The Cale Storyline Story 11 Chapter 3

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.

====================================================

Power of Mind, Power of Fury

Chapter 3: Fresh Attacks Start (updated)

Rich sat at the desk in his office and looked over the notes he had been sent by Hank McCoy. Sean and Emma contacted Hank to send him all the notes they had on the Age of Apocalypse. According to many rumors, it was caused by a single event that had been corrected. Something one of the many time travelling mutants had done, and another one undid. However, there were a few after effects. Hank had included those in his report. The first one Rich noticed was the mutant code named X-Man. Another was the Dark Beast. In Hank’s notes, Rich noticed that the two characters were linked. Rich yawned and looked at the scientists notes. They had indeed contacted a probablity line when this world had occured. He started to wonder about who had orchestrated the whole project. He normally got word about these projects, but this one was just brought to his attention. He pressed the intercom button and said, “Dr. Jacobs.” That was the scientist who was in charge of this project.

Soon, a voice replied, “He’s not here, sir, can I help?” Something sounded familiar about the voice, something in its tone.

Rich just said, “Who had given authorization on this project, and when?”

The voice replied, “I had received it from the man in charge while you were in England.”

Rich stopped right there. This was odd. He looked down at the notes again and saw it. He felt himself go numb. The scientist that acted as messenger, with the original idea to try and contact that world, was a Dr. E. S. Nur. Rich looked for the name in the company records, but it did not show up. He looked around his office and realized he didn’t have his sword with him. He then said, “I know you don’t work here. You didn’t think I would let this pass, did you?”

He heard the voice change slightly as it said, “No, I honestly though you would not have let this get by your eyes. I must admit that you will be a worthy foe. I might have to honestly worry about your skills. However, this is mearly observation. When the time is right, you will do as all your predessesors have done when they have faced me.”

Rich knew he wouldn’t try it now, but Rich was still scared. Rich pressed a button on the intercom and said, “Guards, get to the lab.”

Almost immediately, a guard replied, “Sir, we are in the lab. When we heard the voice, we came in to investigate. There’s a relay device here, almost like it was sending what you were saying to someplace else.” Rich was spooked now. He decided that maybe now would be a good time to get some rest. He walked over to the bed, and just collapse onto it. His own fear had drained him. In the morning, he’d look into that, and who his attackers were, as well as shred the notes he had been reading on the project.

She glanced into the room and saw that Richard Cale was asleep. She too had heard the voice, the voice of Apocalypse. He was already planning Richard’s death. She hoped that he wouldn’t be in danger. Apocalypse had killed his parents personally, but had missed Rich entirely, until he had returned in her world. She used her abilities to enter the room. She walked around the room, and over to the desk. She looked at what was on the desk. She found notes on the device that brought her here. She then saw the notes on her own world. When she saw the name on them, she spoke aloud. “No.” She then saw more. “He’s here, and there is also a good version of him here.”

She heard movement and saw Richard toss and turn. It was obvious to her that he was having a troubled sleep. As she neared him, she found another of the stories to be true. She watched as his face slowly showed the same birthmark that hers had. It was odd to look at. She was almost in awe when she heard the door open and a man say, “Mr. Cale.” She turned and he saw her. “Freeze.” She took that moment to get out of there.

She had returned to her hiding spot. She watched as more men entered the room. One was by Richard as he said, “Sir, are you alright?”

She watched as Richard slowly got up and said, “Yes, but what is going on?”

The man said, “We spotted an intruder, but she got away. I don’t know if she was going to attack you or what.” She watch as Rich said something quietly and they left. She didn’t know what he said, but maybe he sensed that she wasn’t there to harm him. She decided then that it would be best to rest.

********************************

Yvette was surprised when she felt the kiss on her lips. Her first thought was that it was in a dream, but it felt too real. As the kiss continued, she said in the mind link she had with her husband, {Dear, are you home?} There was no answer. It worried her when he didn’t answer her like that. Then she remembered that he said he would be a few days. If it wasn’t a dream, and he was still in New York, who was kissing her? She opened her eyes to see the person kissing her was the new student, Quinn. She almost screamed, but Quinn kept the kiss up. It wasn’t a romantic one that Rich would give her, but it was more like the short kisses they gave each other on the lips. That is except that it lasted too much longer. She went to kick the girl off, but she couldn’t. She went to push the girl off, but her hands were pinned down. She didn’t want to hurt the new girl, but something was really amiss now. One was how the girl got in, and the second was who was helping her. She tried to tense up, but she couldn’t. She realized that she was losing her strength. The more she tried to struggle, the more she lost her strength. Eventually, she couldn’t even keep her eyes open, and soon everything went black.

Quinn knew that Yvette was now unconscious, and would be so for a day or two. She got up and backed away from the bed. Her boss looked at her and she could see some shock in her bosses eyes. “Q.T., I was not aware of that little affect of your ability.”

Quinn knew what her boss was talking about. As she stood their, her outfit filled out, almost matching the body of Yvette. “A unique twist. Now you understand why I always wore baggy clothes. It left growing room, and she needs room where it counts. I can see why Rich married her.”

Her boss just said, “If only it was that simple, now we must move fast. We have to get out of here, and respond to the alarm Freeze Frame and Golden are going to set off. I will help Freeze Frame get Emma to the specially hidden location. Tomorrow, we take Yvette there. You are to help catch Golden. Quinn nodded and they both left the room.

On their way back, Quinn said, “Boss, what if Rich relizes what happend?”

She was surprised when she saw her boss smile and say, “I’m betting on it. This is what will lead to his downfall.” Quinn smiled at that thought. Rich was the one who had pegged her for the murders on campus at the old school, and cost her alot of power. Now she had her chance at revenge. She smiled inwardly as they ran back to the girls dorm.

Emma sat in her office. It was late, and due to all the attacks at the company, she couldn’t sleep. She wondered how Rich managed it. She wondered if Yvette had any factor in it. Her thoughts were disrupted when she heard the alarm go off, but just as quickly, it stopped. She felt fear building in her. She knew Sean would be asleep and said psyonicaly, "Sean, did you hear that?"

Soon enough, she heard Sean reply "Aye, that I did. Malfunction?" She could tell that he was puzzled by the strange action of the alarm as well.

Emma hoped it was that, but something in her knew it wasn’t Before she could get a reply out, she heard the door to her office crack open, and two men entered. She just said, "No Sean, it’s an attack. The same ones who attacked the companies. They’re here." She knew Sean would wake the kids, but she felt she could handle two. She looked at them and said, “You made a big mistake.” At least she thought she said it. The one guy shook his head and smiled. No sound. That’s how they got past the alarms. One of them stopped sound. She quickly said, "Sean, be careful, one of them can..." When she went to finish the thought, however something had changed.

Freeze Frame knew one thing about this target. The boss told them she was a telepath. He figured that she called for help, but his talent would stop her mid-thought. As he held her frozen, he turned to Golden and motioned, “You know what to do.” His fellow mutant nodded and openned the door, just in time to let the boss in. As Golden left, he turned to face his boss and said, “What should we do with her now?”

The boss looked at him and said, “Put this on her, it will kill her powers.” He looked at the collar and nodded. When it was on Emma Frost, he felt the boss pick him up, and flew them off to the location she had specified. When they landed, she said, “Now get her all taken care of. I want you to also tell her that her demise is being recorded.”

As he was getting everything up, he just said, “It seems a shame to do this to her. She got a nice body.” He felt a sharp pain as he said that. He almost doubled over as he said, “Sorry boss.”

He boss grabbed his head and said, “That’s why this is the perfect way for her to die. She flaunts her body, and now she’s gonna lose it.” He saw the look on her face as she said that. He wondered if she was jealous. When he was done, she flew off. He looked at the now cocooned Emma Frost and shook his head.

He walked over to the one wall, and watched as Emma moved. She looked around, and he could tell she was confused. He then figured she tried to use her abilities. Soon she looked at him and said, “Where am I, and what are you up to?”

He turned on a faucet over a bucket, and it started to drip. He then faced her and said, “Where you are is someplace no one is gonna find you. And what I’m up to is your demise. See that bucket. As it fills with water, the bindings around you get pulled tighter and tighter, eventually crushing you. Since my boss can’t be here to watch this, they are recording it. Hopefully, it will be a slow death.” He watched as a look of horror crossed her face. He knew that she realized she was in big trouble.

When Emma was cut off, Sean knew there was trouble. He had a special communications unit in his quarters and called to everyone. As he ran out of his quarters, he saw Darrett, Skin, Mondo, Daria, M and Quinn meeting outside his quarters. It was the new girl that said, “What’s happening?”

Sean didn’t see Penance, but she was in the same building as Emma’s office. He was fearing the worse. “It looks like someone decided to attack us, but I don’t think it was over you, lass. Mondo, Quinn, and M stay with me. Darrett, Skin, Daria, see if you can find Penance. I want to be sure she’s safe.” He watched as everone nodded and they ran off.

As he lead his group to the main entrance, he saw the others head for the back entrance. When they entered, the first thing he noticed was the lack of sound. That’s what Emma must of meant. His ability was useless. He saw Mondo merge with the floor and head off in one direction. He watched as M and Quinn headed off into two others. He then heard M say [Sir, it might help if I link all of us together to speak psyonically.]

He nodded and said in the link, [Good thinking, M. Everyone, be careful. We have two maniacs on the loose in here.] He moved slowly from room to room.

Just as he was about to enter the next room, he heard Mondo say, [Sir, I’ve found him. I’m going to knock him out.] He heard a thud come from the room he was about to enter. When he openned the door, he saw a young man on the floor. He then heard Mondo say, “I think we have one of our attackers.”

Sean nodded and then he heard M say, [Banshee, it appears that the other one must have taken Emma away. There is no sign of her or the other attacker.]

Sean shook his head and hit his communicator. “Skin, Daria, Darrett, be careful, we have one attacker still going around.” This really worried him. He wasn’t sure what they would do to Emma, but he had a feeling that time was going to be limited.

He then heard Skin say over the communicator, “Banshee, something’s not right. Grimore is outside the door waiting for us. I think something is wrong.” Sean was half afraid that the other attacker was doing something unspeakable to Yvette.

He started in a run to where the couple had placed their apartment and said, “Try and get in there. Last thing we need is for something to happen to two people here.” He turned to Mondo and said, “Mondo, get M and Quinn to help you get our guest to someplace he can’t cause a problem.” He watched as the boy nodded, and then Sean ran down to the apartment.

Daria looked at the cat. She knew something was wrong just by its stance. After Angelo had called Sean, she noticed that the cat had positioned itself near the door. The mechanical cat flap was staying open. She looked at the others and said, “I’m going in.”

She heard Darrett say, “Are you sure you can get in? We don’t even know the combination.” She didn’t want to leave it up for discussion. She used her ability to make herself able to fit through the hole.

She heard Angelo say, “Careful Daria, and try and get the door open. Last thing we need is for any of us to get ambushed.” She nodded in agreement.

When she finally got in, she heard the cat follow her in, and she watched as the small door closed. Obviously, the cat was holding the door open for her. She didn’t see anyone, but that didn’t mean that they weren’t there. She heard Grimore meow, and she entered the bedroom of the apartment. She could already tell that Yvette wasn’t alright. She hit her communicator and said, “Sean, I think Yvette’s unconscious.”

She was surprised when she heard the door open. She turned to see Sean entering the apartment with Angelo and Darrett. She could tell that he was upset. He looked over Yvette and said, “Well, I don’t know if it was our other mystrey attacker or not, but we need to get her to the med center.” She watched as Sean picked up Yvette and carried her out of the place.

As he left, Daria walked over to Darrett and Angelo and said one thing that bothered her. “Guys, I don’t know why, but I think something bad is going on. I think there is a spy here.”

Angelo looked at her and said, “How can you be sure? They broke into the school, and broke into Rich and Yvette’s place.”

Daria shook her head and said, “The door was locked, and no forced entry. Plus, Grimore wouldn’t allow anyone else in there like he did with us. I think we have a spy, and it’s someone who knows the combination to the lock.” She saw both the boys nod in agreement.

She heard Darrett say, “It must be Quinn. I don’t trust her, and something seems wrong about her.”

She would have said the same thing, but Angelo said the one important detail. “Darrett, she just got here today, and she hasn’t been down here yet.” She nodded in agreement, but it wasn’t a comforting agreement. It meant only one thing, the spy was part of Generation-X.

********************************

Richard Cale stayed in his office most of the morning. The events of the previous evening had rattled his nerves. The first had been the transmitter. To think that Apocalypse has somehow gotten into his company definately unsettled him. The second was what his one guard told him. Someone had been in his quarters, and they had been a mutant. His bodyguard had told him that a mark was disappearing from his face. Rich could only wonder what that meant about the mutant who had snuck in, but something told him that they weren’t a threat. He was sitting at his desk milling those thoughts over, when a knock came on his office door. He looked up as it openned and Detective Perkins entered. “Mr. Cale, I came by when I heard that you wanted to talk to me about the video tape.”

Rich nodded and motioned the man in. “Yes, I did. I hate to tell you this, but I think the FBI might have to take juristicion on this. I have looked at the tape and discovered something which make me think the attacks are going to escalate to a murder attempt.” That was the other thing bothering him.

The detective just looked at him, stunned and said, “How do you know this for certain?”

Rich motioned to the screen and said, “Take a look at the person’s face you are about to see.” He watched as the detective looked at the screen. Soon enough, one of the attackers faces were caught on film. “That girl is wanted in Pennsylvania. She’s a serial killer, and a mutant.”

He could tell that the guard was stunned, and then the guard said, “So she’s a big time problem, but how do you know she’s a serial killing mutant.” He wondered if the detective suspected or honestly knew, mainly because of his tone.

Rich stood up and walked over to the detective. “It’s because I’m a mutant under federal protection. My involvement in the Soundwave case a couple of years back gave me a special status. I came from a mutant friendly town, but all I wanted was a normal life.”

The detective nodded and said, “Hard to do that in this world, but something about you makes me belief your not bad. I’ve seen bad mutants, and they never acted like you. Tell me, do you think you know where they will attack next.”

Rich shook his head and said, “Not really, but I hope that they haven’t moved out of the area.” To be honest, he hoped they had, but not to where the school was, although Rich was afraid that was where it would come to a head. Rich then said, “I’ll need to make a business call. I’ll let you know what I can, officer.” He watched as the detective nodded and left. Rich then headed for the phone. He wanted to check on Yvette.

********************************

Sean sat in the med center, next to Yvette. He was in shock with all that happened. What had made Yvette go unconscious, and when would she recover. He then wondered if Rich was aware of Yvette’s condition. He somewhat doubted that Rich did know, with all that had been going on in New York. He was surprise when he heard Monet in his mind say, "Sean, Richard is on the phone."

Sean focused on Monet and said, "Patch it through down here." He watched as Rich’s image appeared on the screen. It looked like Rich had had a troubled sleep. He looked at his ‘son-in-law’ and said, “Rich, I hope ye found out something and are heading back.”

He then saw Rich’s scared look. He knew exactly what was on Rich’s mind, and he could tell the boy spoke what he meant, “Sean, what happen to Yvette?”

Sean had a feeling that Rich knew what might have happened. He just said, “The attackers that have been attacking your company paid us a visit last night. We found Yvette unconscious and Emma is missing.”

Rich then said something that surprised him, “All three were there?” Sean never knew that there were three, and if so, that left two unaccounted for.

Sean looked at Yvette and said, “You think the third might have done this?”

“Definately, but I don’t think she knows I’m married.” The word she surprised him. He wondered if the new girl was somehow involved, and recalled things from the previous day. Rich had gone to the same school as new student. He then heard Rich say, “Sean, I’ll leave the office now. I have a picture of the third attacker.” He almost got to ask the question when Rich shut off the phone.

Sean sat there for a moment and thought about it. Three attackers, but two went after Emma. What happened to the third? Was it the new girl, Quinn? Only one thing bothered him, Quinn didn’t know that Rich and Yvette were in the underground apartment. He just stood and said, “I don’t think it’s her, but maybe I should just be sure.” With that, he left for Quinn’s room.

********************************

She watched from her hiding spot and watch as Richard Cale hung up his phone. She had recognized the man he was talking to. He was an X-Man, like herself, but he was different here. She then heard Richard say, “Make sure my car is ready. I must head back.” He was going to leave here. She needed to follow. It was the only way she felt she could fulfill her task.

She used her power and soon she was in the garage. She stayed in the shadows and watched as Richard appeared from an elevator and headed for a red car. As he got in, she quietly said, “I’ll help you and your wife, sir.” As the car started, she used her ability again, but this time she was in the confines of the trunk of his car. For a brief instant, she almost paniced, remembering her time in the pens, and even worse, the Sugar Man. She didn’t know where he came from, but he terrified her and haunted her dreams. Soon enough, she felt the car move, and hoped that Rich wouldn’t stop to check the trunk. It took her some time, but she managed to be able to raise the seat so she could keep an eye on him. She also could tell by his speed and such, he wanted to get back to his wife in a hurry.

********************************