Marvel Mayhem 2.0 - On The Run - Issue 3

Attention: Generation X and their villains, as well as any other mutant mentioned in this work, is property of Marvel Comics. The character Richard Cale is one of my own development. There will be changes to some of the characters background, as this work is part of Marvel Mayhem on ComicVine.com. This series is set prior to the events of Learning Gen-X Style, and beings just after the story, The Day His Life Changed.

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Story 3: Area of Mystery

Rennes-le-Château is a quaint little town in Southern France. Nestled in the countryside, it seems almost like an isolated community, untouched by the woes of the modern world. It seems hardly the place for strange goings on. If one believes that, they would be grossly mistaken.

The small French town finds itself as one of the epicenters of one of the biggest upsets in religious history. Stories are told that the church there is linked to Mary Magdalene, and claims she had been the wife of Jesus of Nazareth. The stories also claim she bore him children. If this is true or not, the story has lead to a lot of people coming to the town, some even looking for the Holy Grail.

With all these people about, is it any wonder that crime and corruption are not far behind. Crime was, at that very moment, a short distance from the town. Set up in a small campsite, two thugs of an international arms dealer were camping out in the open fields, waiting for morning to come. It was at that time that the deal was supposed to happen.

One of those two thugs had been on watch at that time when misfortune struck. It was also the one kind of misfortune that the thugs were completely unprepared for, and it was enough to put any criminal on edge. It was that time when two figured dashed through the campsite. Now, had those figured been human, he would have opened fire right away. What he saw, however, had been two living shadows, which literally had bolted through the campsite, right over the merchandise.

Now, the thug only watched as this happened, and that was mainly due to the fact that he had heard all sorts of stories about the area around Rennes-le-Chateau. Some of what he might have thought were more outlandish was that the one winery was manned by vampires. Still, when the two shadows came through, he froze in fear. That had been because of how they each looked at him, just for a moment. He saw their eyes, and they glowed. One set was blue, and one set was brown.

It had been the kind of sight that caused any reasonable, yet superstitious man to go into a blind panic. That was something that wasn’t good, especially at night, when there are no lights for miles. The thug, while managing to run away from the shadows, was actually running blindly away from the town. It would not be until daybreak that he would realize his folly. To his credit, he only increased his likelihood of surviving an encounter with the figures. Had he attacked them, they might have retaliated in a possibly fatal way for him. The second thug had been to scared to move at first, but then fled

Those two figures had been the mutant girl, Yvette, and the young man named Richard Cale, who had rescued her from her former captor, Emplate. The two had spent the past few days making their way through France, taking an indirect route to the small town. The final leg of their trek was a run across the countryside in the middle of the night. This was already dangerous given how dark it was, but they blended in with the dark, thanks to Yvette's primary power, a talent Richard's power could now fully mimic. This power was to contract her skin so it was so sharp and dense that it made her a deadly living shadow.

The only downside to it was that it would cut almost anything, even the clothes they would normally wear. She had to admire the ingenuity that Richard had shown when he revealed to her the way around it. She hadn't know that prior to their leaving his family's manor, he had taken some of the restraints Emplate had on her with them. Some of those were wrapped around their abdomens, protecting their privates from the elements. Another such strap was around the handles of the carry-on bag he had been carrying. They didn't want to lose that now, since they were almost at their destination.

When they neared the wall of the small town, they made a line for a spot that offered a bit of cover, in case someone was watching. Yvette liked that, since she felt the only person that should see her naked was her rescuer. Once they were at that spot, they started to untense. She noticed that Richard put the carry-on bag down before fully untensing. She watched him for a moment, wondering if he would start removing the straps around his abdomen first. She was slightly disappointed when he opened the bag, and pulled out her clothes. She started to untense so she could take them, and asked, "So this is where we are going?"

Richard nodded, making sure to keep his eyes out on the area. While it was dark, that didn't mean that someone might not be watching the area. When they had ran here, they passed through some sort of camp, and Richard could have sworn that someone there had a gun, and not one that would be associated with hunting. He didn't want to bring that up to Yvette, but he had a feeling something of his concern would get through the mind link. Staying in the town might be good, even if it was for a day, so he answered her question. "Yes. I know there is a nice hotel here in town. My father somehow has earned the right to stay in another building in this town, but I don't know how he finagled that. Maybe because of his wealth." He sighed, and shook his head, still watching the area.

He heard Yvette changing clothes, noting each rustle of fabric with what he figured was her putting something on. As she dressed, he heard her say, "So is that how you know about this little town? I would have thought it was someplace wealthy people wouldn't stop at, except maybe to get away from people." He didn't look at her, but he nodded. If he were to be honest about how he heard about the place, it might get funny looks from her. Of course, given the situation they were in, it really shouldn't matter. He just hoped the place would be out of the way, and not someplace Emplate would easily find them. It was part of why he had made them start zigzagging through France, using ATM's when necessary to get money.

He felt a tap on his shoulder, and turned to see Yvette in one of the outfits they had gotten at one of their stops. Even in the darkness, she looked beautiful. He started to say something, but she just put a finger to his lips. "I know. I'll keep an eye out." He nodded, and stepped behind her to quickly get dressed. As he did so, he heard her ask, "By the way, any idea what those people were doing out in the middle of nowhere?"

He quickly got into his outfit, partially hoping that Yvette was keeping an eye out for trouble. The other part of him, a small part, was wondering if she was trying to peek at him while he changed. While he was changing, however, he answered her question. "My guess is that they were up to something. Possibly a criminal group, being out in the middle of nowhere, waiting to make a deal. Let's just hope that they just think we were a couple of shadows, or monsters." He flinched when he said the last word. He had no doubt that Yvette would feel sensitive about the use of that word.

In a second, he felt another tap on his shoulder. He was thankful that he was almost dressed. He looked over his shoulder to see her standing there, a slight smile on her face. It said a lot, but the most important thing was that it was the words it accompanied. “It’s alright. I understand entirely what you meant. I know that when we are in full use of my ability, we look liked frightening creatures. I think I‘d be more hurt if I didn‘t have the control I have.”

He nodded, and then picked up the carry-on bag. As they started to enter the small town, and head in the direction of the hotel, he just said, “I know. I still feel bad having said that. Now, we‘ll go to the hotel, and get a room. Given the day of the week, and the time of the year, I have no doubt that there will be a room available.” As he said that, he started to wonder if the hotel would be used by the criminals they had passed. He quickly shook that idea out of his head. If they were out in the countryside, there was no way they had a room in the hotel. In fact, he was certain that the reason for his current unease was because of the lack of sleep they had both had. It was something they would remedy very soon.

As the night progressed, the young couple had managed to get a room in the hotel, and both literally fell onto the bed seconds upon entering the room. They also fell asleep instantly, something they greatly needed. While they slept, dawn broke over the town, and the criminals, whose camp they ran through, had managed to return to Rennes-le-Château. They did not, however, come to the hotel, but to another building with a history in the town. While it was not a hotel, certain members of the elite in Europe could use the place as a residence for a few days. It was better if one wanted privacy for any reason.

One of those individuals happened to be the head of a crime syndicate from the former Yugoslavia. His name is Stewart Montenegro, and he had worked hard to get the exchange set up. All that work was now wasted, and he was now dealing with the two lackeys who had fled from the campsite. "Tell me again how the merchandise got ruined, and why you saw fit to be gone from the location before the exchange was to take place. It had also be good, since I just managed to calm down the contact from not putting a hit on us." Honestly, some of the people he dealt with had no sense of the big picture. It wasn't that he was afraid of retaliation, it was just that he preferred not having to deal with it. It was an extra expense, and when you dealt in arms, you didn't want to directly lower the number of potential customers.

The man who was first to flee from the site looked at Stewart with pleading eyes. "I was just getting to that, Boss. You see, in the middle of the night, two shadowy figures came through. I'm not sure what they were, but they just blended with the darkness, and we could just barely make out that they looked like people." That goon was also shaking in fear, as if recalling the figures was a harrowing experience in and of itself.

The other man nodded, and held up a hand. That hand, however, was wrapped in gauze, which now had a reddish hue to it. "It was the damnedest thing, Sir. I managed to head back after some time, and when I looked at the merchandise, it was in pieces. I even picked up one piece and looked at. It wasn't after I saw blood on it that I realized it had cut my hand. The damn thing had been cut that sharp."

Those last words sparked a memory in Stewart's memory. He had to deal with something like that before in his past. It happened after a friend of his daughter had visited, and had accidentally used a mutant power. One of the servants had to be rushed to a hospital after touching a gouge in the wall. He wasn't sure how to verify what he was thinking, without further spooking his men, but he had to find out. "I see. So all you can recall is that it was two shadowy figures that blended with the night. Nothing else that may be of help locating them?"

The first goon visibly shivered, apparently recalling another detail. "You want to find them!?!? Boss, they were freaky, almost like shades. And those glowing eyes. I mean, I only saw the one, and it had blue glowing eyes, but it was freaky." Stewart noticed the man was barely keeping himself from shaking. The fact that was happening told Stewart would need two new men very soon.

The words, however, confirmed his troubling thought, at least to one point. "Very well." He pointed at the other man, and said to the first, "Get him to a hospital. They won't ask many questions given the state of his hand. I will let you know if I have another job for you." He saw the nervous man gratefully nod, and lure the other out. Mentally, Stewart planned out the next few hours. He would have to arrange another meeting to get the arms the client needed to them. He also had to have someone take care of two useless thugs now, since one left traceable evidence at the campsite, and the others nerves were shot. Once those were done, he decided he needed to take a trip around the small town, and keep an eye out for a certain redhead. If he found her, he knew he had to contact the last person he spoke to about her.

As the day progressed, the young couple woke, and even donned their disguises. While they felt Emplate was not around, they weren‘t entirely certain that at least one of them wouldn‘t be recognized. As they made their way down to the desk, both were unsure if they would be spending another night there. Richard paid for the room, and when the clerk asked if they would be spending another night, Richard answered it as vaguely as possible. "If it is possible, keep the room open for us. We want to see what sights are in town first." That earned them a nod from the clerk, and they went to leave.

Neither one of them were aware of something as the left the hotel. The clerk noticed it, but he wasn't about to say anything. Some people came to the town for privacy, and he figured it was the same for these two. In this case, something should have been said, since it might have spared the duo from being discovered by an enemy that they had inadvertently made.

As it was, the couple went around the small town, checking out the few sites it had to offer. It was a rare treat, as they figured, to be able to relax a bit. They didn't feel like they had totally lost their foe, but they felt they had some time until he found them again. It was for that reason alone that they didn't realized, at first, that they had picked up a follower on their way from the tower to the church in town.

The church was a major tourist attraction, given its uniqueness in the world. The story was that it was name for Mary Magdalene, and had the oddity of a sculpture of a demon in it. Some people even believed that the statue of the Madonna in it was actually of Mary Magdalene, and her children, both of whom were fathered by Jesus. It was this controversy that made the church a destination for visitors.

For the duo, it made for a quiet place to sit down and plan. No one was bothering them, but one of them had picked up on the fact that they were being followed. It was Richard who had noticed it, and he figured that right now, a mental conversation would be better. "We were being followed through town. I don't know who it is, but they started following us after we left the tower."

Yvette fought the urge to look over her shoulder. It was an instinct that every person would give in to. She just wondered if turning her head would lead to person recognizing her. She did have the wig on, and she was sure that was covering her red hair. Still she decided to remain facing forward, and look like she was admiring the church.

As she did that, she responded to Richard. “Do you think he is linked to that camp we ran through?” She turned to look at him, and saw he was looking back at her, a bit in shock. That made her worry more. “What‘s wrong?”

She watched as he looked over her face, and then heard him respond to the question. “I think something happened to your wig. Your red hair is poking out.” She almost wanted to reach up and try to adjust the wig, or even remove it, since it was now useless, but Richard stayed her hand. “No. The man isn‘t coming towards us. He still seems unsure. I don‘t know why, but I swear he looks familiar for some reason.” That statement made Yvette more curious. Was their follower someone who knew Richard? They would need to find an answer soon. If this man was a friend, he might be able to help them avoid Emplate. If he was a foe, they would have to get away, and quickly.

Richard was having similar thoughts at that moment, and decided that he should try to figure out who this man was before things could escalate. He got up and approached the altar, mentally saying to Yvette, "Stay right there, and I'll figure out how to check this guy out." He chanced a glance back at the person, and notice the man was standing at the back of the church, obviously looking at Yvette. Again Richard noticed something familiar about the man, but he couldn't place it. Had he seen this man somewhere before, or maybe seen something similar in facial structure? He couldn't be sure, but there was something about the man's presence that set off mental warning flags.

Richard saw the man turn his back on them, wondering if the man had taken notice of Richard's actions. He wasn't sure, but he had a feeling that the man had done it to prevent being overheard on the phone. The only good thing about the action, however, was that the building had good acoustics. They could easily hear the conversation, but he was sure that Yvette was hearing it better than he was at the moment.

Only one person was unaware of the acoustics, and that was Stewart Montenegro. When he first saw the strands of red hair, he was certain the girl was who he thought it was. He could only figure the guy had been a friend she had made, but how could that explain the two odd figures. When he noticed that she was wearing a wig, he got up to make the phone call. Luckily, he still had the number he had used the last time on his phone.

As the phone made the connection, he glanced over towards the girl, and noticed that the guy was looking at some of the fixtures. That was good, since it meant they weren't paying attention to him, and might have been oblivious to him following them. That was extremely lucky, given the size of Rennes-le-Château. He put that brief thought out of his mind, however, when a voice answered the phone. "This better be good, Montenegro. The boss is not in the best mood at the moment."

Stewart remained facing the only door to the church as he spoke to the man on the other end of the phone call. He was certain it was the short manservant this person had. "Well, that tells me the answer to my first question. I take it the young lady I had gotten for you is no longer around."

The second he had uttered those words, he heard a gasp. He was certain it had come from the phone, but for a brief moment, he could have sworn the girl had gasped as well. He chanced a look at her, but was thankful to see she was still sitting in the one aisle. He kept his eyes on her for a moment as the same voice replied to his statement. "Yes, about half a month or so ago. The master's latest quarry found the place, and somehow rescued her. Do you know where they are now?"

Stewart took that information in. First off, Yvette had escaped, and given that she hadn't noticed him yet, she obviously didn't know he had a factor in her imprisonment. It was true that his own daughter felt threatened by Yvette's beauty, and power; and that had made Stewart reach out to Emplate. The information also gave him an idea of the young man that was with Yvette, but not who he was. That wasn't that important at the moment. He turned to look out the door, making sure that if Yvette had heard him, she wouldn't hear him now. "I do know where they are. She had destroyed some merchandise I was going to sell. If you want her, you need to get to...." He never got to start saying the name of the town, since just as he was to do so, everything went black, and a great pain was momentarily felt.

It turned out that Stewart had lost track of Richard, and the young man had picked up one of the hymnals. While Richard was sure it was a travesty to use hymnal as a bludgeon, it was the one that preyed the least on his conscience. He had heard Yvette gasp, and as he neared the man, he heard the reason for it. While the phone call was not over, he motioned to Yvette, who had turned around when she heard the blow. She understood the motion, and the two left the church, leaving only Yvette's now ruined wig behind.

As they ran from the church, he was quickly debating the best course of action. Unless luck would be on their side, they couldn't chance leaving the small town. He was certain they couldn't return to the hotel, and he had a feeling that the man he just clubbed was at the other place in town. They were going to need to find a hiding spot, or hope luck was with them.

Once they neared where the hotel was, Yvette pointed to a vehicle that was just starting to move. While the vehicle didn't look like what most people viewed the vehicle was supposed to look like, it had the French word for 'Taxi' on it. They ran faster, and Yvette yelled, "Taxi." Maybe it was that the driver understood English, or that he noticed how Yvette looked, since the vehicle stopped.

When they neared and got in, she heard him say, "Bonsoir. You caught me just in time. I was just about to head to the train station. Are you heading that way?” It was the best news the two could have heard.

They quickly got into the cab, realizing the blessing they had just received. Richard was looking back in the direction of the church, while Yvette nodded and said, “Yes. How soon until the next train departs?” When the cabbie stated the time, Yvette just said, “Then get us there, and we’ll pay double.” She glanced over at Richard, and he just nodded. It was all the cabbie needed to hear to start driving out of town.

As the cab sped to the train station, Stewart Montenegro came to, and looked around the church. He inwardly cursed, realizing he had failed to take the young man into consideration. He wasn’t sure how long he was out, at first, but he saw his phone was still on the call, and at least twenty minutes had passed.

He picked up the phone, and he was greeted by the voice of the one he had dealt with before. “I hope you have finally awoken. I’m not hoping that the long silence was you securing my quarry.” In part, he knew that Emplate wasn’t going to arrive there, since he had not told the fiend where he was.

Stewart then rubbed the back of his head. He would be hurting for a bit, but it wasn’t something that would be a problem at the moment. He then responded to the statement. “Sadly, you are right. The young man had gotten the drop on me, but don’t worry. I’m going to call in some specialists to help me nab them.” It was the only option he had open to him at the moment, unless the two somehow made it back to Yvette’s home town.

He heard a raspy sigh over the phone, and then heard Emplate respond. “I won’t keep my hope up. I am searching for them too. Right now, I’m on the Spanish border. I will try to find their next location when the young man gets to another ATM.” He figured that Emplate would do that. Still, he had plans to catch them as well. It would be a problem if Yvette ever returned to her home town.

He calmly said, “You do that, Emplate. If I find them first, I will make sure they get sent to you.” Before Emplate could respond, he hung up the phone, and then prepared to make another call. He then remembered that he had to set things up to take care of the two thugs that had failed him. It wouldn’t take long, however, and then he would call in his specialists. They were a group of four of the most dangerous felons he knew, and they would do as he asked. He would make sure Yvette and this man got captured, and maybe a bit wounded in the process.

Pay attention, and pass it on. This guy says so.

@impurestcheese, @rabbitearsblog, @irishlad, @batkevin74,@wildvine

@richgenx: Ooh looks like a race to claim the two lovers between Emplate and Montenegro

@impurestcheese: It may look that way, but either way Emplate wins.

@richgenx: Boo Emplate should never be allowed to win

*bump* with an update.