The Cale Storyline Story 13 Chapter 7

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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Win Some, Lose Some

Chapter 7: Assault On Claudette (updated)

Emplate heard the chirp of the communicator that he had given to Britney. He had known of her contempt for the mutant girl, and knew she would be the easiest to manipulate. He walked over to the communicator and said, “Speak.”

Soon, he heard a voice say, “Listen, I know you wanted to be notified if an opportunity arose, so there is one coming up. Someone captured the girl they call Yvette, and Rich is going to rescue her.”

Emplate felt a little irritated when he heard that news, but it did give him the opportunity to capture the girls, the one contracting him included. He just said, “Do you know how many will be there?”

He listened as the girl hesitated. She was nervous, and to him, that was a good thing. She then said, “5 of them. Apparently the person who kidnapped Yvette is tough.” If he was sure of anything, it was that Claudette would not be an easy foe to beat.

He inwardly smiled and said, “I will be there in two hours. Do not get caught before I get there.” He ended the communication and left the room. It was time. The proverbial eleventh hour, and he was almost ready. As he continued down to halls, he just said, “Hellions, get ready to go.”

He watched as Elane came out of her room. He had to admire how she kept going. Given her current state, he didn’t expect her to be as active as she was. He heard Elane say, “I take it that it is now time.”

He nodded and said, “Yes, and Claudette has arranged a nice little distraction for us. She has managed to capture Yvette, leading Richard and most of Gen X away from the school. The leads to a prime chance to capture the girls. It is a pity that we can’t leave Britney behind.”

Elane just said, “What about Rich and Yvette? I would love to see the look on their faces to see me now.”

Emplate shook his head. “No doubt that Claudette realizes that Rich will rescue Yvette. The only thing she hasn’t realized is how much he will win that battle. If fact, I’m sure that she notified me for a reason, and didn’t know of our plan. But if my father is there, then she’s after to give me something better than the Paladin and his wife.”

He saw the stunned look on Elane’s face and said, “What could be better than that?” He held up his hand to stop her from talking.

He then said, “My father was there, and he’ll go with Rich. I think Claudette is planning to shorten his life drastically, for when he dies, I get his power.” He heard her laugh in delight at that. At that point, they entered the room where all his Hellions were gathered. He just smiled and said, “My troops, today we capture the four girls we have been tracking for a while. Let us be off and capture our newest meals and members.” This could be the beginning of a very long set of good luck for him.

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Claudette stood over Yvette as she finished tying the girl up. This would be a regular nightmare for Yvette. She knew that Yvette would try to trigger her powers to break her bonds, but with the collar on her, it would be impossible. It would be more interesting to find out what transpires when Golden took the watch. She then set the bound form of Yvette Cale up and raised her hand. In one fluid motion, she slapped Yvette and said, “Rise and shine, Penance. You don’t want to miss the big show.”

She watched as Yvette screamed and collapsed to the floor. She knew Yvette had recovered from the blow when she said, “What are you up to Claudette? Are you helping Emplate capture the girls, or just helping him capture Rich and I.”

Claudette was amazed that Marius had a new target. There had to be some special reason that Marius had changed his target. She just smiled and said, “You might not believe me Penance, but I had no idea of what Marius is up to. I did noticed your were surprised that Black Tom was alive.”

She watched as a confused look crossed Yvette’s face as she said, “How can he be alive? I saw Rich kill him.”

She smiled and said, “The same way I’m going to be rid of my sister. Clones. Just like the one that’s always been at the school. The only difference was, that one went soft. He had the original here the whole time. As for abducting you, Black Tom wants to get Skitz back, like myself, but I found out my father is there.” She saw a look of fright go through Yvette’s eyes. “That’s right, Penance. I know he’ll come here, and I know he’ll try and help Monet. When he gets here, I’m going ot kill him, and Marius will get all the powers my father has.”

Right away, she heard Yvette say, “Claudette, you are demented. There is no way...” That was the moment Claudette waited for as she shoved the ball-gag into Yvette’s mouth.

As she tightend the strap and the girl yelled into the gag, she said, “Now, stay quiet. we don’t want you talking until the right time. Now I’ll make sure someone is guarding you this time, unlike last time when you saved that stuck-up Emma.” She headed for the door and looked back. The look Yvette had was just right, with one difference, but if things went well, she could have a good hold on Golden’s loyalty. As she left the cell, she saw Golden coming and psyoniccally said, "Golden, I want you to keep an eye on Yvette. Make sure she can’t escape." She watched as the boy nodded and entered the room. She then headed for his quarters. She knew if things went right, he would head back there, and soon.

Golden was a bit bewildered at Claudette’s request, but it was not as odd as anything else he had seen. When they had returned from capturing Yvette, he discovered the tape he had been watching had been switched. He did like the new tape, but he like any tape like that. Not being able to hear or have learned to talk was a problem. Now he saw an image on the tape almost in real life. Someone had tied up Yvette Cale, the girl know to Generation X as Penance, in the same fashion as the image on the tape. As he looked on, he heard part of his mind say, "Just like you always dreamed of."

He quickly shook his head. He had a job to do and could not give in to any temptation. He mentally said to himself, "Claudette would not want anything to happen to her. Don’t give in to your dark side." Golden knew one thing about himself. Even though he couldn’t speak, his inner desires led him on dark paths. He glanced back at Yvette again.

Again, he heard his darker half say, "Why do you resist?"

He shook his head again to clear it and mentally said, "It’s not right."

Again, his darker half spoke and said "What have you done lately that is right? You took part in murder, kidnapping. Do you draw a line here, or are you afraid that you might enjoy it?"

He couldn’t answer his dark half, because he knew it hit the nail on the head. He didn’t enjoy the murder, or the kidnapping, or anything else he had done with Claudette. It was a job, and one didn’t have to enjoy a job, but this was different. He barged out the door and saw Quinn walking toward the cell. He motioned to her to guard it, and then ran off in the direction of his room. When he reached his room, he closed the door and sighed with relief. He was started when he heard a psionic voice say, "I had a feeling you’d come here." He turned and face Claudette. She had been waiting for him. She just said, "You have good control. I have had my eye on you for a while." When she got close to him, she continued, "When the time is right, I can give you something better for your obedience." He was surprised when she kissed him. She then said, "Think about your reward, and what it will be later." As she walked out, he smiled. He would never have pegged that happening.

Tom watched the monitors to his hideout. It was now just a waiting game. He was about to get his chance at vengence. Tom knew this might be his only chance to try and get the boy back. He also knew the boy wouldn’t come alone. In fact, he was expecting Richard Cale to bring re-enforcements. The boy wasn’t apparently stupid. He then saw a vehicle pull up. He watched as the doors of the vehicle opened and all the Generation X-er’s got out. He didn’t recognize some of them, but he wasn’t going to take long to speculate on it either. He left the room and headed for where Yvette was imprisoned. As he made his way to the room, he hit the button that signaled for everyone to get ready. As he moved through the halls, he shouted, “All right, everyone get ready. Our guests are about to arrive.”

He wondered if Claudette could hear him. He knew she was going to be with Golden for a bit. He was almost startled when he heard her behind him say, “I’m aware. I’ve already informed Golden. I hope you set up the room where they will be entering.”

He nodded and said, “Indeed, they will have to split up, and it’s set up that all the halls will have a fake end, which I can remove if I choose.”

He watched as she smiled and said, “And the hidden passages will help as well. We’ll all get ready. You get Juggernaut to help you. I know things will go as planned.” With that he watched as the girl ran off. He wondered if she had an alterior motive.

When he reached the cell, he opened the door and said, “Well, lass, it appears yur husband is here to rescue ye. But, he’s going to have to get past me and Juggernaut. However, I think ye should see him fail.” He could hear her try and yell at him, but the gag in her mouth prevented that. He then picked her up in a fireman’s carry and headed to the chamber when he would wait for Richard Cale.

Everett stayed next to Jubilee as they entered what appeared to be Claudette’s hideout. He didn’t want her to get hurt by any of Claudette’s goons. When they entered, he could tell this might not be easy. The room they entered had four corridors. He just looked over the situation and said, “Looks like we’ll have to split up.”

He watched as Rich looked over the situation and said, “She’s trying to split us up. I would be surprised if she has an ambush waiting in each of the paths. The only benefit is that one path might not be guarded.”

He heard Emma say, “How can you be sure, Skitz? You can’t make that assumption based on the fact there are four paths.”

He watched as Rich continued looking over the choices and then realized what he was hinting at. “Last time you had to deal with Claudette and her troop, the one didn’t work alone. You had mentioned about Freeze Frame and Golden. They are probably teamed together.” He watched as Emma thought about it for a moment, and finally nodded.

He then heard Jubilee say, “Ok, so we know have four people to deal with, most likely one per path. What’s the game plan?”

Soon, he heard Daria say, “Maybe we should each take a path, and if something happens, double back to this place.” He watched as Rich nodded in agreement.

He then watched as Rich pulled out his sword and said, “Ok, we split up into four teams. Daria, you and Chamber take the far right path. Synch and Jubilee, take the far left. Emma and Cartier, center left, and Blink and I will take the center right. Stay quiet and listen for sound. If it too quiet, it’s probably Golden.”

As they broke off into groups and headed down their assigned paths, Jubilee stayed close to him and said, “Do you think we’ll run into Golden or Freeze Frame?” He wondered why she left out both Claudette and Q.T.

He kept moving forward and said, “I guess you think we’d fare better against one of them. I hope so. To be honest, I don’t know what we would do if we were up against Claudette or Q.T.”

He kept moving forward as Jubilee said, “Afraid I’ll get hurt?” He knew she could defend herself. He had seen her do it a few times. But he was afraid she would get hurt.

He synched up with her ability as he said, “Yes I am. I always worry about you, Jubilee.” He waited for a moment to hear her response, but then noticed something was wrong. She wasn’t responding. However, he heard a faint explosion. He turned to see Jubilee struggling while Q.T. had her lip locked. He decided to try and synch up with Q. T.’s power as well. He was surprised and how quietly Q.T. had ambushed Jubilee. When she finally let Jubilee go, he just said, “That was a big mistake.”

He watched as Q.T. eyed him and smiled evilly. “I agree. She didn’t have much a figure to work with, at least not compared to Yvette.” He heard the girl’s wicked laugh and he lunged at her with his fist. She ducked out of the way and said, “May you should join her, two unconscious prisoners will make Claudette happy.”

He had to think quick, and quickly through a spark behind him, right into her face. He heard her scream, and he quickly ran to Jubilee. He reached down and picked her up. “Not today, Q. T.” Before he could run back down the hall. He was surprised to see Q.T. in front of him.

He could see her face was a bit burned, nothing major, but it would leave a mark. He felt her grab him as she said, “Pucker up, loser.” Then she kissed him. He hoped that by synching up with her, he’d protect himself from her kiss. He kept his eyes opened, hoping he wouldn’t close them. Soon he saw Quinn’s eyes open in shock. She had realized he was still conscious. She let go of him and ran off. “Damn you. You’re just like Richard. I’ll get you for that one.”

When she was out of sight, Everett just held Jubilee and said, “I’ll get you back safe, Lee.” With that, he headed back to the place where they had started. The whole team was down by one, and he wasn’t going to leave Jubilee now. Now he had to keep her safe. He now had a better understanding of Rich’s state of mind.

Jono continued cautiously down the hall. He and Daria were not standing next to each other, but they didn’t want any surprises to blind side them. As they moved down the hall, he said "Daria, do you have anything like radar in you, being you are part Sentinel?" It was a shocking truth they had all learned long ago. One that Daria had to cope most with, since she was half mutant and half anti-mutant machine. However, if you would have asked him, it was obvious that the machine didn’t exist.

He watched as she shook her head and said, “Not that I’m aware. I think we have to use a gut instinct.” He watched as she stopped and then he looked down the hall. A figure was slowing approaching them. He then saw a surprised look on Daria’s face as she said, “Mondo, what are you doing here. Did you come as back up?”

He started to wonder about it as well, and then he had a bad feeling. Something was not right. It started to piece together when the figure just said, “Do I know you?” There was a mixed tone in it. He was both puzzled, and annoied.

He could see the shock on Daria’s face when she said “What do you mean by that?”

Now Jono was sure of it. He quickly shouted, "Daria, he’s not the real Mondo. Get away from him." He was not surprised when he saw Mondo morph into the wall and send Daria flying.

As Jono got between the two, he heard Mondo say “Starnge, I feel very real. It’s true there were two clones of me, but it is the goal that is important.”

That was when Jono realize what the blighter was saying. "You bastard. You planted a clone to defeat, under Black Tom’s orders, and now you want revenge." With that, he let lose a bio-blast, but Mondo melted into the floor.

As the figure melted away, he just said, “What makes you think it’s my idea for revenge?” Now Jono was spooked. If that meant what he thought it meant, then Mondo wasn’t the only clone.

He went to Daria and picked her up. He could tell she was still shook up from what had happened. He just said, "Daria, that wasn’t the Mondo you fell in love with. That one is evil. The one you love, and the one who loves you is back at the school." The girl was still shaking, but she was starting to understand what he said. He then said, "Good, we’ll get back to the center and see what we can do."

When they arrived at the place where they had all stated, he noticed that Everett was there with Jubilee, and Jubilee was unconscious. He watched as Everett looked at him and Daria and said, “Chamber, Daria, what happened?”

He just said, "Apparently, our Mondo is a clone. We just ran into the real one, and I have a bad feeling that someone else is around we didn’t think was. What happened to Jubilee, Synch?"

He watched as his friend said, “We ran into Q.T., and Jubilee ended up with her lips locked with Q.T.” Jono understood completely then.

Jono just sighed, as best he could, and said, "All right, I’m going to try and contact Emma. I think she should know that we might have one extra problem on our hands here." Soon, he was focusing on trying to contact Emma.

Emma continued down the hall with Cartier. As she watched and scanned mentally, she heard Cartier say, “I’m hoping we do encounter Claudette. If you can stun her for long enough, I can make sure she doesn’t gain control of Monet’s body ever again.”

She turned to face him and said, “What do you mean by that, Cartier?” She did hope that he didn’t plan on killing Claudette. She didn’t know if that would hurt Monet or not.

She watched as Cartier just said, “Magic, Miss Frost. It has been what my family has been good at for countless generations. The spell I would use would...” Emma could see that Cartier was talking, but the sound was gone.

She just mentally said, "Golden is nearby. Be on your guard because Freeze Frame may be here." She slowly turned around to see Golden standing at the end of the hall. She saw Cartier face the same direction, and she said, "I’m going to try and stop him. Be ready to run if need be." She started to advance on Golden, but he didn’t falter. She wonder what was up. Was Golden suppose to ambush them. She projected her voice into Golden’s head and said, "You and Freeze Frame won’t stop us." With that, she let loose with a powerful psi-blast. The blast knocked the boy back, but it didn’t knock him out. She was surprised by that as she said, "How did he manage to stay standing?"

Soon enough, she got a reply, but she wished that she didn’t get the reply she got. She heard Claudette say psionically, "He’s got my support, you brain dead bimbo." She spun around to see Claudette behind Cartier. The girl had used the silence to get behind her father, and Emma could see the knife. Before she could warn Cartier, she saw Claudette thrust the knife in, and saw Cartier’s face contort with pain. She ran over to Cartier just as Claudette said, "Time to go. It won’t be long until Marius has what he always wanted." She watched as Claudette ran off. Before she left, she said, "And Emma, give Tom my fondest regards."

This worried her, and soon, sound returned to the room. She heard Cartier gasping for his breath. She then noticed that the knife was in a bad spot. She just said, “Cartier, how long can you hold on?”

She watched as he shook his head and said, “She hit me in a very bad spot. I know I won’t last the night, not unless I get medical help soon, and we can’t leave without Rich and Yvette.”

She had to admire the sacrifice he was making, but they needed him alive, and if what Claudette said had a ring of truth in it. It would be better if Cartier stayed alive. She did feel some comfort when she heard Jono say, "Emma, we need you at the center. We have a situation."

She quickly responded. "I have a situation here as well. Claudette has stabbed Cartier, and he might not have long to live."

If Jono was worried, he didn’t show it in his speech. "Well, Jubilee is unconscious, and Daria is all shook up. Apparently, we have another situation of multiple Mondo’s. I have a very bad feeling about it. I know of only one person who pulled it off, but I’m hoping he’s still dead."

Emma knew who Jono was talking about, and Claudette’s words hit him. "Chamber, get someone up here. Once we have Cartier with the rest, some of us must go help Rich. He’s in more danger than he realizes." She then looked at Cartier and said, “Hang in there, Cartier. We’ll try to get you someplace to keep you alive.” At least, she hoped they would.

Clarice stayed right by Rich as they headed down the hall. She knew the reason she was put in this world was to protect Richard and Yvette. She had known the Cale’s in her timeline. She also knew of what happened to them. She glanced over at Rich and saw that he was tense. He was ready for any trouble that might arise. She then said, “Are you worried about Penance?” She watched as he nodded. He didn’t want to speak right now, and she realized it might prompt an ambush now.

He held his hand up, and she stopped. He pointed straight ahead and said, “L-l-look.” She glanced in the same direction and saw the large open room up ahead. It was their goal. She could even see Penance in the room.

She noticed he was about to step forward when his sword flamed up. When he glanced at it, she just said, “Not a good sign.” Soon, there was a large figure coming from the door way. She got in front of Rich and just said, “Who are you?”

The figure was armored, and that told her this might not be a fight she could win by strength. The figure had a grin across part of it’s face, at least the part she could see. It then just said, “I’m the Juggernaut, and you can’t stop me.”

She edged close to a wall and quietly said, “I have a plan Skitz. You run through the shadows. I’ll take care of big and ugly.” She noticed he nodded and tensed up to become a living shadow. She quickly moved away from the wall and looked at the giant in front of her. “You want to stop me, you have to catch me.”

She watched as the figure just said, “You’re gonna regret saying that. I’ll flatten you, then the Cale boy.” Soon the figure started to charge at her. She had to time this right. If anything was timed wrong, she could get hurt, or worse.

When he was almost upon her, she jumped up and said, “Enjoy your trip.” With that, she through one of her bolts at Juggernaut. When it hit him, he blinked out of sight, where to she didn’t know. She was sure that it was still the same planet. When she landed back on the ground, she looked at the door to see Rich was at Yvette. She started running towards the door when she noticed Yvette said something to Rich. Just at that time, the door to the room slammed shut. She realized it then that it was a trap, and Rich had literally walked into it.

Rich entered the room still as tense as ever. He wasn’t sure if it was safe, but he had to get to Yvette. He slowly untensed as he got closer to her. He could tell by the look on her face that she was happy to see him, but worried. He couldn’t hear her mind link, and then noticed the collar. It must have been hindering her powers. He could only think how sick Claudette was. First kidnapping Yvette, and then hiring Juggernaut. It was unnerving. What made it worse was that she was tied up. Rich walked over to her and said, “Don’t worry love, I’ll have you untied in a moment.” He heard her try and say something through her gag, and that made him worry more.

He quickly got the gag undone, and she said, “Skitz, it’s a trap.” Just then he heard the door slam shut. He spun around and in the shadows he saw a figure near the door.

He stood in a protective and defensive stance. He was ready to protect Yvette, especially from Claudette. He faced the figure and said, “I’m on to you, Claudette. I’m not letting you win.”

He watched as the figure was holding something. He thought it was staff, until the figure pointed it at him. He watched as what appeared to be an energy attack shot at him and sent him flying. When he landed, he heard a familiar voice say, “Not Claudette, lad, but ye might wish it was.”

Rich was almost in shock, but saw the second blast coming and rolled out of the way. He couldn’t believe what he just heard, but what he was seeing made him believe it. The figure wasn’t holding a staff, but a sheleighle. He just said, “I don’t believe it.”

The figure stepped into a small patch of light, and Rich now knew it was no joke. “Aye lad, believe it, because it’s payback from yur old pal, Black Tom.” Rich was very worried now. He was also relieved that Black Tom was still alive, but scared because Black Tom was still alive.

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