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Well, I really dropped the ball on this one, didn't I? I dug it offa page 3! Eek! Honestly, I finished the story a couple weeks ago, then got sick, then reread it and said 'AARRRGGHHH, NOOOOOOooooooOOOOOOOooooo!' I didn't like it a bit. So, I'm rewriting. This is as far as I've gotten. The next installment will be the end.
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"Hey, Dr. Stewart, how did ya get back in here?"
The young gaurd blinked at her uncertainly and set his magazine on his desk.
"I didn't leave..."
"Damn!" In the short time she had known him, Alyza had never seen Kurt look so angry. Still wearing Steve's form, he pushed through the security gate, muttering under his breath in German.
She had to run to catch up with him as he sped down the hallway leading to the employee parking garage.
"What's going on, Kurt?"
He was shedding the rest of his biohazard suit as he ran, still muttering. Rounding the corner, he skidded to a halt, Alyza bumping him from behind.
"We weren't the only ones looking for the Legacy virus."
"Who was that person, is it another mutant?"
"Oh, I most definitely am." The feminine voice came from the shadows immediately behind Alyza. She didn't even have time to turn before an arm grasped her around the ribs and something cold and hard was shoved into her neck. "Turn around slowly, Nightcrawler, if you value your little friend here."
"Mystique." Kurt turned, raising his hands placatingly. "Let her go; she has nothing to do with you."
"No, but she has something to do with you."
Alyza shuddered as she felt a wave of energy pass through her and her attacker. She watched Kurt's eyes harden as they met the eyes of the woman behind her. She whimpered involuntarily as the muzzle of the gun dug into her. His eyes narrowed as he readied to teleport, summoning the imaginary switch in his mind.
"Ah, ah, ah... don't be a hero, Nightcrawler."
He relaxed his stance by a hair, his eyes flickering to hers. They were full of sadness. "If you need a hostage for some reason, take me."
"Oh, I think you'd be more trouble than you're worth." She laughed wickedly, not sounding wholly sane. "You are using my tricks now, how amusing. Like mother, like son."
Alyza felt her eyes widen. Son? The rage in Kurt's glowing eyes as he flipped off the image inducer told her the truth.
"No. not your tricks, Mystique. Never your tricks. Release her, this is between you and I."
"I'd rather watch you squirm."
"What are you doing here? Why did you take the Legacy virus samples?"
"You, and all your Xavierites will find out soon enough."
"Surely you realize the virus will kill you just as easily as us. Have you degenerated to suicidal genocide?"
"Hardly. It will be genocide, but not suicide," she tightened her grip on Alyza. "If I were you, I'd quit creeping over here. You're not going to catch me off guard."
Kurt froze, his fists clenching and unclenching at his sides. Alyza tried to guage exactly how this Mystique was holding her, muscles tensing minutely to try an escape.
"Stop that, girlie," Mystique gave a long suffering sigh and abruptly turned her gun.
Alyza went down without a sound as the butt of the handgrip cracked her skull at the temple.
"No!" Kurt jumped at her and nearly got his head caved in by the same handgrip. Mystique side-stepped him and turned the business end of the gun to him. Kurt recovered from his over-shot and spun in time to see the gun aimed between his eyes.
Mystique backed away from him slowly, the muzzle of the gun flashing between Kurt and Alyza's unconcious figure.
"You don't want to do this."
She had backed nearly to the corner leading back into the CDC main building.
"Oh, I don't?" An unpleasant smile spread across her dark face. "I want to give you something to remember me by."
The gun's muzzle switched abruptly from him to Alyza, white fire exploding from it. Kurt hadn't had time to teleport or to block the bullet with his own body.
"Alyza!"
Kurt franically pulled her clothes aside, looking for the source of the rapidly speading crimson puddle. The bullet had entered her low in her chest. Kurt could hear air escaping from the wound with each breath. Pressing the heel of his hand to the wound, he screamed for help, flicking the image inducer back on as a panicked afterthought.
Shortly, the young security gaurd pounded around the corner and stopped short at the sight before him.
"But I just saw her go back in the building..."
"Don't just stand there, get help!"
The gaurd stood frozen, his mind still processing the impossible information.
"Go!"
The man shook of his shock and spun, sprinting back around the corner.
"No, no, no," he repeated over and over, pushing hair back from her slack face.
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Kurt sat slouched in the comfortable chair of the hospital waiting room. Steven Woodbine had left hours ago, and had returned minutes later as Kurt Stewart, Alyza's brother. The lie earned him a seat in the private family waiting room. And wait he did.
He felt his tail twitch inside his pantleg. His leg bounced in time with his tail, the hard heel of his shoe clicking on the cold linoleum floor. A cup of untouched coffee cooled in his hand. Deep down he knew he shouldn't blame himself, but it was hard.
This is all my fault, he thought. I brought her into this. It's not her fight; why did I involve her? You're selfish, Wagner, the small voice in the back of his mind nipped at him.
After a time, exhaustion pulled him down into a doze.
He was once again in the dark air ducts, lost, alone. He couldn't remember the way out and he couldn't teleport. He was burning up, infected with a dozen diseases. He would die in those ducts. No one would look for him, no one would ever know where he was. He would die alone, and not even Charles Xavier cared.
But he wasn't alone. A shadow figure followed behind him. She trusted him, she couldn't get out without him. Her haunted eyes accused him. Blinking, those eyes filled with blood, it fell like tears. A hand reached out to him and, though he knew he shouldn't, he lacked the strength not to take it. A familiar voice chuckled in his head.
'Very good, Nightcrawler, you were afraid...and alone...and weak. And now you've killed her, Xavier out.'
"NO!" The coffee dropped to the floor, cool liquid soaking his legs as he awoke.
"Are you okay, Mr. Stewart?" An uncertian voice came from the door.
He hadn't noticed the green-clad doctor come in. Kurt shuddered, shaking off the unease as best he could and sat up straight. He ran a hand through his hair, swallowing rapidly to hold back the hot tears welling in his eyes.
"Ja, I'm fine....it was a....nightmare. How is she?" His eyes pleaded.
"She'll be fine Mr. Stewart," the doctor smiled reassuringly as Kurt slumped back into his chair, relief washing over him. "The damage wasn't serious, just messy. The police would like to ask that other doctor some questions however."
"May I see her?"
"Well, right now she's coming out of the anesthetic," he pulled a watch out of his pocket, peering at it as he strapped it to his wrist. "You should be able to see her in an hour or so."
It was much nastier and I realized my fever-induced crankiness influenced the dark turn it had taken. Once this is finished I will reedit it and repost the whole shebang. Really, you guys are reading the first draft, so I may make some major changes for the rewrite. I'm still damned determined to use this as my acid test of whether I can write long fiction or not...
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Here I am, newly returned to the boards after nursing a nasty stomach virus, and I find your wonderful writing here to greet me. Danke, Slarti, for making my day a lil' brighter! http://www.hostboard.com/ubb/smile.gif
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I am a particularly clever hyper intelligent pan-dimensional being, fear me
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Nice work Slarti. I kinda had a feeling something bad was gonna happen to Dr. Steward. http://www.hostboard.com/ubb/frown.gif Tis sad, but in a good way.
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It's all you need in souperheroes and haute cuisine:
Culinary_X
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really very nice i feel all inspired now!!!
*gush*
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dum da da dum-
~*WONDERLASS*~
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Well, I finally got some free time again so here's the end of the story. I realize I drug my ass so on this that nobody remembers the rest of it and it has lost any dramatic impact it may have ever had. Sorry.
"Who was she?"
"My mother." The words were bitter as he bit off the ends. He looked away, unable to bear the sight of her in the hospital bed.
"Your moth..."
Kurt took a shuddering breath and looked down at her. "My mother, is a terrorist named Mystique. She threw me over a waterfall when I was a baby; she abandoned me to die." He paused at Aliza's sudden gasp.
Her wide eyes bored into his. Does she see mutants as such a great example of diversity now? he thought. Will she look at me and see Magneto, or, perhaps, a slavering beast? I dread to see her eyes go cold, like so many others have.
"I'm so sorry." There was no mockery in her voice.
"It is in the past," he dismissed it with a wave of his hand, but his unease remained. "I just regret that you were dragged into it."
Their eyes remained locked for a long moment. He wished fervently that he could read her thoughts, like Jean. But, he reminded himself, my gifts are not so discreet. Aliza's eyes searched his face, his holographic face. He crossed his arms uncomfortably at the thought.
"Ohhh, I never had the chance to tell you," she smiled sadly, breaking eye contact. "There were no secret files. I checked everywhere, that's what I came in to tell you in the cooler. There is no cure at the CDC." Tears welled in her eyes, "I'm sorry..."
"Ach, no, don't be," he didn't know what else to say. All that pain, all that time and this... for nothing, he thought. I swear I will get you for this Herr Professor... "It is as I feared. She now has the virus, there was no cure and now we need to fear the future even more."
"It's not your fault," she reached out to him, offering her hand.
He stared at it for a moment before taking it. His mouth twisted as he saw the tube from her I.V. and the wads of tape holding the needle in her vein. "But look at this, I almost got you killed. That is not the act of a hero."
"Shhh... no... I meant what I said in the hotel. Never let anyone tell you you are less than a hero."
He looked at her sharply. "Hero? Bah! Nein! I was weak, I didn't want to be alone."
"No, it was my choice, and I chose to be with you. I would do it again. Not only are you a hero, Kurt, you are a remarkable man."
Kurt sighed deeply and looked away, changing the subject. "I spoke to Professor Xavier, he said he would be pleased to have a scientist of your caliber on our side. You are welcome to return to Westchester with me..." He looked into her green eyes "It is certainly the least he could do."
It was her turn to look away, her voice barely audible. "I can't go with you... I know that now."
It begins, he thought. "So, my time here was a complete loss, your sacrafice was a complete loss," he stared fixedly at the ceiling, the muscles in his jaw pulsing through his image-induced skin.
"Have you come away from this experience with nothing?" she asked. "I know I have something that I will hold very dear."
Kurt looked at her with a start, then down at her hand gripping his tightly.
"I want to see you one last time."
Wordlessly he flipped the inducer off. She smiled up into his bright yellow eyes without a trace of the fear he half expected.
"Danke," she whispered. Squeezing his hand, she sighed and ran her thumb across his knuckles. "Don't let anyone say you are less than human either."
He smiled without reservation, bright teeth glinting in his dark face. "You're welcome, leibchen, and thank you, too."
Nodding, she smiled at him sadly and released his hand. "Always, Kurt. Always." She turned her face to the window, closing her eyes.
Kurt stood alone at the window. The sun of day was going down and colors painted the sky. The red and yellow light danced with the purple and blue of dusk. Leaning forward, the glow of his eyes reflecting back at him from the glass, he looked to the northeast, to Westchester. The darkness of night had already fallen there.
Pulling the small image inducer from his belt, he stared at it contempatively for a moment. "No, you're right...not nothing..." Closing his hand around it, Kurt Wagner smiled and walked into the shadows.
>*<
That's it. Thank God, it's over. No more long fics for me for a looooong time.
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AND WHY THE HELL NOT!!! WE WANT MORE...i.
hey, that was a real tear-jerker.
but oh so good.
have you wrttten before, dif. fic?
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~*WONDERLASS*~
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Yes! More Slarti-fic! http://www.hostboard.com/ubb/biggrin.gif Coolness!
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Essence of Elf: "BAMF- Kick it up a notch!"
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Okay, I'm topping the story from hell. If you would, post criticism in the other thread and I'll try to keep this up top for a few days to give whoever wants to a chance to read through it and pick it apart.
Danke!
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~Award-winning designer of Norway's lovely crinkly edges.~
