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Last Issue- Richard, Yvette, and Clarice end up fighting for their lives against Emplate and some of his thralls, and were almost captured if not for the efforts of Songbird. At the same times the Thunderbolts and Generation X end up meeting up, and continue to fight for their lives, not noticing one member had run off.
For more information check out the last issues of
Generation X and Thunderbolts as well as the first part of this crossover, and second part of this crossover
Unsafe in Seattle
Yvette was not in a good mood. She was in a fight for her life, as well as the lives of the group with her. When she had agreed to teach at the school, it had been to prepare the mutants of today for the threat of Emplate. While the school offered safety, she feared an attack was coming. What she, nor anyone else, never expected was what was happening now. A huge number of others, enthralled by Emplate, attacking. The only advantage they had at the moment was that it was impossible for the group to get behind them.
She glanced at the group fighting with her, which was a majority of the students, as well as Headmistress Emma Frost, and a majority of the group known as the Thunderbolts. She realized Emma had took a bit of a risk with the school, not directly attending a meeting that the Headmistress's sisters had requested, but the paperwork would hopefully convince them that the school could not be touched by them.
She then directed an order to all those who could do something. "Everett, keep your power synched up with Jonothan, and both of you fire blasts at the crowd. Don't specify a target, just blast. I don't know if they can do like Emplate, and redirect an attack made at them." She then wished Richard had been with them as well, since his own power would triple the attack power.
She heard one of the other group with them also issuing orders. "Remember what she says, and do what you can. Songbird had said that she and the guy know what they are dealing with." That gave her a bit of pride, but it also made her wish that Richard was with them, instead of going after Paige, who had somehow gotten separated from the group. She had a suspicion about what happened, since one of the others had said it happened after Paige had spoken with Monet.
As they got closer to the wall, she wondered where the two missing people were, and hoped they were alright. She knew Emplate would stop at nothing to get both her and Richard, and after the earlier encounter, she knew that Emplate would severely injure Richard. What would be best was for all of them to escape, and Clarice had the perfect power for that, when the time came. She shouted back to the girl, "Clarice, when Richard gets back, I want you to pair up with him. Together, the two of you can hopefully get us all out of here." She waited for a moment to get acknowledgement, but when it didn't come, she started to worry. "Is Clarice alright?"
The response she got was not what she wanted to hear. "She left after Richard and that Songbird went to find Paige." That was a dangerous thing for any student to do, especially with the number of thralls about. What made it worse was the person who had told her the news. It had the superior tones that Monet St. Croix always used.
For a moment, Yvette forgot the danger they all were in. She rounded on Monet, her eyes a pure blue, and her hair starting to spike. She pointed one of her tensed up fingers at Monet, who stepped back in surprise. “You’re enjoying this. You’ve been spying for that monster all this time, and let him know we were coming here. Just like you had been helping him every place Richard and I went to. You were even at the airport when we booked the trip here to America.”
She saw the shocked look on the girl’s face, and at first, she thought it had been the shock of being found out. Then Yvette noticed that the accusation had caused a very bad thing to happen. Everyone had gone quiet. She then remembered that she had been near the front of the group, since her claws served as a good weapon for making the thralls fall back. The realization of the folly hit her when she felt several pairs of hands grab her. As they pulled her from the group, she heard several murmur, “Master wants her. The rest is ours.” She was just thankful that the uniform under the outfit would keep the mouths on the thralls hands from biting into her, even through it. She was certain, however, that wouldn’t stop Emplate when he got a hold of her again.
--
Monet St. Croix watched in complete horror at what had unfolded in front of her. She could not understand the hostility that Yvette had towards her, except that it was fear of being inferior. After the accusation had left the other girl’s mouth, she understood now, more than ever, the reasons. Both the teachers, and possibly Headmistress Frost, thought she was helping Emplate. Now that the thralls were pulling the girl away, she understood how determined Emplate was to get a hold of the girl.
She gathered her wits together before anyone else, and realized how bad the situation was. The group that had grabbed Yvette was backing towards the larger group, and the rest were ready to advance. She glanced over, and saw how the Thunderbolts had also froze in shock. She noticed which one would be the best to help her, and recalled the one name she had heard that had to fit with the look. “Blizzard, get some ice under those thralls.”
She didn’t wait for the action to be done, but lunged forward, floating mere centimeters above the ground. It allowed her to surprise the thralls, just as they started to slip on the now ice-coated ground under them. She took that moment to slug the one with strongest grip on Yvette, and managed to get her free. The attack, combined with the ice, had confused them enough to allow the rescue to work.
She pulled Yvette back, just as Blizzard said, “Meteorite, see if you can cause those things some disorientation.” She watched as all of a sudden, a portion of the thralls started floating in the air, given them all a chance to recover their defensives. She then looked over Yvette, noticing slight rips in the fabric of the costume each one of them had donned.
It was then she noticed the confused look in Yvette’s eyes. She knew she had to come clean, since she was certain that the confusion must have been part of Emplate’s plan. “Yvette, I would never help Emplate. He tried to kill me years ago, when his powers first manifested. It was the same day he killed my mother.” She let a sigh, and finally said, “The confrontation after that made me think I had stopped him, but my brother had gotten away. I’m sorry for what he did to you.”
She watched as Yvette blinked, a clear sign that what she just said was almost beyond belief. Finally, it was Emma who spoke up. “Monet, are you saying that this threat is your own brother?” When she nodded in acknowledgement, she watched as Emma briefly nodded her head. “So he made it seem like you were the spy to both Richard and Yvette, most likely thinking you’d never meet; and if you did meet me, then he made sure the distrust was there. Then who is the spy?”
Monet didn’t know, but she started to think about it. It wasn’t her, or Emma. It was obviously not Clarice, since the girl already risked her life to save the others once already. She was also certain it could not be any of the boys, or even the Thunderbolts. Realization hit her at the same moment one of the other group shouted, “We need to fall back. They seem to be adapting to what we are dishing out.”
As the group backed up, she heard Yvette say, “It’s a trick Emplate does. You directly attack him with a power, he siphons the attack to feed himself, and then uses the power against you. The thralls must be using those powers as well.” She noticed that everyone was acknowledging the fact, and the group moved back, closer to the wall behind them. Now, they needed for the others to return.
At that moment, Monet gasped simultaneously with Yvette. The two girls looked at one another, and they both knew they reached the same conclusion. They could not escape to rescue the other teacher from the spy, nor could they help him in case he was trapped. Then she remembered the mental link, and said quickly, “Yvette, warn Richard. He needs to know…” She stopped speaking when Yvette’s eyes started to glow. She realized then that the redhead had already started doing that. The only question, now, was if it was in time.
--
Paige Guthrie successfully maneuvered through the area, effectively making it easy to achieve her goal. She had moved through the area, making sure she didn‘t lose her one teacher, Richard Cale, but hoping she had lost Songbird. A few times, she had to resist the instinct to turn around when he called out her name. Now that she was sure that they were at the right spot, she came to a stop. She then collapsed to her knees, and started to act like she was crying.
As she suspected, it got the reaction she had hoped for. She heard Richard near her, and then heard the one teacher say, “Paige, calm down. I‘m not going to be overly upset at you for the panic. It‘s been a lot to take in. What I will be upset at, and this will be much later, is this panic making you run like this. Who know how much trouble the others are in?”
She wanted to say that she knew, but that would be a mistake. So she just said what she was sure would seem a forgivable response. “Ah‘m sorry, Richard. Ah panicked. All those…. things.”
She stayed still as Richard approached her, certain he was keeping his own power reigned in. They had learned that the teacher ability to take on powers was affected by both time and distance, and that distance was the only thing he could control. Still, she preferred that he not latch onto her powers, since it could also reveal her secret now. When a hand touched her back, she repressed a panicky flinch. “It‘s alright, Paige. Both Yvette and I figured he was too busy searching for us to do all this. This, while it is bad, only confirms that a spy has been telling him what is going on.”
She nodded, certain in the fact that he didn‘t know who the spy was. Still, she had to act like the news surprised her. “A spy? Yah mean someone was helping Emplate, and they were at the school?” She hoped the tone in her voice told her teacher that the news surprised her because she didn‘t know about a spy, rather than she feared being found out.
She looked at his face as he nodded. “Yes. We have already alerted Miss Frost about it, but we know the spy is…” At that moment, she saw his brown eyes turn pure brown. She knew what that had to mean. He was using the psychic powers that Yvette and he shared. No doubt, they had figured things out.
Paige reacted quickly, removing the skin from her left arm, revealing a wooden arm underneath it. This needed to be done quickly, while he was still processing what was being said. It would not matter anymore, since she was found out, but her task was almost complete. She then swung her arm, striking Richard‘s head.
It had the desired reaction, he fell to his knees. She knew that it would not take long for him to recover, but she would have enough time to do what she had to do. She walked over to a nearby crate in the area, and pulled out the device in it. It had been left there for this very reason. It looked like a straight jacket, except it was designed to hold a mutant with the ability to sharpen their skin to the point it could cut anything, and even absorb light. It would also dampen any psychic powers, but would not hinder mutant healing factors. All three were traits she knew Yvette had, and knowing the powers of Richard Cale, he had them as well.
She moved quickly, placing the restraints on Richard Cale, and then stepped back as he started to get up, or attempt to. She looked down at him, and noticed a look of complete shock on his face. A slight smile crossed her lips when he said, in a tone of utter disbelief, “How?”
She just smirked, and pushed a button on a device she pulled from her pocket. Soon, a beeping could be heard, and she knew Emplate was coming. She then looked down at her teacher, and said, “Quite easily. You remember how I said my powers manifested when I called out saying if they didn‘t manifest soon, I‘d rip my skin off.” She saw him nod. “Complete lie. Truth is, my powers manifested when one of the rich boys thought they could take advantage of me. He pulled on my arm, and it was wood underneath. While he was stunned at what happened, I swung my arm, and knocked him out. Then, I hit him again, and again. When I was done,” she smiled as she said the next part, “I knew he wouldn‘t bother anyone again.”
She could tell Richard was surprised by this. She had basically admitted to anyone who hadn‘t known that she killed the boy. True, she shouldn‘t take pleasure in it, but that boy would have never faced justice for it. She then saw him struggle with the bonds. She figured he was trying to use Yvette‘s power. “Don‘t bother. Emplate made sure that those bonds were made right. You see, he was the one who came upon that scene, and offered to help me out. He even said that if I didn‘t do his bidding, he‘d kill and devour me, but I told him I would do the job. So, he had me spy on you. He gave me this fun little device that allowed me to find you, and spy on you. Ah could go back home, and no one would be the wiser. He even made sure it made me look like his sister. Ah‘ll be honest, it was a shock to see she had joined the school, but he told me that was perfect.”
She turned when a raspy voice spoke. “Indeed it was. I‘m even certain that you didn‘t even think Paige could have been the spy at all.” She saw him phase into existence, obviously using that power to move around the camp in complete and utter secrecy. She felt his gaze upon her, and was thankful when he said, “Well done, Paige. They may have escaped me together, but now one of them is alone.” She nodded, and waited to see what would transpire.
--
Emplate felt a rush when he saw one of the two he long sought after restrained and helpless. He walked forward a bit, and he was sure his eyes were shining with malice. “Well, well. You might have escaped earlier, Richard, but this time you won‘t be getting away. Of course, now the fun is what to do with you. Now that I‘ve seen your powers truly in action, I know how you managed to escape my lair that first time. I had always thought that after all this time with Yvette, you would be limited to her power alone. My spy didn‘t tell me you could take on other powers like I saw you do earlier.”
He watched as Richard tried to back away from him. Obviously, the man didn‘t want to have to deal with the powers Emplate had, but he was certain he had done so before. “We didn‘t tell any of the students about how long my ability lasts when it holds a power, so don‘t flatter yourself. You‘ve already shown you wanted me dead, so why are you dragging it out.”
He smiled behind his respirator. “Because the right audience isn‘t here. When I decide to kill you, it will be when sweet little Yvette is watching. It will break her. I managed to take out her parents, and made sure she had nowhere to turn when I discovered her remarkable powers. I‘m even sure she wasn‘t fully aware of them. No doubt, you managed to change that. Through all that, however, she still relies on you, the only stable thing in her life. Imagine the devastation that will cause, if I kill you, or maybe even enthrall you.” Those last words caused his adversaries eyes to go wide in fear. They all believed that enthrallment was permanent. It was, once one supped, but they did not know that. Many of the thrall now fighting the others were ones who had not supped yet, and it would take an effort of their own weak wills to break the control.
His moment ended up interrupted when Paige spoke up. “Sir, it might be best to kill him. He and Yvette have that link between them. Ah‘m certain that they already know I am the spy.” He had already thought about that. Paige had been a good spy, easily manipulated after she killed that boy. Of course, she only felt a little remorse, since he had seen she had actually had some feelings for the boy, but those were easy to handle. “What shall I do now? Find another group for you to feed on?”
He turned to Paige, and he just said, “No, child, I don‘t need you as a spy, however, I will give you a way to get what you desires. I‘ve noticed you have taken a shine to that Jonothan Starsmore.” He saw her blush a bit at that. “So I shall give you a way to make him yours.” He then took her hands, and locked eyes with her. It started the moment he did that. He passed his hunger to her, like he had with his other thralls. He already knew that her willpower was so fragile, it would be easy to break it, and it did break. The look in her eyes was that of the hunger. It also made her collapse to her knees. “Now, you can not only claim him as your own, but you can make him your servant, as well as food.” He saw her meekly nod, and then he returned his attention to Richard. “She had little willpower left, but yours will be fun to…”
He had paused when he sensed a power he had felt earlier. That had been a second before it hit him, but he braced himself for the attack. As it turned out, the attack only pushed him back a foot or two. “Ahh, I should have realized I would run into you again, Songbird.” He stared right at the woman whose suit bore the image of a bird.
The woman didn‘t seem surprised by his appearance, but he noticed she had locked her eyes on his newest thrall. “So you used her to spy and lure the others into a trap. Honestly, it makes you seem more a …” He heard her pause as she glanced towards Richard, who had been at her feet. He could not hear what Richard was saying, but the distraction would be what he needed. He was not going to let this woman deny him his long sought prey.
He had siphoned off some of the power during the attack, and fired it right back at Songbird, only to be surprised that the woman had put up a barrier. He stopped his attack, realizing that his quarry had tipped her off. “Well played, but tell me, how long will you last. This location that Paige ducked into, no doubt because she knew you were helping Richard, will be crawling with thralls very soon. Not all of them are attacking the others.” He noticed a new worried look had appeared on the woman‘s face. He felt certain now that he wouldn‘t just have the man in the robotic suit, but another key member of the Thunderbolts as well.
He saw another figure appear, joining the other two behind the barrier, and he almost wanted to laugh when she said, “They won‘t be here for long, Emplate.” It was the lavender skinned Clarice Ferguson. He was already aware of her teleportation powers, and how she either did it with a personal pink portal, or by shearing space around her. It was the latter that was risky, and her only way, with great concentration, to teleport more than one person, but it would be risky.
He did laugh, then, and started to advance as he spoke. “You honestly think you have a chance. Murmur still has all teleportation under lock down. It would take a miracle for you to be able to….” He trailed off as the lavender-skinned girl smiled, and then the three individuals disappeared as the space around them fractured. He didn‘t think it could have happened. If Murmur had failed to keep up the control, that particular one would die.
After the initial shock passed, he heard the communicator device he had come to life. He didn‘t answer it, but heard a slight bit of panic in D.O.A.’s voice over the unit. “Boss, seems something odd just happened. Some sort of surge caused Murmur to scream, and then collapse. I think something powerful broke his control over teleportation.” He waited as there was a pause, and then his minion said, “Seems to have broken him as well. He‘s dead.”
Emplate roared in anger, and in that moment of anger, slapped his newest thrall so hard, she fell to the ground. She wasn‘t dead, just dazed, but part of his anger had been put at ease since Murmur was dead. He thought about what this would mean, and what would have to happen next. He then picked her up, but not before mentally telling his thralls to increase their efforts. He grabbed Paige‘s arm, and said, “Come, we will go back to the lair. No doubt, they will be there in time, either by they own means, or as meals and future thralls.” With that, he phased out of synch with reality, and moved back to the lair..
--
Clarice Ferguson had been glad the teleportation worked this time. She hadn’t known for sure after her one teleport attempt succeeded. She had thought that the thrall named Murmur had let up his guard, but she was smart enough to realize that Emplate might be unaware of that. Running in to aid Songbird and Richard had been risky, but she paid attention and realized that Paige had been the spy working for Emplate, and now the girl was a thrall. What no one realized was that she had more things at stake then the others. She did want to learn more about her powers, but she had been tasked with something else, and she was determined to live up to that task.
Unfortunately, part of that task meant teleporting with spatial shearing, and doing it with three people was more disorientating then when she did it with Yvette back at the school. At least she had been accurate enough to get them behind the rest of her friends, as well as the rest of the Thunderbolts. For a moment, no one noticed them, until Songbird said, “Good grief, that felt, for lack of a better word, odd.”
The first person to turn around was Emma Frost, and the headmistress of the school rushed over and said, “Thank goodness you’re back, and what happened to Richard?” That statement also caused Yvette to turn around, and head to the group, obviously distressed.
It was Richard who responded. “Paige had shown her true colors, and now she’s a thrall. She did that after luring me into a place that Songbird couldn’t use her power to transport us inside. Good thing you sent Clarice to follow us. Songbird learned one of Emplate’s nastier tricks, which is why we stressed not directly attacking him with powers.”
Clarice was about to respond to Richard’s statement, but it was Yvette who said what she had been about to say. “Richard, we didn’t send Clarice. She followed you two without us telling her to. In fact, I had thought Monet had told her to go. How did she manage to get all of you back here, and who is the other?”
Clarice finally spoke up, and revealed a secret she had kept for a long time. “I went because I felt I had to keep you safe, Richard. Your father helped provide my home with a place for orphaned kids, and they took care of me. I over heard the people in charge talk about your disappearance, and I started teleporting trying to find you. I never saw the spy you spoke about, since I didn’t know about them, but I was the one who relayed to your location to your father. He asked me to keep an eye on you, so he could help keep you safe.” She felt a bit worried when everyone just stared at her, and then she remembered the other part of what was said. “Wait a minute! Other?”
Emma, Songbird, Richard, Yvette and herself all turned to look at what they were referring to. To their surprise, especially Clarice’s, since she knew she had not teleported the mysterious figure. She watched as Yvette tempted fate, and checked the figure‘s hands. “No mouths, so they aren‘t a thrall, but maybe now we can get out of here, safely.”
She noticed that Yvette was looking at her when she said that. She then looked at the group, and shook her head. “No, I don‘t think I can. I‘ve never teleported such a large group, and if I lose concentration, we could all die.” It was the truth, even though if they didn‘t leave, they would all be dead.
After a moment of relative silence, it was Richard who asked an important question. “I think I might have an idea on how to do it, but we need to get me out of these restraints, and Yvette it won‘t work. Emplate made sure they would hold under our sharp skin.” She noticed that Yvette gave pause, and then returned to the others. For the first time, she noticed how bad the situation had gotten. The whole group was surrounded by thralls, and even though both her classmates and the Thunderbolts were fighting them off, the gap was slowly closing in on them.
--
Emma Frost looked at the device around her one teacher, and then back at the others. She wondered how they could best remove the device, since the sharpest claws on record since Wolverine‘s could not cut them. There had to be a way to deactivate the device, but she had no clue on what to do. Finally, a thought struck her. She turned to the one member of the Thunderbolts, and said, “Meteorite, I‘ve heard about your abilities. Is it possible for you to unlock this device on the molecular level?”
She was not stunned when the woman snapped back, “If you haven‘t noticed, I‘m busy keeping these things from moving faster than they already are. If I stop, we will end up overrun.” She would have almost snapped back in response, but she realized the woman had a valid point. The woman was the main reason that the whole group hadn‘t been overrun, since Everett and Jonothan were almost to the point of exhaustion.
Before another suggestion could cross her mind, the one known as Radioactive Man came over to her, and said, “Allow me.” She almost wanted to protest as the man held his hand over the restraints, but soon, a few, almost inaudible clicks were heard, and the device fell off Richard, who quickly stretched his arms, and then walked over to Clarice. She looked at the man, and through his outfit, she saw him smile. “I can manipulate some mechanical devices. While that one seems complex for retarding powers, the locks on it were simple.”
She wanted to ask more, but she realized now what Richard had in mind, as he was already taking on the young girl‘s powers. His skin had also turned lavender, as it had when he first demonstrated his skill with her powers. She looked at Richard and said, “Do you think the two of you can do it?” She saw him nod, and realized that while Clarice seemed to lack the confidence to do it, Richard seemed certain he could.
She turned to the others, and said, “We have a way out of this. All we need is a way to keep those things back for a few more moments. Hopefully long enough so we can group together and teleport out. Anyone have any suggestions?”
Again, she was amazed that Radioactive Man nodded and said, “Meteorite and I can keep them back. Start grouping them together, and we‘ll do the rest.” She didn‘t ask, but started calling everyone together. Sure enough, her students, as well as Yvette, grouped around Richard and Clarice. Then the Thunderbolts did the same, with Meteorite maintaining the gravitational barrier she had set up, and Radioactive Man tossing what looked like capsules into the mass. Once each one hit a group, several seemed to fall over, dead.
Once everyone was together, she turned to Richard and Clarice to tell them to do whatever they were going to do, and it happened. Everything and everyone inside the barrier shattered. She could feel her body separate into pieces, yet she felt whole. Everything around them also looked fractured, but soon it was replaced with the very airport they had arrived at. In fact, it was the very hanger the plane was at. They were far from the refuge camp, or as it now was, a nest of Emplates.
She staggered a bit when it was over, noticing a few of the students, were now on their hands and knees. Even some of the Thunderbolts looked like they were sick, and in one case, they were already losing their lunch. The only one who hadn’t notice a thing was the unconscious figure that had arrived with Clarice and the others. At least, she thought, the students were safe. After everyone seemed to recover enough, she said, “That was a disaster. The very thing we came to warn them about, got a hold of them. We will need to do something.”
Much to her chagrin, she heard the one known as Songbird say, “We need to get back there and rescue Abe. He‘s at the mercy of that thing.” Emma knew the woman was right, and she hoped the man wasn‘t enthralled, but she didn‘t think it would be right for anyone, even her students, to walk back into that lion‘s den.
After a moment of silence, she heard Yvette say, “How is Emplate holding your friend hostage? Is he trapped inside the robotic thing?” Emma didn‘t need them to nod their acknowledgement, because she had read up a little on the Thunderbolts. In hindsight, she should have informed the students about them, but there was a lot she should have told them.
She watched as Yvette paced back and forth for a few moments, watched by all. As the redhead did so, she noticed that at this very moment, there was no sense of sexuality, just purpose, and cool thinking. “So, he‘s stuck in that thing, which I‘m guessing is a suit. Emplate somehow must have gained some way of controlling it. I know that from time to time, when he used me as a source of food, he really took a lot out of me, fearing being pulled into the beyond. Maybe, instead of just having a hostage, he‘s hoping to have a replacement. Someone to go in his place, giving him an indefinite freedom.”
Emma noticed a worried look go from person to person. They were all thinking the same thing. Emplate had both thralls, and a hostage to take his place, allowing him all the time in the world. Something had to be done. She was surprised when Jonothan, in his psychic voice, hit the nail on the head. “Looks like we need to somehow rescue the bloke, and cut down on the thralls.”
She had to agree with that, especially as Blizzard got up from the ground, wiping his mouth on his costume sleeve. “So we have to make our way back into that mess, and get to his lair. Anyone else think that it‘s far too dangerous. We don‘t even know where the place is.”
Songbird, much to Emma‘s surprise, spoke up at that point. “I saw where it is, but I bet it will be guarded now. If we could sneak inside the place, then we would have a chance, but I don‘t think….”
Emma‘s heart stopped when Richard spoke up. “I can do it. I mean Yvette and I are the only ones who have been inside that place. Using Clarice’s power, I can get them inside the place.” She then heard Richard gulp, as if the next thing he would say scared him. “Besides, if he‘s using some sort of power he got from supping on someone, the only way I can think of to best him is to take on his powers.” The thought was accompanied by a full body shiver.
Emma was almost certain that anyone else could come up with a better plan, but it didn‘t happen. The silence finally broke when another voice spoke up. “He‘s right, and I wish to go as well. I could easily fly anyone out of there.” It had been Monet St. Croix, and the offer got approving nods, especially from the other students.
Finally, the woman known as Songbird nodded as well. “Fair enough. I‘ve seen you fight, Richard, and I have no doubt you could handle it. I‘m not sure about you, Monet, but I feel you mean it. A worst case scenario would be avoided if another person gifted with flight, like myself, was there. Chen, I want you with us on this. I know you didn‘t like doing what you did, but I doubt we can help those thralls.” She watched as the man in the radiation suit nodded, and then saw the four get together.
Almost as soon as they had gotten together, the space around them shattered into pieces, and the four were gone. For a brief moment, she wanted to shout for them to come back, but she knew it had to be done. She even sensed a growing panic come from Yvette, but she tentatively took the young woman‘s hand, hoping the girl didn‘t activate her powers. It had the desired effect, as it calmed Yvette down, but it was only a brief solace.
The moment of calm ended when her phone came to life. Ever since they had entered the refuge camp, her phone had gone silent, as if the whole world had been cut off. She could not be certain if it had been Emplate‘s doing or not, but the number showing up on her phone was not one she wanted to see, since it was her sister. That meant only one thing, and as she answered the phone, she felt certain that the school was lost to them.
Richard Cale focused on the destination he had in mind, not that he wanted to go there. Still, they had to rescue the one member of the Thunderbolts, who was stuck in an armored suit. As the place came into focus, he was thankful that, as was the time he stumbled upon the lair years ago, the base of the lighthouse was empty. He collapsed to his knees, saying softly, “We‘re here. If we‘re lucky, we can get all the way to the top, where Emplate has his quarters.”
He felt someone take his arm, but he shrugged it off. He slowly got up, and looked at the person who tried to help him, the woman known as Songbird. “How did you find this place before, and how do you know your way around?”
He motioned to a stairway, as well as motioned for keeping their voices low. “Years ago, Emplate had been in England. I don‘t know who he had been hunting there, but I had stumbled upon his lair. My own curiosity led me to sneak in, since it looked abandoned. I was lucky, since I hadn‘t been discovered, until I found the cell Yvette was kept in. I managed to break her out, and we escaped. I can only hope that none of the thralls are here.”
As he said that, they passed a door he knew had been Yvette‘s cell, and was startled as the door burst open. He had purposefully moved to the back of the line, trying to shed the abilities of Clarice. He was certain they were almost gone, but this attack caught him off guard. The attacker even pushed him into a railing, almost knocking him over the edge.
He realized who it was as his powers starting latching on to them. He looked into the face of the attacker, and tried to push them away, noticing that she was mad with determination. He tried to push her away, but the action allowed the thrall to connect with his hand, the mouth on their hand chomping on his, and started feasting on his own power.
He yelped in pain, but the attacker just grinned. “Yah know, Emplate will be glad to see you, but where’s the other one. That red haired bitch.” That comment just made him angry, and he kicked at Paige. The blow connected, causing her to lose her balance, but a sudden blast of energy made her spin, and start rolling down the stairs. He glanced over to see Radioactive Man holding up his hand.
He glanced back down the steps, noticing that Paige was out cold, and had a nasty burn on her face, one he felt would not be removed with using her powers. He turned back to Radioactive Man, and the man sighed. “I did not want to harm you in the process. That burn she has may never fully heal.”
He nodded, and motioned to continue upwards. “Understood. She’s already lost anyhow. She started feasting on my powers.” He then looked at Radioactive Man. “Can you use your powers to hide me from sight?” It was a long shot to suggest, but he had to ask. A simple shake of the head was all the shielded individual could give.
Richard had figured it anyhow, but he looked at the others and said. “Alright, you three keep him distracted, and I’ll sneak in, right behind Emplate. He noticed the puzzled looks on their faces, and just responded to the unasked questions. “When I was first in this place, I managed to get up to the top, where his room is. I even snuck a peek inside. I could tell it had a way to that outside balcony thing around the lighthouse.”
In that moment, Monet said to him. “Now I understand what your plan is. We are to act as distractions.” He noticed a slight frown as she looked at him. “Do you think he‘s going to let us stay alive?”
He noticed the surprised look as he nodded, and then noticed that Radioactive Man nodded in understanding. “I think I understand. He‘s betting Emplate will use the suit against us, something we will already be ready for. He‘s also betting he won‘t kill us because he will want to know how we got here. He‘ll delay in killing us, either in hopes of finding where you are, or to lure you out.” He nodded in agreement, and he saw the understanding pass all around.
Before anyone else could say another word, he quietly dashed past them, pointing at the door that was Emplate‘s room. He motioned to the others, and made his way to the balcony as the others burst in. For a moment, he heard a blast, but then Emplate spoke. “So you all came to rescue your fellow Thunderbolt, and thought my little sister would help you.”
In that moment, he heard weapons fire again, and it helped to cover his rushed foot steps. When the noise had died down, he was in the position he need to be in. He was outside, by the door to Emplate’s room. He glanced in to see that Emplate was holding back, just as Songbird shouted, “Oh, we will rescue him, and put a dent in the number of thralls you have.”
He started to creep into the room, but froze when Emplate spoke again. “Ahh, I bet you are going to try and free your friend, and then set off the things battery. That will be hard to do with me in control.” He watched as the suit raised its arms, and again opened fire on the group. Again, he saw that Songbird had put up her sonic barrier, and the attack was defected. This time, however, he noticed that it was starting to put a strain on Songbird.
In that moment, he locked eyes with Monet, and she nodded her head ever so slightly. He started to advance as Monet taunted her brother. “Marius, I’ve noticed you haven’t asked the big question. You haven’t asked how we got here.” The last part came just as his power latched on to Emplate’s. In that instant, he started to feel the hunger. He chanced a glance at the palm of his one hand, and saw the mouth starting to form. He also felt three other things.
The first was the feeling that something was trying to pull him back. It wasn’t something of this world, but something possibly ethereal. It had to be part of the reason Emplate took this man hostage.
The second was the link to every thrall out there. Some of those thralls had not yet supped, and others had. It would be possible to put them into a coma, especially if they could get the plan work.
The last thing he had noticed was the power Emplate was using to control the suit. He had gotten it from a victim, and thrall, calling themselves Overrider. The control was tenuous at best. Richard knew he could use it to, and he focused on the suit. As Emplate spoke again to Monet, he felt like he was taking control of the suit. He knew that would be a shock, especially as Emplate responded to Monet’s taunt. “I was wondering something like that. I believe your one former classmate was supping on Richard. Maybe a feeding frenzy started, since she went silent. It happens with the thralls.” That gave Richard some hope that the plan would fully take Emplate by surprised. That was only increased when he noticed that Emplate was now looking at the suit, and said, “Hmm, looks like your friend is trying to assert control again. He doesn’t want to open fire on you again. Unfortunately, it‘s not what he wants, but what I want.”
Richard chose that moment to say something, knowing it would catch Emplate off guard long enough to hopefully land a crippling blow. “Actually, your control was just overridden.” He saw Emplate start to turn, but he was already in the middle of a clumsy roundhouse kick. He was thankful that his foe was still surprised, otherwise the kick wouldn’t have had the impact it did. Emplate collapsed to the floor, unconscious.
At that moment, the suit opened up, and the man inside of it finally got out. He watched as Songbird and Radioactive Man moved forward and supported the man. Obviously, being a prisoner in that suit must have been a drain on the man, especially emotionally as the man said, “Were any of those people you were with hurt?”
He noticed that Radioactive Man shook his head, and said, “No one was hurt, thanks to those kids. They knew a good deal more about that thing than we did. In fact, one of the experts was the one who helped get you out of this situation.” He nodded and as all of them looked at him.
He was about to say something, but Monet shouted, “Richard, look out.” His instincts kicked in, and he jumped towards the group, mere moments before Emplate could grab his leg. He quickly moved to the rest of the group, hoping that Emplate’s ability would leave him before the hunger made him do something he would never forgive himself for.
He was near the suit when Emplate started to get up, saying, “Again, well played. You momentarily took control of that suit and rescues the hostage, Richard. However, it was for nothing. Right now I have all the thralls coming back here. Do you think you can fight your way through all of them?”
Richard tensed his hand, and did something he knew Emplate wouldn’t suspect. It was actually part of the plan, and it would do what was needed. He slashed at the suit, and the claws that was part of Yvette’s power, and now his own, cut through the power cell of the suit. It would not be long, but the suit would explode. “Oh, we aren’t fighting. We’re bolting. You just gave us a good way to get rid of the problem of the thralls.” He turned, and Radioactive Man blasted a hole in the wall. After that, Monet and Songbird gotten them all into the air.
As they flew away, Richard could have sworn he heard a bellow of rage come from Emplate. He looked back long enough to see various thralls trying to climb up one another, as another mass of the things tried to get in an already clogged door. As they flew farther away, he saw the explosion happen. The suit would be gone, but so was the lighthouse. At least, he hoped that place was gone, as well as Emplate. He just didn’t feel confident, since he himself didn’t see the monster die.
**************
Jonothan Starsmore watched the sky, waiting for the return of the others. He wasn’t the only one, as other members of the Thunderbolt and the school were watching the sky. There were very few notable exceptions. Yvette was pacing, constantly tensing and untensing her skin. It had the effect of leaving the occasional gouges in the ground. He noticed that the Thunderbolt known as Blizzard had another wave of nausea, most likely still from the teleportation. The only other exception was Miss Frost , who seemed to be shell shocked after a phone call she had received.
After a moment, an explosion was heard, and everyone looked in the direction it had come from. He was certain the refuge camp had been in that direction, but he was still slightly disoriented from the teleportation. He hadn’t even thought much about it, until Angelo walked up next to him, and said, “I think that was a good explosion.”
He looked at his grey skinned classmate, and said flatly, “In my experience, explosions are never a good thing.” It was the truth. When his powers manifested, the resulting explosion had injured people, as well as destroyed his chest and face.
He was stunned when Everett appeared next to him, pointing to the sky. “I think Angelo is right. The others are returning, and they have one extra person with them.” He looked up, and noticed that they were right. The rescue attempt had been a success.
When the group landed, he saw Yvette rush forward, and literally leaped onto Richard, who literally fell over with her in his arms. The Thunderbolts had went to their allies, now trying to support their friend who was now free. After a few moments, the one known as Blackheath turned to their group. “Thank you for the help in rescuing our friend.”
He noticed Yvette was helping Richard up, acting as a support, but it was Monet who answered, a little bit humbled by the whole situation. “Not a problem. I just hope that is the last we see of Emplate.” As it was said, he felt from the others that they all hoped that, but some didn’t think it was the end of that threat.
He was then stunned when Miss Frost had gotten up, and walked over to Blackheath. “The help from you has been appreciated as well. However, I must ask you all for one last favor. We may need to rest at your base of operations for a bit. I trust that will not be a problem.” He wondered why that was, but when Blackheath nodded, she motioned for everyone to get together.
He walked over, noticing that they were gathering around the still unconscious girl. Once everyone was around, he heard Yvette, who was supporting the other teacher, say, “What happened, Emma? Why are we not heading back to the school?”
He watched as Emma shook her head. “It is unwise to head back to the school. First off, Paige knows the location, and she had already show her loyalty to Emplate. No doubt, she could lead him back there.”
Jonothan was then shocked when Richard spoke up. “It’s a bit worse then that. She’s a full thrall. She bit into my hand, and started supping on my own powers.” Now, he had wished he had said something to her. She had been cute, but he felt concerned that his power would ruin a chance at getting together with another woman. Of course, that was before she had shown her true colors.
He also realized that there was something else about this change of destination. He looked over at Emma and said, “There is something else, isn’t there. We were all told about what your sisters were trying. Did they succeed?” He watched as Emma nodded, and heard the gasps come from all of them. All he could do was say, “Bloody hell.”
He looked on as Emma nodded. “Indeed. It is a blow, especially since it seems that while we lost Paige, we have this new person to watch over.” He looked down at the person they were around. The figure wore a battered pair of red sunglasses, the remnants of a yellow raincoat, and various chains. They even looked Asian, but while they looked young, they had an aura about them that they were much older.
As he looked on, he then remember what had happened, and hearing that for a time, Clarice couldn’t use her teleportation ability. He looked over at the others, and said, “I think we owe this person a good deal. Their appearance seemed to coincide with the return of be able to teleport.”
He watched as Clarice nodded. “He’s right. Just before they appeared, the block seemed to have disappeared. We need to find out what they did. Besides, I think they must have been escaping someone.” Again, they all nodded, and Jonothan now wondered what new changes awaited them, as well as who was this person who, by all appearances, inadvertently saved them.
Next Installment : Many New Things
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