The Cale Storyline Redux Story 1 Chap 11

Attention: Generation X and their villains, as well as any other mutant mentioned in this story, is property of Marvel Comics. The character Richard Cale is named after family relations. Any other reference to anything copyrighted is a chance happening.

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Changes Redux

Chapter 11: Under the Influence (Audio)(Original)

Yvette had been shocked when Richard jumped in between her and the attack that would have struck both of them. She was certain that the attack had been meant to knock both of them out. Richard had taken the brunt of the attack, and she realized as his body fell on top of her, that he had done it to prevent her from being knocked out, so she could escape.

While her fear of their pursuer would have easily made her bolt for safety, she knew Richard had done what he had done so she could escape. He had done it out of love for her, and she couldn't leave him behind. Besides, the way his body fell on her, she had been pinned under him. She wasn't sure if she would have been able to escape in time.

The truth became obvious to Yvette when, as she pushed at Richard, a voice behind her said, "Now Penance, don't try to run." She glanced in the direction of the raspy voice, and saw the face that haunted all of her nightmares. It was Emplate, and he was reaching down for her, the mouth on the palm of his hand opening wider. She was ready for the pain, but was surprised when it didn't come, at least not until he pulled. He had grabbed her hair, and was using it to pull her out from under Richard.

It was a move she would use to her advantage. She slashed one of her clawed hands at Emplate, but as it happened, she heard a metallic click. Her hand was now encased in a metallic glove. She repeated the attack with her other hand, only for the same result. Quick thinking made her lash out with her clawed feet, but those two were quickly encased in metal. What was worse, as she realized it, was she couldn't cut through them. He was effectively disarming her.

Once her hands and feet were in the metal restraints, she felt Emplate let go. The metal restraints and the sudden release only made her fall to her knees, and before she could realize she had a last weapon to use, it was taken away from her. "Now, let's cover up that hair of yours." There was another click, and she felt something metallic on her head. She was caught. The restraints would make it hard to flee, since she knew she could neither fight, nor carry Richard to safety.

Those thoughts were little comfort when she saw the muscle bound oaf bring over a metallic box. Immediately, fear got an icy grip on her. It was big enough to fit her in. She tried to get away from the oaf, but he was too quick for her. He had grabbed her, and roughly thrown her into it. As the top was closed, she noticed it was full of air holes. That actually didn't surprise her. She knew the monster didn't want her dead.

Yvette tried to shrink away from the holes when she noticed the cold eyes of Emplate looking through the holes. "Don't worry, Yvette. I won't hurt you, at least not yet. I plan to let my next thrall have the opportunity to go first." She quickly realized what that meant. Emplate was going to take advantage of Richard's powers, and turn the man she had developed feelings for into a monster. She would lose Richard, and that thought made her cry.

She was so lost in her tears, that she almost didn't notice when the box she was in had been picked up. Obviously, the big brute was carrying her someplace, most likely where Emplate was gathering all his prey. The thought was confirmed when she heard her former captor say, “Bulwark, take both Richard and Yvette to where I have my sister restrained, and make sure they are kept separate. I want to be able to exploit his powers once he sheds Yvette‘s.” For a moment, Yvette felt another wave of despair. He was aware of Richard‘s powers, and how they worked. She started to fear that there would be no escaping Emplate this time, unless someone else thought of something.

Jubilation froze the second the communications unit came to life. It had been the kids, and they relayed some very bad news. She could tell that by the look on Sean‘s face as he responded to them. “Ok, listen up you three. Stay in hiding. We‘ll be over there in a moment. I doubt Emplate can handle all of us at once.” Just from that, she figured Emplate had gotten into the Biosphere, most likely because it would be where Penance would hide, but the look on Sean‘s face told her that what he had fully heard was terrible news.

The news had caused everyone to stop, which in light of Emplate being around, was not a good thing. Someone had to break them out of this pause. “What happened, Banshee?” She hoped the use of their codenames would bring him back to the seriousness of the moment. It also seemed a more informal way, setting them all as equals at the moment.

She saw him look around, very warily, before he answered. “Everybody, things just got worse.” Deep down, she knew what the situation would be. “That was Franklin. Emplate had been waiting in the Biosphere, and got the drop on Monet. She‘s down, and Emplate had Bulwark help him capture Penance and Richard.”

Jubilation knew it was bad. Emplate‘s target had always been Penance, and he‘d use distractions to help capture her. In fact, he had done a divide and conquer the last time they tackled him. Thinking about that made her turn her attention to Everett. That time, Emplate had attempted to turn him into a full thrall. As she looked at him, she was surprised when he said, “I know, but I don‘t think he‘ll try to enthrall me again. I have a feeling he‘s going to try and limit my powers.” She didn‘t realize that he had been thinking the same thing she had been.

Before anything else could be said, there was a flash of light, apparently from a portal, and the ambush began. She almost forgot her battle skills when the mummy-like figure known as Murmur came out of it, delivering a flying kick to Everett. Unfortunately, Everett flew into her, knocking her to the ground.

She started to get up just as Sean delivered a sonic scream attack at Murmur. Unfortunately, the attacker had disappeared through another portal. She tried to move Everett as she got up, but the boy was unconscious. It was Paige who managed to get to her side and help her get up. Her friend even started giving her good commands. “Come on, Jubilee. We need to get out of here. The attacks aren‘t going to stop.” She noticed that Paige had turned her head to face Angelo as she said the next words. “Skin, get Synch.”

Jubilation realized that the situation had truly become a battle. They had all started using code names. As she got to her feet, Angelo had started to extend his skin to wrap it around Everett. While it didn‘t look like it could do that, she had known the extent of his powers meant his skin could drag things a few times his weight. This time, however, as it started, a purple mist started rising. She knew what was happening as Angelo said, “Is it just me, or is the air getting thick in here.” It was Vincentte, and he was going to knock them all out.

The only person who was not concerned about the rising mist was Jonothan. Since he didn’t have to breathe, he wouldn’t be knocked out. He was starting to take charge, since most everyone else started gasping for breath. “We better get out of here, now!” Jubilation noticed it was the only thing he had a chance to say. Just as the statement was finished, D.O.A. had come up behind him, and struck him with some sort of stun gun. It was the only thing that would knock out the psychic mutant at the moment. That meant once they all lost consciousness, all of Generation X would be captured again by Emplate. That was the last thought Jubilation had as everything went dark.

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Richard Cale awoke to a sound that gave him a bit of hope, at first. It was Yvette’s psychic voice. “Richard, please be awake!” There was a sense of urgency in her voice, and that made him worry. He also realized he still had to be in proximity with her. Had she dragged him somewhere safe?

He tried to calm his fears, and responded to her plea. “I’m awake, Yvette. Where are you, and where are we?” He hoped that his own psychic tone would calm down the girl.

Her response did not ease his worries. “Open your left eye a little, love.” While he enjoyed the thought of meaning so much to her, the request made his worry increase. He managed to open his eye just a little bit, and from his view point, he saw a silvery box, most likely six feet away from him. Covering the box were several holes, to allow air to get at what ever was in the huge box. Through one hole, he could see a pure blue eye, which had to be Yvette’s. “I hope you can figure a way out of this, and quick.”

He realized what must have happened now. Emplate had captured them. When he had jumped in front of Yvette to take the force of the blow, he must have landed on her as well. He also noticed that she was secured in the box, and from what he could glimpse from that narrowest of gaps, he was restrained to a chair. While he wouldn’t move, Yvette gave him some more information about the situation. “I saw Him strap you into that chair. Monet is in a chair off to your right. He also put some sort of collar on her. I think he has something planned for her, since I saw him put something like it on the others when he hung them in the trees.”

He wasn’t sure of Emplate’s plan, but he had been told about what happened to Everett before. He doubted that Emplate would try the same thing as before, but he wasn‘t sure. If he was sitting, however, he figured he was something special in what ever the plan was. He didn‘t want to chance speculating on that, nor did he have time to when he saw a small figure walk into view.

The figure was dressed as a chauffer, and had a hat with three disturbing letters on its card. D. O. A. Richard knew of only one phrase that used those three letter, and the fact that the little man was wearing that made him shiver. His fear increased when the little man looked at him, and somehow must have noticed that Richard’s eye was slightly open. The small figure just said, “Master, I think Mr. Cale is awake.”

Richard closed his eye, and quietly started to pray. He hoped that whomever the figure was talking to, most likely Emplate, wasn’t going to approach him. He still had Yvette’s power, but he wasn’t sure for how much longer. The prayer was cut short when he felt someone push his head back, banging it against the back of the chair he was in. While he didn’t scream in pain, someone else, obviously a girl, did scream in pain. The scream was then followed by a raspy laugh. It was enough to make him open his eyes, and his blood went cold as he saw Emplate.

As the two locked eyes, he heard the figure say, “Welcome back to reality, Richard.” Looking into those eyes, Richard could see nothing but malice, and he wanted to use some sort of false bravado to keep his captor from knowing the truth, but the scary figure just said with confidence, “Just to let you know, I see everything about you, including the feelings you have for Penance.” That fact caused Richard to pause, knowing that anything he might say would be useless.

He felt a bit of relief when the foul being walked away from him, but his own curiosity about the matter made him follow the figure with his eyes. To his shock, he saw all of the other students, and the two headmasters, restrained, hanging from the trees in the Biosphere. He also saw that each one of them wore a strange collar on their necks. He had a feeling he also wore one. The most frightening sight was that Monet was restrained to a chair, no doubt out of the range of his powers, with a similar collar around her neck. Richard could tell that the masked figure was enjoying what was happening. “I’m glad you had felt that, little sister. Each and every one of your friends wears a collar that transfers the pain they feel to you. That way, you suffer with them.”

Richard could tell that the taunt had gotten to Monet. He saw her glare at Emplate, and even her tone expressed how angry she was. “You’ve gotten worse, brother. That hunger has demented you.” He wasn’t sure if Monet was either acting with wisdom, or arrogance, but he figured that which ever case it was, it would not end well.

Almost like he expect, he saw Emplate backhand Monet, and he heard the pure venom in Emplate’s voice. “At least you can’t stop me this time. These chairs had been constructed to hold both you and Penance. When I discover the truth about Mr. Cale’s powers, I changed my plans a bit.” Richard felt the bottom drop out of him at that moment.

He then saw Emplate approach him again, and as the figure spoke, he actually heard something of desire in the foul mutant’s voice. “You know, Mr. Cale, when you passed me at the airport, I didn’t notice you. At least, not until you called out to Banshee. I couldn’t figure out how you managed to detect me, but once I saw your power work, I understood.” While he couldn’t see it, he could tell that Emplate was now smiling. “In a few moments, however, you won’t be a threat to me. I know what you fear, and I will make that fear come true.”

Richard started to shudder after hearing that. He knew what Emplate was planning to do, and his fear was activating the powers he still had from Yvette. He started to calm himself, which was difficult with the threat hanging over him. He managed to do so, and finally spoke to the monster that held him and his new friends captive. Of course, his main question wasn’t for him, but for the girl who had stolen his heart. “And what do you have in store for Yvette?”

Again, he found himself looking Emplate in the fiend’s yellowish eyes. “I want that to be a surprise, Richard.” Something about the word ‘surprise’ caused Richard to tense up again, but this time it was different. His skin wasn’t as tense as it was a few seconds before. He was losing Yvette’s ability. He knew it would not be long now before Emplate would do as he vowed.

For a brief moment, he managed to see another of the Generation X members, Jubilation Lee. Unlike the others, she was actually hanging right side up, while the others were upside down. No doubt, Emplate had a special fate in store for her as well. He tried to beg her for help, using just his eyes. Luckily, she seemed to understand, and started to taunt Emplate as well. “Hey Snuffy. What are you planning to do to me? Get pissed off again, and then bite off more than you can chew?”

He was both glad, and worried, when Emplate turned his attention to Jubilation, and address the taunt she had issued. “Oh, I do plan to take care of you, Ms. Lee. For the humiliation you put me through, I plan to sup on you until your life is almost gone.” Richard saw a slight shudder at those words, and noticed Jubilation seemed to go pale when Emplate continued. “Then, I will have Everett finish you off. Judging by the time, however, I will have some help in my plans for you.” Richard then saw Emplate start to approach him, slowly closing the gap between him and Emplate.

To his surprise, he heard Everett shout, most likely in an act of defiance, “That’s not going to happen, Emplate. I’m not hurting anyone for you, especially not Jubilee.” Those words told Richard a lot about Everett’s character, and when Emplate stopped, he knew he would have to thank Everett for that moment of bravery.

That moment of bravery was short lived, as Richard heard Emplate laugh and say to Everett, “You won’t have much choice, Everett. Those collars I placed on all of you are very special, they all contain components to hinder your powers, leaving you all little to no access to them. In your case, I’m only allowing you to use your powers on Mr. Cale. Use them to take on someone else’s ability, and you’ll receive a nasty shock.“ He saw Everett was about to say something defiant, but Emplate just continued. “Remember, they also transfer the pain that you feel to Monet. That means if you get shocked, she feels the shock as well.” When Richard saw the horror on Everett’s face, he knew that Everett wouldn’t want that at all. Everett wasn’t someone who took pleasure in hurting another person.

Richard, however, knew that the little exchange might have been a boon to him. He knew Monet might be close enough that if the chair tipped over, he could take on her power. He would have to work quick, since he knew Yvette’s power had left him. He started to rock the chair, all in the hopes of the chair tipping over, and getting him close enough to Monet. He let his fear of his oncoming fate motivate him, and in a matter of moments, he felt the chair start to tip. Unfortunately, his actions had not gone unobserved. He heard D.O.A. say, “Boss, I think Richard is trying to avoid his destiny.”

Just as the chair started to tip, it was stopped, and Richard felt pain. It was the pain he got whenever someone imposed their abilities on him. Emplate had stopped the chair, and said, “I don’t think your plan will work, Richard, but I don’t think you’ll be attempting another plan like it again.”

Richard knew how it looked to the others. He was having an epileptic fit on the outside, but inside, he was fighting for control of his mind. He was face to face with a figure that looked like Emplate, but wasn’t scarred up. It wasn’t a figure he had never seen before, but for some reason, he recalled something in the figure’s face reminding him of an old friend of his father, or his grandfather. He also started feeling the hunger, as well as having difficulty in breathing.

As he struggled for control, he wished he had help. He needed something to fight off this control. Then, as if someone heard his plea, he saw a female figure appear next to him, trying to boost his mental strength. He knew, even before she spoke, that it was Emma Frost. “Richard, let me help you.” He was thankful for the help, and for a moment, he felt like he’d have the upper hand. That ended abruptly when she disappeared, and he heard two yelps of pain. Someone had caught her, and both she and Monet were paying the price. He now paid the price as well, as he felt his mental self being locked in a cage. As it happened, he got the feeling that Emplate couldn’t fully defeat him. No doubt, his love for Yvette was keeping him from totally giving up. He just hoped now that he could regain control from Emplate’s personality, before he killed anyone.