Here we go again! Thanks to everyone who commented so far and offered suggestions and ideas - I luv ya for it! Keep it up, minna!
Title: Into The Heart of Darkness
Parts: 3C
Author: Stormy
Warnings: Angst, blood (little)
Pairings: 1x2, 3x4, RxR
Archive: At Jacky's page and whoever else wants it! Just tell me!
And the band marches on...........
Quatre watched Heero go to work through the plate-glass window of the Danger Room. Beside him, Wolverine grunted in appreciation as Heero performed a series of picture-perfect rolls out of the line of laser fire, coming up in a ready stance and firing back with precision accuracy. Quatre wasn't surprised at how easily Heero had taken to the virtual reality room - it was just one more example of the Perfect's Soldiers ability to adapt and adjust.
Since that moment three days ago when the Professor had told them they couldn't find Duo via the residual energy they did last time, Heero had been a walking bundle of nerves and tension. Smiling faintly, the Arabian pilot remembered the Japanese man's introduction to the Danger Room.
Heero slammed his fist into the table, a dangerously calm look on his face as he stared up at the bald man.
" You can't find him."
Professor Xavier looked at the boy sadly, knowing how he felt without having to delve into the boys psyche. For all his control over his facial features, the boy didn't know the first thing about masking his emotions or his thoughts. The professor winced at the pain and worry he could sense on all of them.
" Sinister either has found a way to shield the energy coming from the dimensional generator, or it was completely destroyed when the four of you--"
"--five," corrected Trowa.
" Five," the Professor allowed with an apologetic nod. " When the five of you came through."
" What about Cerebro's normal method of searching?" mused Hank thoughtfully. " Surely since the boy hails from another dimension, his brain wave pattern would be noticeably different and therefore easier to track?"
" That works in theory," the Professor said, folding his hands in his lap. " Unfortunately, it requires a great deal of energy to search a limited area. And we have no way of knowing whether Sinister is even in the area - Fatale knows no earthly limit when she teleports."
" If we could expand the search radius...." Hank's voice trailed off as his mind began thinking alternate ways of boosting Cerebro's power. Quatre winced as he felt Heero shudder with repressed tension, and he rubbed his chest. Jean flicked her eyes at him.
" Quatre? " she asked, a gentle smile on her face. " Since it seems we're going to have to wait, at least for a little while until we're able to find your friend, I wonder if I might be able to talk with you later."
" I'd enjoy that," said Quatre, bowing his head in a show of respect. Trowa tilted his head slightly.
" May I join you?" he asked quietly. Jean felt a wall of unease and mistrust directed at her - nothing personal, she realized. Simply years of not being able to trust ANYBODY made him very over-protective of the people he'd eventually let into his heart. She smiled at Trowa, trying to convey all her sincerity to him in that single glance.
" I would be honored if you joined us," she said.
Wolverine grunted and pushed himself off the wall, grounding the cigar he'd tossed so casually, under the steel toe of his boot. He motioned towards Heero.
" I don't know 'bout you - but I prefer to work off my tension," he said simply. " Too many things are jumbled around yer mind right now - and since we ain't going anywhere, anytime soon until the eggheads--" he jerked a thumb at the Beast and the Professor. "--figure it out. Up for a little excerise?"
Heero's eyes barely flickered. " Show me."
That had been two hours ago. Upon hearing the kind of missions they usually undertook, Wolverine had programmed a kind of high-tech shooting gallery, with lots of targets. Quatre stifled a giggle at the remembrance of the look on Heero's face when the wild man had handed him a shiny, high-powered laser. It was like a kid at Christmas time. Quatre and Trowa had returned from their little talk with Jean [1] and stopped by to see how Heero was doing in the Danger Room, a virtual reality room used for the training of mutants in the use of their powers. [2] Watching Heero take out another target and then leap what looked like three stories to the ground with deadly grace, pivoting on one foot to crush another target's windpipe, Quatre chuckled.
" You do realize that you'll probably never get him out of there," he said casually to Wolverine who was monitering the kid's progress.
" He's doin' real good," Logan commented - rare praise indeed from a man who spent over a decade training with some of the finest assassin's Japan had to offer. " Must be some kind of world you guys live in."
" Some kind," Quatre repeated. Trowa, at his side as always, chuckled softly at the understatement. Then his eyes narrowed - a man had snuck up behind Heero who was busy taking two others down at the same time. About to call out, he watched Wolverine jab a button and end the sequence. Heero whirled around and fixed a deadly stare at the observation room. Wolverine shrugged.
" You missed one."
" No I didn't," Heero said quietly. He hit the door release and exited the room, pausing only long enough to grab a towel to mop up the sweat dripping off him. Wolverine raised an eyebrow as he looked questioningly at Quatre and Trowa.
" That's where his partner would have taken him down," said Trowa quietly. Quatre watched Heero disappear, heading back to his designated room. " He knew the guy was there."
" He just didn't care," Quatre finished as the two of them left the observation room. Wolverine watched them leave and a faint look of approval crossed his face. He fished another cigarette out of the belt of his costume and lit it up, blowing smoke rings into the now empty room.
" I'll be damned."
Sinister watched the monitor with obvious delight, the bluish light reflecting off his pale face. With the contrasting shadows, it made the dark man seem even more like his name then before.
The screen showed what his clones had dubbed their 'playroom'. It was there that that his newest acquisition was receiving his specialized training. Under his 'care' for two days now, he felt his protege was coming along nicely - the implant in the boys head helped a lot. It also helped that his two trainers were very thorough. Harpoon and Forearm had commented on how the boy's natural fighting instincts had come into play, dramatically enhanced by the foriegn technology embedded in his skull. Sinister chuckled and turned away from the screen and focused instead on another one, this one filled with lines of text instead of a video feedback.
Threnody stood next to him, faintly puzzled. Normally, hers was not to question why - but Sinister didn't usually keep to many humans alive. She knew that part of the reason was because the boys mind revealed the information needed to pilot the Gundam machines that had been brought to their world, but such information could be extracted easily. They didn't need the boy. " Master? Why is he still alive?"
Sinister spared her a level glance, and she felt herself shrink back slightly.
" The boy's not a mutant," he said finally. " But his reflexes, his agility - they far exceed normal human levels. Whether this is a direct result from his extensive training he underwent to become a Gundam pilot, or whether it is plain genetics is undetermined." He smiled, teeth flashing. " And you know how much I hate leaving anything undetermined." He turned back to the screen and highlighted a string of text. " Observe. Since coming under my control, he's increased his natural abilities by nearly seventy percent. On normal humans, the bug only reaches a maximum of thirty percent, and then in only a few select humans of superb physical shape." He nodded at the boy's chart. " I would determine him to be at the class of a low-level Beta with the powers of enhanced speed, agility and strength. That's with the bug, and being human." He shook his head. " It's almost unheard of."
" But why bother training him?" Threnody persisted. She knew she was pushing her luck but to be perfectly honest, she was bored. This was interesting. Do the math. " You used a low-level telepath to scan his mind - you don't need the boy to operate those machines."
" I know. The boy serves another purpose. " Evil eyes gleamed with an unholy light. " Consider him...insurance."
Threnody's eyes narrowed...and then widened in realization.
" The X-men won't fight back at full strength against a child. And I don't believe the boy's friends will hurt their comrade deliberately to prevent him from stealing the machines. Besides," he added, his tone going cold. " I take great amusement in causing emotional pain - broken bones heal, wounds scab over - but the human mind is so frail. I want to watch him fight his friends. I want to see him live up to his name. I want to see the look on HIS face when he sees what I've done."
" HIS?" Threnody asked. Sinister chuckled.
" What I lost when Remy escaped, shall be made up with this boy," he murmered. " He can't emit bio-kinetic energy - but his skills are so closely matched to that of Remy Lebeau...parallel worlds are such interesting topics of discussion, don't you think, my dear?"
Threnody knew when she'd reached her limit. Sketching a quick bow, she turned to go back to her research work. On the way out though, she paused and watched the monitor where the boy was battling Harpoon.
" Shinigami," she mused thoughtfully at the name Sinister had given the boy, and then shrugged. It wasn't her business.
Shinigami snorted, inhaling great gulps of air as he watched his opponent. He could feel cracked lungs screaming at him with each breath, ribbons of blood continuing their downward trek on his body - but still he smiled. The name the dark man had given him seemed familiar - at any rate, he couldn't remember what his name HAD been, or if he even had one. At least this one had meaning.
" Not bad kid," growled Harpoon as he flexed his arm, gingerly. " But I still have to hurt you for that."
" Try it," Shinigami hissed as he prepared for the attack. He had only known the his two sparring partners - Harpoon and Forearm - and their dark master for two days, as far as he could remember. But they seemed to be like him - or the him they said he was. Shingami recalled the discussion from two days before:
(FLASHBACK)
" We're your....training partners," said the big man with a decidedly evil smirk. The boy crouched down, ready to defend himself. Suddenly the door opened again and a man in dark armor walked in. The boy caught his breath at the corpse-like visage.
" What the..."
" I am Sinister," the man said, cutting him off smoothly. " I am the one who healed you."
" Healed me..."
" You were injured quite badly during the explosion," the man continued. " You suffered a concussion as well as other injuries - but you're awake. Good."
" Who are you?"
" I told you who I am," Sinister said with a cold look. The boy shivered under its icey gaze. " You may consider me your...employer."
The boy looked distrustingly at him and Sinister met his look evenly. " Who am I?"
Sinister smothered a dark laugh as he decided what to tell the boy. Recalling the interesting tidbits of information gleaned from the boy's mind, he settled on one. " You are called Shinigami."
" Death..." the boy's voice trailed off as he thought about it. Shinigami. It rang a bell, deep in his mind. It sounded familiar - accepted. " I think I remember..."
" Good." Sinister pointed at the two men in the room. " They will be training you, to regain what the...explosion, took from you."
" But I-"
" Quiet!" Sinister whirled around and backhanded the boy who hit the ground. Hard. He hadn't even seen it coming. " You will train with them. You have a mission coming up - you will not fail me."
Shinigami glared up at him from the floor, and Sinister grinned at the look of hatred. _Oh yes - it begins_! His training methods were a bit unorthadox, but he didn't want his minions to care for him - he wanted them to hate him. To fear him. To become as ruthless as he himself was. He restrained himself from chuckling at the combined fear and hate directed at him from the young boy. A curt nod, and Harpoon moved towards the door.
" Let's go, punk," he growled. Forearm jerked the boy upwards and propelled him to the door. Shinigami spared one last glare at the dark man before he was dragged out the door. Sinister watched him disappear and the dark man began to laugh. Shinigami heard that laughter echo in his ears over and over again - he had to make it stop....
(END FLASHBACK)
Two days and numerous fights later, Shinigami had grudgingly won the respect of his sparring partners. They had accepted him as one of them - a cold-hearted killer. Didn't he just kill a guy in that morning's fight? Riptide or something - he had expected to feel remorse over the man's death, but all he could feel was a sense of elation as his enemy fell beneath his attack. Maybe it was because they'd told him the man would simply be cloned. He'd be back. Shinigami shrugged. He watched Harpoon circle around him - one of the unspoken rules in all the fights was that no one could use their powers. Shingami didn't care - as far as he could tell, he didn't have any. He wondered vaguely whether or not that would make him a liability in a fight - he had the strangest feeling that at one time he had a power....a weapon of some kind. Guns he found, were extremely familiar to him, but he still had the oddest sensation of something being missing...
He focused back on his opponent - watching with satisfaction as Harpoons one arm remained limp. _Where'd I learn about pressure points, anyway_? he wondered before Harpoon leaped at him with a snarl of rage.
" Time!"
Forearm stopped the match just as Shinigami ducked out from under the big man's attack. He felt his body shriek in pain and was grateful for the stop - but he knew better then to tell anyone that. The door opened and he watched the dark man - or Sinister - enter, feeling the fear well up again. Even Harpoon and Forearm shuddered slightly - the man fairly exuded evil, like a sickly stench.
" I think you're ready for a short mission," the man said. " There is a mutant I need a sample of DNA from - and then he is to be disposed of. This is the perfect opportunity for you to get back in...the swin4g, of things."
Shinigami kept his eyes lowered as he nodded. Sinister laughed.
" You'll need a weapon," he said. " You have no real powers--"
Shinigami felt an odd sense of shame creep over him.
"--so you'll use this."
He tossed a metal staff at the boy. Shinigami's eyes narrowed as he caught it deftly. It was silvery in color, with a smooth handled-grip for easy manipulating. At the one end, there was a large indention in the metal and he felt the staff hum with a faint, familiar energy.
" What...."
He noticed a switch on the handle. Pressing it, he cried out in surprise as a greenish flame arced out of the end and sayed there, in a curved shape. Shinigami's eyes widened in shock as he stared at the flame, feeling the heat wash over him.
" I KNOW this," he murmered, staring at the flickering light. Sinister snorted.
" Of course you do," he said with disdain. " What is Shinigami without his death scythe?" [3]
Shinigami froze - that was SO familiar it hurt. The feeling of rightness swelled within him and he believed, now more then ever, that this was the truth. He had the feeling that the truth meant a lot to him....
Sinister watched the boy carefully swing the scythe in a low arc, gradually adjusting to the feel of it. His no-name telepath had picked the image of a scythe quite clearly out of the boy's head. Thermal energy was nothing new to Sinister - it had been mere child's play to create the weapon being held so carefully by his new toy. And this served two purposes: a) It would make the boy believe in him even more stringly, something he'd never been able to accomplish with Remy years ago, which would make him fight more effectively. And b), it would make him even more dangerous. That fiery blade would cut through anything short of adamantium - the material that made up the handle. The mission wasn't necessary - but he needed proof of the boy's loyalty. This little test would prove whether or not the boy was worth killing, or worth keeping around. He watched as the boy's eyes lit up and a sinister smile curved his own lips.
" Shinigami lives," he hissed, staring at the scythe in rapt admiration. He whirled around, slicing a deep tear in the metal wall and watching as the jagged edges seemed to literally melt away. He hugged the staff to him possessively.
" Mine," he breathed and then he began to laugh - loud, maniacal and completely hysterical. " MINE!"
Harpoon chuckled as he patted his bow in understanding. Forearm growled.
" So the kiddies got a new toy," he taunted, eyes hard as diamond. " Can you handle the mission with it, pretty boy?"
He froze as the deadly blade slid to a halt directly under his throat, the heat rising from it stinging his skin until he could smell the scent of burnt flesh. Shinigami's eyes glowed with feral intent.
" I think I've got the hang of it," he whispered conspiratorally. " Wanna test it?"
Sinister watched the whole proceedings with interest. This was working out even better then he had planned. He cleared his throat and the three of them snapped to attention.
" The mission," he said. " Do not fail me."
" No master. " Harpoon, Forearm and Shinigami bowed their heads. Sinister tilted Shinigami's head up, digging deep clawmarks into the tender skin.
" Do NOT fail me," he said again, watching with delicious glee as the fear waged war behind those violet-eyes. Then came grim acceptance and then sheer anger at being bullied. Unable to strike out at his master, Sinister knew that the boy's target would feel the brunt of his rage. " Or you will die. And you will not be cloned. UNderstood."
" Understood," the boy bit back, fingers caressing his new weapon with purpose.
Sinister watched the three of them leave and then his dark laughter filled the room.
End Part 3C
Notes:
1. Jean's little talk with Quatre and Trowa will be elaborated on next chapter. And we'll find out what Wufei's been up too as well!
2. The Danger Room is a large room, secreted under the mansion. Programmed with alien technology, it creates solid projections, used in the training of mutants in their powers. It can simulate long falls, space conditions - and it is possible to die in the simulations because they are SOLID projections. If you program a beach scene with an ocean and a man-eating shark, you'd better not count on the shark's attack passing through ya 'cause you'd be DEAD!
3. I have been WAITING for this - I've had an image of Duo in black combat clothes, waving his scythe around for the last three chapters!
Coming up - why's Wufei sneaking 'round the mansion? What did Jean talk to Quatre about? What's Gambit got planned? What's the mission that Duo--oh excuse me - Shinigami's being sent on? And why will it leave a lasting impression that will impact him for the rest fo his life?
C&C please!
Stormy
Please send comments to: dingostorm@hotmail.com