmured and then he was gone again and she was left with a mind more confused than ever. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ‘There’s no talking.’ Zero snapped. ‘You and your little ‘mutant followers’ made sure of that.’ He straightened out and Wade did the same, muscles flexing. ‘Now, if you don’t want us to track down the students and kill them all one by one I suggest you back off. There are three more men outside your gates and I assure you, you do not want them letting off their leashes.’ His gaze burned into Logan’s head, knowing his little speech would get to him. Despite all the hard man surface, Logan was a good man, and wouldn’t let people die for his cause. ‘I’ll go.’ He said. Xavier frowned. ‘Logan, are you-,’ Logan’s gaze drifted to the Professor’s. ‘I can take care of myself. I don’t need anyone else getting hurt for my sake. Let’s go.'
|
|
|
Post by kittypatter on Aug 19, 2011 17:12:09 GMT -5
Xavier watched Logan’s back, hoping for his sake that he knew what he was doing. Even with his rough exterior, he always did what was noblest and maybe that was why he trusted him so much. Wade glanced at Xavier before they left, one of the doors swinging back and forth on its hinge. The school fell into silence, but from where he sat, he could still see the burning embers of one of the trees and slowly a sigh parted his lips. How could one soul carry so many burdens? Hands gripping the sides of the wheelchair, Xavier wheeled forward until he was under the threshold. He could see the men disappearing down the last flight of steps, and wondered mercifully what would happen now. Would Stryker settle now he’d claimed what he deemed his? But Logan would come back, of course – you couldn’t keep a man like that chained down.
Good luck, Logan.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Someone was walking behind her, and this time she expected it to be Hunter, but instead Logan walked down the steps, flagged by Zero and Wade as if he were some kind of prisoner. Eve looked at him helplessly, reaching out a hand but he acted as though he hadn’t seen it. ‘See ya, Kid.’ He muttered, and as she followed after them, Zero raised his gun to her threateningly.
‘We’re done here.’ He told her, watching her teeth grind and jaw tighten.
‘He stays here! What is wrong with you people?’
‘Eve, it’s okay.’ Logan murmured, glancing back at her and indicating that he was still ready to go.
‘No its not!’ she cried, feeling Zero force the gun tight against her chest. ‘Why do you want him? You can’t take him, he belongs here.’ Logan hung his head, not even trying to stop her as she babbled on. She could take them, if she wanted, but part of him decided that he didn’t want that. Stryker would only come, and Fred, and hell knew he could take down everyone without even trying.
Hunter bounced down the steps behind her, and coming towards them was John and Lilly. It seemed like this was the meeting point for handing people over to their respective sides. From where she stood, Eve could see John’s hand tight on Lilly’s arm and her eyebrow rose, confused. What was happening here? Bradley was by the gates, opening them again after Xavier had closed them before everything else had bubbled up and shattered the idea that they could fight this. How was he doing that? 'I don't understand.' she breathed, shaking Hunter away as he put a hand on her shoulder.
‘Party?’ John asked, smirking. And as Lilly caught sight of the others, she swung her arm back and elbowed him hard in the chest. With backup, the little cunt couldn’t hold her against her will now. Just for good measure she hit him hard in the face again, watching him topple back onto his back.
'Slimy git.' she hissed at him, taking of of Wade's semi-automatics and cocking it as if she required sudden protection. With a hurt expression, Eve went and pulled John to his feet, forcing her behind him although he was a good two inches taller than she was. He was her pupil, and she would protect him, even if it was slightly late. Tongue tracing her bottom lip, she sighed slightly but held it back when Hunter flashed her a worried look.
‘We’ll be off then.’ Wade grinned cheerily, walking ahead and slinging an arm over Lilly’s shoulder.
|
|
|
Post by sanelunatic on Aug 19, 2011 17:46:21 GMT -5
John watched as the group walked away, looking much more battered and broken than they had when they had arrived. Although it was them who had triumphed. That wasn’t how it was meant to work - the good guys always won, always. That’s how it should of been and they should have fought harder, he scowled, he hated losing. ‘We shouldn’t have let them take him.’ He snapped. ‘It was Logan’s own choice, I’m afraid,’ Xavier said from atop the steps, he himself watching them disappear. ‘And you were not even meant to be fighting, John.’ Eve sighed. ‘I don’t know what he was thinking. John rolled his eyes. ‘I could have taken her on. I did, in fact, you saw it. She’s just a girl, she’s hardly older than me.’ Eve stopped listening, her arms crossed over her chest, almost hugging herself. Feelings flew through her mind at breakneck speed, so fast she almost felt sick. She hated him. He came in, hurt her friends, her makeshift family, and then he had the cheek to fuck her over with one stupid kiss. He hadn’t even looked back at her. She glared at the ground, dropping her gaze from where she had been watching him at the gates. What was his problem? If he hated being with them so much why didn’t he just leave? Or stay at Xavier’s? She doubted the Professor would mind - okay maybe if she started inviting every murderer left, right and centre, but this man seemed different. She shrugged, he was probably just playing with her. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ‘So where’s Stryker?’ Logan asked them. When they had got out of the gates they had found the Colonel had left them, forcing Logan to come in the car with them, which meant Lilly had the choice of sitting between two stupidly muscled men, or the boot. She chose the men and had ended up resting her head against Wade’s arm, falling in and out of a doze. Her wrist stung like fuck and every now and then it would send shooting pains up her arm and she would cry out, tears pricking her eyes. Wade would then proceed to laugh and sometimes he would prod the burn, just to hear her scream. That stupid woman hadn’t let her kill John and for that Lilly had the deepest regrets. She wanted him to suffer, she wanted to beg and scream and she vowed it would happen, sooner rather than later. ‘He’s back at the island.’ Zero answered Logan’s question. ‘Didja miss us?’ Wade suddenly lunged across the backseat of the car, landing on Lilly and wrapping his arm around Logan’s neck, he proceeded to rub his head roughly in what would seem like a brotherly gesture had Logan not slammed his fully extended claws into Wade’s chest. Lilly gasped at the weight on her chest, her head landing in Logan’s lap and her legs entangled with Wade’s. ‘Get the fuck off me!’ She wheezed. Wade complied, pouting at the blood that was pouring from the holes in his chest. ‘You guys are no fun.’ He whined.
|
|
|
Post by kittypatter on Aug 19, 2011 18:14:56 GMT -5
Xavier hadn’t evacuated everyone back that night, he just didn’t think it was right, and there would be too many questions that he hadn’t sorted the answers too. The truth would be his usual way of responding, but this time… As he moved off, after thanking the others for their help, and reminding John that this wasn’t going to be a regular feat, he offered a small smile towards Eve. He knew, and she hung her head defensively. The silence was deafening, and as she slouched round towards the sofa, she half wished the students had been back with their demands and shouting voices, just to take her mind from everything else. Hunter sat down besides with her with a bottle of beer he’d stashed in his bunker in the bedroom. Once upon a time this had amazed her and she would pine to have her own, but tonight she sat still, turned the television on and lay across his legs sleepily. They didn’t talk, and that was okay.
In the kitchen, John leant against the worktop, drinking heavily from a well-deserved beer Hunter had given him. Storm had come round soon after with an apple-shaped bruise on the side of her head. Scott had gone out on his motorbike, and had come back just as the range rovers had shot into the distance. Xavier had promised a meeting about it the following day, and John doubted he’d be invited to that. Was this it? They would only talk about what to tell the kids, and even then John would be in their thoughts and maybe Xavier would work his powers and take that memory away from him. The memory of her. Thinking about Lilly made his jaw ache and he stretched it cautiously, groaning at the pain.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Wade was in the kitchen, trying to stab the nice in the gaps between his fingers, but he’d failed several times and cut his fingers, blood over the worktop. Lilly watched him, only half interested. Why was he so strange? Sighing, she faced the front again and picked up a magazine she’d found lying around. Zero had been adamant he didn’t know where it had come from, and threatened to shoot her in the face if she didn’t drop it. Zero was in charge of everything in this place – it wasn’t like they got to stop off at Walmart every other weekend. Things just appeared and they took them as they were. Were things different at that school? It had looked nice, from what she’d seen, when she wasn’t being burnt or knocking out idiots. For a split second, she had looked up at the building and wondered if she could have stayed there. Would she be happier?
A groan hit the air, and her head tipped back up, looking at Wade who pulled the knife out of his hand. ‘Fool.’
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Morning came unkindly quick, and it almost felt strange to have the light after an overtime of darkness. Walking outside, John watched the other kids file back inside, and blatantly ignored them, flicking his lighter on and off. Some of the younger ones came up to him and asked for stories, but he scared them off by putting the lighter in their faces. How blind they were to everything. Bobby and Rogue passed him on the steps, and the raven haired girl stood before him, her gloved hand linked with Bobby’s.
‘Well, what happened?’ she asked, but ended up walking away unanswered. They'd get their own little story to answer their worries.
|
|
|
Post by sanelunatic on Aug 19, 2011 18:57:53 GMT -5
‘Stryker says we have to train.’ Lilly groaned into her pillow. ‘I’m injured.’ She mumbled pathetically. All she wanted to do was sleep, forever. Her arm hurt even more than ever. She had spent half the night struggling to one handedly bandage it and she cracked open an eye, dismayed to see the white material already slipping off. ‘No you aren’t, slacker.’ Wade leant against the doorframe, eyeing the slender legs that had gotten entangled with the bed sheets. She ignored him and nestled deeper into the duvet, peeking up at him with one large eye. ‘It hurts.’ She sniffed. He rolled his eyes and walked into her room, flinging back the duvet, earning a shriek from the girl. ‘Wade!’ She cried as she was flung over his shoulder. She smacked his back while simultaneously tried to pull her top down over the knickers. He smirked. ‘Don’t bother, already seen it.’ He said casually. ‘Pervert.’ She hissed, resigning to her fate. ‘I’ll fix your arm after we train.’ He said, grinning. ‘That should be fun!’ Lilly pouted. ‘I haven’t got any clothes on.’ She moaned, trying anything to get him to put her down. He shrugged. ‘Zero won’t mind.' ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Eve loitered outside Xavier’s office. The man probably already knew why she was there, that was one thing she hated about the school, there was never any privacy. But being a telepath herself, she was learning how to block people out, something she couldn’t wait to master. She slumped against the wall, Bradley wouldn’t leave her mind, but she kept telling herself that wasn’t why she wanted to do this. It was for Logan, to bring him back, she knew how much that man meant to the students. There was no life to the school anymore. Everyone’s thoughts were with him, what was happening to him, and that... that place. Even John had changed, become darker, more withdrawn. He would sit on his own and stare at his lighter, ignoring people as they started at him, stared at his bruises. There was no doubt in Eve’s mind what he was thinking about. Sometimes when her power was at it’s best, she hear snippets from his thoughts, and most of them were about her, about revenge. The door behind her swung open and she jumped. ‘Come in, Eve.’ Xavier’s voice drifted through. Feeling ashamed, although she had no reason to be, Eve entered his office and closed the door behind her, gingerly sitting down in a chair opposite his desk. He smiled. ‘What can I do for you?’ ‘I want to help him, Professor.’ She blurted out. ‘We can’t just leave him there. He belongs here.’ Xavier sighed. ‘Eve, this is a very complicated matter. This is important to Logan’s past, for his memories. He doesn’t want anyone else getting hurt. He will return when he is ready, I am certain of that. There is no need for you to worry, although I know he would be touched. ‘Please, Professor, we can’t just let them win! What if they come back? What if they take an interest in me? Or Bobby, or Rogue.’ She shook her head impatiently, her anger rising with every word. ‘Dear child,’ he said gently, ‘this isn’t just about Logan. I know how hard this is for you, how you’re feeling, but please, just focus on your training.’ Eve stood up, her chair screeching on the floor behind her. Her eyes were blazing and she glared at Xavier. ‘He needs our help.’ She snapped and stormed out the room, slamming the door harshly.
|
|