Here ya go - Part 3B of my epic Gundam Wing, X-Men crossover! I appreciate all the feedback I've gotten so far - thanks so much!
Title: Into The Heart of Darkness
Parts: 3B
Author: Stormy
Warnings: Dark angst, prelude to Duo-torture
Pairings: 3x4, 1x2 (forthcoming) RxR
Archived: Jackie's page (addys in the sig)
Enjoy! More out tonight hopefully!
" Y'okay sugah?" Rogue came up from behind Remy and wrapped her arms around his waist. She knew what kind of memories the Cajun' had floating around in his skull - heck she'd experienced them first hand [1] - and she knew that this mission would be preying on her man's mind for some time. Remy sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
Jean had telepathically relayed their conversation with the Gundam pilots - knowing that Sinister had one of those kids in his grasp made Gambit sick to his stomach.
" Not really, petite." Gambit turned to face her and smiled at the open look of concern on her face. Once again, he found himself thanking whoever it was that delivered this woman to him. " I'm worried 'bout dat kid."
" Me too, sugah."
Rogue lay her head on Gambit's chest and just listened to his heart beat for a while. Remy stroked her hair idly as he sifted through his memories.
Growing up on the streets of New Orleans was rough when you were a cute kid. It didn't matter how old you were - there were enough perverts in the world that wanted young boys, males and females. Young, old, ugly, beautiful - it didn't matter to the pimps on the streets what the customer looked like. All that mattered was what the customer WANTED. Remy had fought against that for so long - and it earned him numerous battles against the gangs who wanted a piece of him for themselves. And that was BEFORE he learned he was a mutant.
Remy remembered a dark alley, a street gang and fear. A lot of it. Pain too. Terrified and out of control, Remy had lashed out with uncontrolled powers, blowing up the alley, and the surrounding buildings to boot. For a long time, he couldn't gather up the strength to move.
And then he appeared.
Dazed, weak from both weeks of little to no food, and the release of such energy had drained Remy to near-death and he was certain he was about to die when a deep voice spoke to him and a large hand pulled him out of the wreckage.
Sinister took Remy in and taught him in the use of his powers, taking vials of his blood for experiments, and teaching him how to be the best. Remy shivered at the memory of some of his training methods: the spilling of innocent blood to teach the concept of no mercy, pitting him, a child, against a group of insane mutants that Sinister cloned, to teach him how to kill. The beatings to weaken his resistance. The nightmares of tanks filled with half-grown clones.
It had taken a while before Remy had regained the strength needed to break free while Sinister was away. Back on the streets, Remy ended up pick-pocketing the pants pocket of a man who took Remy in and adopted him as his son, and made him a member of the Thieves guild. his prior 'training' under Sinister helped him leap through the ranks until he was granted the title Master Thief at the unheard of age of nineteen. [2]
Sinister hadn't forgotten him though - oh no, that would have been too much to hope for. Sinister had appeared to him one night and told hiim that Remy's skills were required and that he would be rewarded if he helped. If he didn't, Sinister would destroy the Thieves Guild and everyone Remy loved. Including his then-girlfriend, Belladonna.
Remy agreed, and he'd undertaken the job. He had to devise a way to enter some underground tunnels, bypassing the security, and leading a team in to dispose of some 'troublemakers'.
The troublemakers turned out to be cast away mutants, whose main powers seemed to be simple deformitys that marked them as such and therefore made them need to live away from people who would torment them. They were the old, the weak. Some were sick. Most had no dangerous powers. Many were women and children. Sinister had thought them to be a disgrace to the mutant race. The slaughter was on.
Remy remembered the horror and nausea that welled up within him at the sight of the Mauraders tearing into the flesh of the innocent mutants who's only crime was looking different from other people. Stricken, he'd tried to stop the carnage and was attacked by the mutant powerhouse Sabertooth. Hardly able to breathe and bleeding profusely, Remy managed to gather up one child and flee the bloody scene, the screams of the innocent ringing in his ears. [3]
Remy shuddered and Rogue tightened her grip. " Stay with me, Remy," she murmered, lending him her vast strength. Sometimes she wished that her superhuman strength also meant being able to physically take on the pain of others as well, to burden herself instead of her loved ones. It would be a fitting penance for the lives she'd literally stolen, thanks to her mutant power of absorbing a person's very life energy through skin-skin contact. But all she could do, was be there for Remy. And she knew in the end, that was all he really wanted. After a few minutes, Remy backed up a bit. Rogue glanced at him.
" Better?"
" A bit." Remy decided to turn the conversation away from himself and he looked over to where the five machines,or Gundams, as the small blond kid had called them, stood against the wall. Five gundams. Four pilots. Remy's eyes narrowed.
" We gotta help dat kid Rogue," he whispered harshly. " It can't happen again."
" We will, sugah," Rogue said soothingly, feeling her own resolve within herself. " It won't."
Everything hurt. Arms, legs, body - even his braid hurt. Duo's awareness slowly seeped back into him in gradual staged. It took him a few minutes, but he eventually realized that something wasn't quite right. For one thing, he seemed to be surrounded by water. The filter strapped to his nose made a snorkling sound as he breathed and he watched the bubbles float by his line of vision with each breath.
The other thing that bothered him was the fact he had no clothes on except his boxers. Now Duo may be an exhibitionist at heart, but he preferred his little shows to be on his own terms.
_Not while I'm floating in a tank, like a scene from a cheesy horror movie_!
Duo's eyes opened all the way and he peered through the discolored water, trying to catch a glimpse of what he was dealing with. He could see a row of computers along one wall, and he could see other tanks...Duo inhaled sharply and nearly choked. There were what looked like half-formed humans in those tanks. And most of them were looking at HIM.
Duo wanted to scream. Instead, he began thrashing his arms and legs, trying to break the glass. After a few minutes of futile kicking, all he had to show for his efforts were some bruised and bloody toes.
_Okay, THAT was pointless_. He mentally sighed, keeping his gaze away from the...things, in the tank. _So where am I_?
Duo tried to retrieve those elusive memories that would give him some kind of clue as to what happened. As far as he could tell, he was the only one there - no sign of Heero or the others in that creepy room. From what he could see anyway - and there was no way in HELL he was opening his eyes over there again.
" Ah, you're awake. Wonderful."
Duo snapped his head up at the deep voice. And immediately wished once again, that he could scream.
A powerfully built man stood there, encased in what looked like bluish-black armour. Blue-black metal tendrils of ribboned-cape swirled about his shoulders, rippling as though they had a life of their own. That was creepy enough. He had white skin and black hair severely pulled back off his face which revealed a blood-red diamond on his forehead. Blackened lips curled back in a sneering smile, revelealing sharp white fangs. But it was the eyes that made Duo cringe in fear. Deep red, pupil-less, and GLOWING. They looked like a demon's eyes. _I've died and gone to hell, just like I said I would_. Duo shrank back from those eyes, as much as he could in the limited room in the tank.
" I wasn't going to spare your life when I found you among the remains of my laboratory," the man said, arms crossed as he stared mildly at his prisoner. Duo was sure that the man could SMELL his fear. " I couldn't see why I should."
Even in the grip of terror, confusion shone through his eyes.
" You fascinate me," the man said, finally turning away. Duo breathed an inward sigh of relief as those eyes left him. " One of my minions scanned you to see if there was anything worth gleaning from your little mind before I disposed of you." He turned back and Duo whimpered. " You are a child. Yet you are also a trained terrorist. A highly skilled one." His eyes narrowed as his lips pulled back in an evil smile. " You remind me of another I once had in my possession. He escaped." The man growled at the memory of loss. " But YOU won't." [4]
Duo closed his eyes tightly. He was definitely NOT a prisoner of OZ, that was for darn sure. On the other hand, he got the distinct impression that this was not a good thing. Duo whimpered again. Pain, fear, confusion all welled up within him, stripping away his normal defense mechanism - how the hell was he supposed to cover up his emotions with denial when he was floating in a tank, staring at a demon? He didn't know where his friends were, if they were even ALIVE.....a feeling of hopelessness overwhelmed him and tears began to leak out of the corners of his eyes, mixing with the saline solution he was in, and disappearing.
" You'll be happy to know I'm going to spare your life."
Duo's eyes flew open.
" Your machines....Gundams....they fascinate me. They are of a material I've never seen before, capable of causing more destruction then Sentinals. And you will help me to retrieve them."
Duo shook his head wildly. NEVER! He would NEVER betray his friends like that. Sinister chuckled, a dangerous sound that sent another bolt of fear through him.
" Oh you will help me - you won't have a choice." Sinister snapped his fingers, and a door opened. Two large men entered the room. One was Indian-looking, tall and broadshouldered, with a harness over his shoulder that looked to house a bow against his back. His eyes were dark and deadly. The other was shorter but equally dense-muscled and compact, even moreso then his tall companion. Wearing black leather trunks, boots and gloves, the man had FOUR arms! Duo's eyes widened in complete shock. Four muscular arms, rippling with power, the man had a decidedly evil smirk on his face as he fixed his stare on Duo.
" This is Harpoon and Forearm," Sinister informed him. " They will be your....trainers." He chuckled. " They will teach you a few things you will need - and they will teach you to obey. Once you heal enough to begin." [5]
Again, Duo's eyes registered confusion amidst the fear. Sinister understood.
" It won't do to have you half-healed before you begin - they wouldn't have any fun. Besides - I have a feeling you would die before giving in to me - your mind revealed to me that you have had much experience dealing with torture. " He smiled, and Duo shuddered. " That is another reason you prove interesting." He walked over to a computer and tapped a key. A small platform raised itself from the ground, a plastic, dome-shaped shield over the top. The shield slid back and Sinister plucked a small object from within the protective tower. He held it between his thumb and forefinger in front of Duo.It looked like a tiny, metal scorpion. " Do you know what this is?"
Duo shook his head frantically.
" This is a handy little object I created a long time ago," Sinister said in reflective tones. " I used it on a young mutant codenamed Morph. It increased his efficiency, boosted his power level - and as an added bonus, it made him completely loyal to ME." [6]
Duo's eyes clouded over with terror.
" Oh yes little one," the evil mutant smiled. " I will increase your skills, make you better then you've ever been before. And in return, you will help me retrieve the Gundams, teach my men to use them - and you will help me destroy the X-men!"
More confusion. but Sinister wasn't looking at him anymore.
" I didn't recieve biological weapons or armies through that blasted machine - but one step at a time I suppose." He turned back to Duo. " At least with the X-men out of the way, I'll be one step closer then i was before."
A truly evil look spread over his face as he pressed a button on the side of Duo's tank. The water level began to drop somewhat until Duo's head was above it. Duo tried to speak but the filter prevented him from making a sound. Sinister pressed another button and a small window slid open at Duo's ear level. Duo whimpered in his mind as he watched Sinister bring the little scorpion thing closer to him until he placed it on Duo's temple.
Duo felt a prickling, crawling sensation that made him want to scream. Then pain, blinding pain as something burrowed into his head. He felt blackness creeping up on him on all sides and he thrashed wildly.
_NO!! HEERO! QUATRE! ANYBODY_! He screamed within his mind, even as he felt his resistance crumbling. The last thing he remembered before the room went dark was a pair of prussian blue eyes straing at him, imploring him to not give up. _I'm sorry Heero_, was his final conscious thoght before his eyes closed.
Sinister watched the little scorpion dig its way into Duo's scalp, embedding its way into his neural pathways and rerouting them accordingly. He turned to Harpoon and Forearm.
" He'll wake up soon, and then you are to train him," he said coldly. " From what I recieved from his mind, he's normally a very vibrant--" he sneered at the word."-- and caring person. They say that the greatest cruelty comes from the kindest person. I believe we shall put this to the test." His eyes gleamed. " Break him."
Harpoon and Forearm exchanged eager grins. " Yes sir."
Heero whirled around, blinking furiously. For a second, he could've sworn he heard Duo's voice in his head. _What the..._
Jean watched him with concern. " Heero?"
" I'm fine," Heero said, shaking his head. He must be imagining things. They were on their way to the war room, where Cyclops said everyone would gather to start making plans. Heero was getting impatient.
Cyclops hit a large flat button on the wall and the metal door in the shape of a rounded X, pulled apart. He led the way inside. Heero, Quatre, Trowa and Wufei stood against the wall where they could see everybody. Jean again marvelled at this.
_Like little trained soldiers_, she thought.
Cyclops decided to start things odd.
" First of all - let's finish the introductions. Heero, Wufei, Trowa and Quatre." He pointed out each pilot to the other X-men. " You've already met Jean Grey and Beast and Logan, also known as Wolverine."
Wolverine lifted his lip in imitation of a smile. Again, Heero was nonplussed. He'd seen worse.
" This is Ororo Monroe aka Storm - co-leader of the X-men. She can control the weather."
The white-haired goddess nodded at the boys, wearing a friendly smile. She was wearing her battle suit of black and purple skintight material. Quatre returned the smile tentatively. Trowa merely nodded back. Wufei bowed and Heero folded his arms as if to say, 'Get on with it!'
" This is Rogue. She has the powers of flight, super-human strength and invulnerability. She can also absorb a person's energy through skin to skin contact. If they're a mutant, she can absorb their power and use it for a brief period of time."
A red-haired woman with a white skunk streak waved at them, green eyes sparkling. She was dressed head to toe in dark green material with white trim. " Look but don't touch fellas!" [7]
Wufei grunted.
" This is Remy Lebeau, codenamed Gambit. He can bio-kinetically charge any object with explosive energy."
A serious-looking young man raised a hand in greeting. Heero studied him for a moment - he could sense a feeling of urgency in him, like he had a personal stake in what was happening. The man lowered his sunglasses and Heero blinked in spite of himself - the man had red and black eyes!
" Oh!" he heard Quatre exclaimed softly. Remy shrugged as though he were used to the reactions. Scott cleared his throat.
" Remy has had the most...experience in dealing with Mr. Sinister. "
Heero's eyes flew back to the brooding young man. Remy met his gaze squarely. Heero saw it then - a connection between the two of them. Hate. Grudging respect. The same feelings he himself felt when he thought of Dr J. The feeling of angry acceptance over acknowledging who it was that taught you what you know. The hatred you feel towards the same person, for the methods they chose. Remy nodded slowly, recognizing the same in Heero.
" Will he hurt him?" Heero asked Gambit quietly. Remy hesitated - and then nodded.
" Yes." Remy listened to the intake of air from the young boys. He hated to do it - but it was best that they be prepared. " If he finds him useful, he'll torture him, break him 'til he'll do anyt'ing Sinister wants in order to stop de pain. De harder he struggles, de worst it will be."
Quatre closed his eyes. Trowa's narrowed into angry slits.
" If he don't find him useful....he'll just kill him."
" Would he?" Wufei asked. " Find him useful, that is?"
" Maybe." Remy shrugged. " Hard t' say." He folded his arms and leaned back against the wall, lost in memories.
" Duo's from another world, the operator of that large Gundam," Jean said thoughtfully. " Sinister's got a few telepaths of his own - he'll probably keep Duo around long enough to get all the information he can."
" Worst case scenario is dat Sinister makes him one of DEM," Remy shuddered.
" Them?" Trowa asked.
" A Maurader. " [8]
Logan growled dangerously. Beast and Storm exchanged deadly looks, the pain on the weather goddess's face almost palpable.
" What's a Maurader?" Heero asked, not sure he wanted to hear the answer. His fists tightened in anticipation of Cyclop's answre.
Cyclops sighed and brushed a hand through his hair.
" Sinister's hitmen. Murderous, bloodthirsty assassins' who thrive on bloodshed. Give them a target - they don't care who - nothing makes them happier." His matter-of-fact answer hit the gundam pilots with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer in the gut.
Quatre envisioned their smiling Duo painted in blood. He recalled vicious battles against OZ where Duo's maniacal laughter rang out as he mowed down his enemies and a tremor ran through him.
" Maybe not so much of a switch," he whispered. Trowa tightened his grip around the blond's waist.
" What?" Cyclops stared at Quatre. Jean felt the uneasy agreement echo through the four boys and she started violently.
" What kind of world DO you come from?" she asked incredulously.
In the end, it was Quatre who told them of their war-torn world. How five colonies sent five boys to battle against an entire federation. How they had been denied their childhood, forced to spend their free time recovering from battle wounds and nightmares that made them scream into the night. Jean closed her eyes as she tried to imagine these four innocent-looking children as trained terrorists.
" Dear god," she whispered. Logan pointed his stogie at Quatre.
" Why'd ya say it wouldn't be much of a change?" he asked. " This Duo of yours a killer?"
Heero's eyes blazed in righteous fury and only Wufei snatching the back of his tank top prevented him from leaping at the feral man. He had the vague impression that Logan could easily take him, regardless of his Perfect Soldier training, but he found he didn't care. He spat out angrily at Logan.
" Don't you EVER say that about Duo!"
Trowa and Wufei levelled deadly stares at the X-men for seemingly condemming their team mate. Storm looked at Quatre - yes, even the friendly-looking boy had the angriest expression she'd ever seen.
" Well, that was obviously the wrong thing to say," Hank said, scratching his head in confusion.
" Everyone just calm your hormones now," Rogue said as she stepped forward. " Logan didn't mean it that way - right sugah?"
Logan shrugged. " Sure."
Quatre fought the anger down. They didn't know. He had to make them understand.
" We're Gundam pilots," he said at last, wondering how he was going to explain this. Technically, they WERE killers - and weren't at the same time. " We fight, yes - we kill. But only in battle."
Cyclops nodded, still looking skeptical.
" But Duo - Duo's different." Quatre rubbed his eyes. " We kill and hate killing. So does he. But when he's in the heat of the battle - he's not Duo anymore."
" He's Shinigami," muttered Heero.
" Death?" Beast asked curiously. Quatre nodded.
" He kills - and takes pride in doing what he does. Because he does it so well. On some level, we all feel the same way."
" But Maxwell also takes it twice as hard," said Wufei. " He's lost his family - everything to war. He's devoted to protecting innocents. When he kills, he sees in front of him the people who took his family and friends away."
" Outside of war, Duo's the happiest person to be around - he won't rest until he's cheered you up. Underneath that goofball facade, he's one of the most fiercely loyal people you'll ever know." Quatre rubbed his face again. " It would take a lot to make him fight innocent people - I can't see him doing it. But I can see him killing his TARGETS."
Quatre stressed that last word and Jean realized with a start, that she understood. Regardless of who was there, if Duo saw it as a target, especially after being in Sinister's clutches - he'd destroy it. It was perfect. Sinister had dozens of ways to manipulate minds - and then he'd have a child doing his dirty work for him. One that was used to it.
" That bastard," she whispered. Quatre nodded - his eyes shone as he saw her come to her conclusions.
" Now you understand."
" As we all do," came a new voice from the door. Everyone turned and saw a bald-headed man enter the room in a flying wheelchair. Minus the wheels. " I am Professor Xavier, founder of the X-men." A sorrowful look crossed his face as he addressed the group. " And I have some bad news."
The boy opened his eyes again. This time though, he wasn't surrounded in water. No - he was on a table. He blinked and sat up slowly. Where was he? Something about the room seemed familiar but pain spiked in his head when he tried to remember...anything. What the....
He swung his legs off the table, wincing as the pain in his head flared briefly before disappearing. He couldn't recall anything - where he was, even WHO he was. He looked down at himself - he was dressed in black, leather-like material. Not quite leather - he touched the material curiously. It felt like his whole body was encased in some kind of pliable armour. Interesting. Black boots, black gloves - he felt a weight swing behind his head and he captured it in a quick move. It was a briad - his braid. He felt some kind of significance attached to it but when the familiar apin began to return, he decided it wasn't important. But he checked and - yup. The tie at the end was black too.
The door opened and the boy leaped to his feet, landing in a crouch. _Automatic instincts_, his mind told him and he briefly wondered what other instincts would come to mind. Then he saw two men enter the room and he focused on them.
" Who are you?" he snarled, watching them warily. The two men grinned. The boy noted the huge size of the one, and the two extra arms on the other. _More interesting_.
The big one gave him a slow smirk.
" We're your....training partners."
End Part 3B
Heh heh - here comes the fun parts!
Notes:
1. Rogue was referring to the time when their timeline was disrupted. She kissed Remy - their first kiss - when they thought their world was about to end. But it didn't and that kiss left Remy in a coma for days, and all of his memories were left in Rogue's head. She knows first-hand all the terror and pain Gambit felt at the hands of Sinister - and that's why she's equally determined to help Duo.
2. I'm taking some more creative liberties with Gambit's history - don't quote me as being exact.
3. See my notes on the mutant massecre in the last chapter.
4. Who do YOU think it is? *grins*
5. Harpoon and Forearm are established villains in the Marvel universe as Sinister's hitmen, also known as Mauraders.
6. Here's where I'm doing a mini-corssover between X-men the comic and X-men the cartoon. Morph was never in the comics - the closest he was was a character known as the Chameleon who died back in Uncanny X-men #50 - YEARS ago. In the cartoon though -Morph was thought to be dead until he turned up, working for Sinister courtesy of that little bug thing implanted in his head. I figured that was as good an explanation as any as to why Duo would work for Sinister.
7. I'm using Storms costume from issues #350 on up - the black/purple shorts and shoulderless (but not sleeveless) top spandex armour suit with the boots and wrist and ankle bracers.#355 or #356 has the best pic of it.
8. Mauraders! I mistakenly called them Raiders when I was describing the morlock massecre - they are called Mauraders, not Raiders. And they're ruthless killers.
C&C please!
Stormy
Please send comments to: dingostorm@hotmail.com