Hi peoples! *waves* i've started yet another fic! *hears groans* Hey - I'm working on Starting Over Again Part 3, and realm of Dreams Part 4 but my muse came up and booted me in the head with an idea for an EPIC!!! I ain't done one of these in a long time. *grins in maniac anticipation*
Please, please, PLEASE tell me what you think - I'm so nervous about this thing it's making me sweat! I've never done a serious crossover before and I want it to be done as cleanly, seriously and believably as possible - that's why such a long intro and little action in part one - there's going to be so much happening once the G-boys arrive in the Marvel world but I want it coherent and interesting. Any comments, suggestions, critiques and what not are begged for!
DISCLAIMER: There is no connection between me and anthing pertaining to Gundam Wing *hides Duo's leash* except complete awe for the people who own the copywrites. This is done purely for entertainment.
Title: Into The Heart Of Darkness
Parts: Prologue, part 1 and part 1b of ?
Author: Stormy
Warnings: Angst, sap - this is just the beginning though.
Pairings: 3x4 established but not mentioned - yet. 1x2 - we're getting there! 5x? later on.
Archive: Jacky's page (addy's in the sig) and whoever else wants it!
Thanking you all very much in advance for reading!
( Year: 2000 Location: New Orleans - alternate dimension)
The young man slipped through the crowded streets of the market. Devastatingly handsome, he attracted the attention of both the young ladies AND the young males who were all out in abundance. He flirted here and there, never stopping long enough to give anyone more then a tantalizing glimpse of long brown hair tied back in a ponytail, and a lean, hard-muscled body swathed in a dark brown trenchcoat. No one could see the man's eyes, hidden from sight in a pair of expensive black sunglasses, but if one looked hard enough, one could see a red gleam of excitement. The man exuded energy and confidence as he moved through the throngs of people, never once wavering from his intended course.
He caught sight of his destination: a road leading away from the market place and down into a more quiet area. Tall grass and various marsh plants sprouted along the way, tribute to the waterways on either side of him. Picking up the pace, the young man broke out into a slow job, relishing the feel of the wind in his hair as he moved.
A large rusty gate loomed up before him and he pressed a button from a controller, hidden within the folds of his trenchcoat. Alarms deactivated, he pushed the deceptively old gateway open and entered the yard.
The house itself looked abandoned. The man snorted - for all intents and purposes, it WAS. He hadn't been back here in years. The long grass was choked with weeds and other wild flowers, the stairs leading up to the large estate looked to be falling to pieces. Deciding to bypass the stairs completely, the man leaped to the porch in one graceful movement, barely exerting any effort and entered the house.
Inside was a mixture of dust and history. Antique furniture adorned the hallway and large living room that lay sprawled out to the right of him. The only modern looking object in there was a laptop computer. The man headed for it, stopping just before he got there and disarmed it. A simple trick really - but effective. Anyone attempting to use his computer without knowing the passwords - _Or without the disarm button_, he thought - would be blown to itty-bitty pieces. He grinned.
He turned it on, waiting for it to load. His wrist-communicator squawked at him again, and he stuck his tongue out at it.
" I hear ya, I hear ya," he muttered with a wry grin. The laptop finished booting up and he flicked the switch that allowed the camera on his computer to give the person he was contacting a visual image. With a beep, the screen flickered and a beautiful red-and-white haired woman appeared on his screen.
" 'Bout time ya answered, swamprat!" she said sassily. The man chuckled and blew her a kiss.
" My apologies, petite. I was busy."
" Yeah. Probably flirtin' with every gal in the city. Dang you Remy!"
" You know I only got eyes for you, chere." Taking off his trenchcoat, Remy Lebeau leaned back in his chair, lacing his black, fingerless gloved hands together behind his head. " Anyt'ing wrong? I only been gone two days - ya miss me d'at much Rogue?"
" Always, sugah," Rogue said softly.[2] Remy leaned forwards and placed his hand on the screen.
" Me too chere."
" But that's not why Ah called." The girl's face dropped the gentle demeaner and she raked a hand through the white skunk streak in her hair. Recognizing the gesture as a sign of nervousness, Remy leaned forward intensely.
" Rogue?"
" You finish up your business there, cajun?" Rogue asked him hopefully. " 'Cause we need ya back here, soon as possible." A frustrated expression stole over her features. " Believe it or not - we were robbed!"
Remy choked. " What!? " A grim smile surfaced. " W'it all d'at security and high tech stuff le Bete is always tinkering w'it - someone broke into da mansion?"
Rogue scowled at him. " It ain't funny Gambit!"
Uh-oh. Remy knew when Rogue called him by his codename, he was in trouble. Besides, this worried him slightly - there were very few people in the world who could break the security on the mansion, himself being a Master Thief, [2b] being one of them. " What was taken?"
" Some gear we use to fix cerebro, and some Shi'ar technology. I ain't too sure what it was exactly, but ya remember Reed and Sue Richard's little guy?"
Remy closed his eyes. Reed and Sue Richards - leaders of the Fantastic Four - had a young son named Franklin. A mutant. A damned powerful mutant.
Normally, humans with the mutant gene, didn't manifest any powers until they hit puberty. _What a growing pain_, Remy thought ruefully. _One morning, ya wake up w'it your voice changed AND maybe fire shootin' outta your hands or somet'in'_. He eyed his own hands, knowing the destructive power they contained.
Franklin, however, was unique because his powers manifested at the ripe old age of four. Remy remembered hearing the story - the time when the super-mutant teams of the world banded together to stop one powerful mutant, Onslaught, from taking over the world. Remy shivered at the memory. Franklin's parents had been involved and at the climax of the battle, had been destroyed with the rest of the world heros. The Fantastic Four. The Avengers. Iron Man. Captain America. All of them, gone.
Or so they thought.
Franklin, terrified of losing his parents, had released his power unknowingly. The pain and fear that can only be felt by a petrified child, culminated in a devastating wave of power that had engulfed the heros.
And no one knew.
No one knew what Franklin had done, and the world mourned the loss of the few decent mutants in the world, the few humans that risked their lives everyday in battle against evil. Mutants were generally feared and reviled, but a few had garnered respect, such as the Avengers, who worked with the governement. Or the Fantastic Four - regular humans granted powers thanks to beams of cosmic light during a fateful space voyage. Captain America, turned into a super-power by his government. Iron Man - a human inside a metal suit. All of them were mourned.
Until they returned. [3]
No one could figure out how the heros had survived the battle. It was impossible! Until it was discovered that little Franklin, who loved "ma-croni 'n cheese", and playing with his Nintendo 64, had the mutant ability to generate a pocket dimension - a whole new world, created and soley maintained by a four year old mind.
It was the fear of losing mommy and daddy that had caused his power to come forth and sweep the hero's into his own little world, to protect them unknowingly, saving their lives.
Frightened that their little boy had so much power, Reed Richards, one of the world's smartest man, set about studying his son's powers, working with Professor Xavier [4], the renowned expert on mutants and their abilitys, to learn how to help Franklin control his power. They had then discovered that Franklin could not access his powers anymore. [5] It seemed it had been a one-shot deal, born out of desperation, and the power had settled back into latency. Still, using Shi'ar technology, given to them by Empress Lilandra years ago, they were still able to capture some of the excess mutant signature residue, found on all the survivors of the battle. Franklin's mutant signature.
Using the Shi'ar technology, they were able to somewhat replicate little Franklin's powers and discovered that theoretically, it might be possible to create a kind of portal to other dimensions. They al knew of the existence of other dimensions - with all the time travellers popping out of the space/time continuom, forging alternate futures and side time-lines, it wasn't that big of a stretch for the imagination. It was just one of the many experiments that the Professor kept track of, even after Reed decided not to pursue it.
Reed had enough to do with the Fantastic Four, and it was enough for him to know that his son's powers would remain dormant for the next few years. When they next manifested, Franklin would be old enough to train in the use of them. The professor took Reed's reluctance to continue with amazing aplomb and passed the work onto one of his students - Dr. Henry McCoy, codenamed The Beast, due to the blue fur that covered him head to foot on that muscular and agile body. Together, they were very close in discovering a way to travel to other dimensions, using the theories they discovered with Franklin's powers, the Shi'ar matter container, and applying various time-travelling devices they had discovered over the years.
But now, it was gone.
Remy cursed softly, ending his reverie. Rogue blinked at him from the screen.
" Language, sugah," she admonished him, a smile curving her lips. Remy grinned, and then let it fade.
" When was the stuff stolen?"
" 'Bout twenty four hours ago. We wanted ta give ya as much time as ya needed to get your stuff done. The Prof's tryin' ta track down the guys who stole it with Cerebro - Jean's helpin' - but Cyclops wants you back here now. We need your help."
Remy's eyes widened.
" Cyclops wants MY help?" he asked incredulously. " Now I KNOW somet'in's up."
" Remy." The concerned tone in Rogue's voice, caught his attention. He shifted in his seat, looking at Rogue.
" Chere?"
" It was stolen by Mr. Sinister."
Sinister. For a moment, Remy couldn't breathe. He was lost, trapped in a haze of memories that swept over him with the force of a tidal wave, washing away all coherent thought. Images of tanks, filled with murky water, beeping lights on computer consoles....Remy could almost feel the shackles on his hands and feet, needles in his veins withdrawing his life's blood. He could hear panicked screams of innocent people as blood painted the dark walls, feral snarls echoing around him, the frightened sound of a young girl crying, what looked like sticks pointing out of places on her body. Dimly, he was aware of Rogue shouting at him.
" Remy! REMY!"
Remy forced his thoughts to stop spinning and he squeezed his eyes shut for a minute, trying to quell the panic seeping through him. Opening his eyes, he noted with faint amusement that his nails had dug crescent-shaped grooves in the leather palms of his gloves, so tightly had he clenched his fists.
" Remy, please!"
Remy focused his eyes on the worried woman on the screen and he forced a smile to his lips.
" You okay sugah?" Green eyes peered at him fretfully. " Thought Ah lost ya for a second."
Remy released a shaky breath. " I'm still here - no worries chere."
" Fool cajun," Rogue said, a smile playing about her face. Then she bit her lip. " Y'all right?"
" Honestly?" Remy thought about that. He did NOT want to chase after Sinister. He didn't want anything to do with that madman ever again. " No. I'm not." He looked back at her. " But d'at don't matter now, does it?"
Rogue sighed and idly traced the outline of his face on the screen. " We could really use the help, Remy. But you know we ain't gonna force ya to do anything."
" D'at's why I got no choice, chere," Remy said with a sigh. " My business here is finished - ahead of schedule too. I'll be home tonight. " [6]
" Thanks Remy. See ya soon." Blowing him a final kiss, the moniter went dark.
Remy shut off his computer, the faint light being extinguished and draping the room in shadows. Remy blew out a sigh and pulled off his sunglasses and in one smooth movement, swept them back on his head, keeping his reddish-brown bangs out of his eyes. Gleaming eyes, blood red pupils, on inky black stared thoughtfully at the now-dark computer.
_Sinister. Other dimensions_. he shuddered. The two combined didn't make him feel very happy. Standing up, he pulled his trenchcoat back on and packed up his laptop. He doublechecked the security on his one-time home, and then stepped out the front door. Sunlight assaulted him and he pulled the sunglasses back down on his nose, wincing at the faint pain bright lights caused. Arming the final locks, Remy stepped off the porch and went to the side of the house. A large shed was there, preceeded by a long, smooth expanse of grass with odd-looking tred marks in the grass.
Opening the doors, Remy flicked on the light and walked over to a large, sheet-covered object. He pulled the covering off and there stood a small, sleek-looking one-man jet. It didn't resemble any other known jet in the modern world. _Lotta difference a few Shi'ar trinkets will make_, Remy thought as he patted the dark blue exterior. Keying in his access code, a light flashed and the opaque canopy hatch opened up, allowing him access. Settling down into the comfortable leather interior - another perk - Remy started the engines and taxied out of the shed. Activating the VTOL [7] , the small plane began an even rise into the air, metallic wings expanding slightly. Hovering for a few minutes, Remy punched in the coordinates of the X-mansion, home of the famed X-Men, activated the stealth mode, and then let her rip out into the Louisianna sky at a speed not yet reached by even the Concord.
_Sinister_. Remy closed his eyes, and when he opened them, it was Gambit looking back at him in the mirror.
End Part 1B
End notes:
2. Yeah, I'm keeping ye old faithful together - Rogue and Remy have a nicer relationship here then in the comics. In my world, Rogue discovers Remy's shameful past (which will be explained later on when the G-boys arrive ^_^), and eventually forgives him and forgets it. They are a solid unit, 'kay? Don't flame me for being a sap!
2b. Yep, Remy is one of 3 Master Thiefs in the world, the youngest to reach that level in thieves history. This will be explained later when the G-boys arrive.
3. Referring to the Hero's Reborn mini-series which explained the hero's unbelievale return. Hardened followers of Marvel will notice I'm taking a few creative liberties here.
4. A prime example of my creative liberties - in the comics, Onslaught was, in a sense, Professor X's mind on crack. ^_~ The prof went mental and unleashed this entity from his mind that resembled Magneto and was completely insane and destructive. In my fic, some time has passed and he has been, not absolved, but at least forgiven for his transgressions - considering he really didn't have complete control over his mental faculties anyway. So he's working at his redemption and is hard at work in his lab and helping the mutant/human peace issue again. I just needed the tie-in with Franklin.
5. Ahhh...little Franklin. A couple of mini-series during the time his parents and the rest of the Hero's were still thought to be dead, it showed Franklin using his powers several times. In my fic, it was a one-shot deal brought on by desperation. Again, I just wanted Franklin's powers to help explain why dimension-hopping would be possible and I had to give you guys some background. Franklin probably won't be making an appearance in this fic and nor will any other teams other then the X-men.
6. Why was Remy in New Orleans? Well, as a member of the Thieves Guild and a Master Thief at that, Remy has certain....obligations...that he must take care of and all will be explained in the coming chapters - including why Duo Maxwell will play a large part in that business. *grins*
7. VTOL - Vertical Take Off and Landing capabilities that all X-planes are equipped with, including the famed Blackbird. Basically, the plane can hover, rise straight up and do a completely vertical descent, unlike normal planes that need taxiing and runways.
Whew - this is gonna be a long one! I hope it wasn't too confusing for anyone - if you have any questions, please email me and I'll answer! Also - I'd love C&C on this - it's my first epic crossover and I want it to be as realistic and plausible as possible.
The Gundam boys will be making quite a LARGE appearance next time - I just ahd to set the stage first! Forgive me? *grins*
Stormy
Please send comments to: dingostorm@hotmail.com