psinex@yahoo.com Blood and Iron Chapter 8 by Phil Hartman DISCLAIMER: Everyone here is Marvel's, except Steve, who's mine, and Buffy and Co., who're 20th Century Fox's. Please don't sue. WARNING: Graphic imagery, language and violence ... -------------------------------------------------------- Mass. Acad.: 9/12/2003: 01:00 hrs: Boys' Dorm: -------------------------------------------------------- He slept. And dreamed. Blood; organs; perversion. Surgery. Pain. And black fire, consuming all - - "AAAH !" Steve sat bolt upright, cold sweat running down his body, and shuddered at the pain in his head. #What now ... ?# he thought, moaning wordlessly aloud. "Steve ... ?" Nate muttered. His eye lit up, illuminating the room and allowing Steve to see himself in the mirror. Both boys yelled to see blood streaming from Steve's nose. "SHIT !" Nate yelled, helping Steve out of bed. "Come on - we've gotta get you to the medlab !" He teked the window open and levitated them both down to the medlab, pshouting, ~YO, DOC !~ "Nathan, d'ye - oh Lord," Moira breathed, helping Steve to an exam table. "It h-hurts, Aunt Moira," Steve whispered, beginning to spasm. Moira ran a bioscan and cursed horribly, then punched the intercom. "SEAN ! EMMA ! Get Hank an' Cecilia on th' phone - Steve's implant's breakin' down an' takin' the boy with it !" she cried. "Taking - no, damnit !" Nate yelled. "He CAN'T !" "T'isnae our choice, Nate," Moira said, sedating Steve after double-checking the bioscan. "Th' blasted thing's leakin' toxic material int' his brain, an' his neural pathways're startin' t'collapse. I may hae t'operate anyhow." "There may be another way," Leong called, entering with a nervous Nga. "We ... examined Steve's medical files, and with your help - " "Ye WHAT !?" Moira yelled. She looked at Steve and sighed, then turned back to the Mahn twins and sighed, "All right, I'll scream at ye later. How in heaven's name d'ye think th' twain o'ye c'n help Steve ?" "Their flesh-bending power," Nate said hopefully. "If they had a real doctor to guide them, maybe they could get the implant out ..." "Exactly," Nga nodded. "But we'd need a telepath o' great skill t' - Emma," Moira slowly smiled. Emma and Sean burst in, giving Steve a horrified gaze, and listened to Moira's explanation. Finally, Emma looked at the Mahns and said, "You two are going to have to to implicitly trust me to do this." "I understand, ma'am," Leong nodded. "As do I, mam'selle," Nga agreed. "Moira - ?" Emma asked. "If'n they're up f'r it, I say we do it. We cannae wait, an' Scott an' Jean signed off on life-savin' procedures when they enrolled Steven," Moira nodded. Emma closed her eyes, and psi-linked the twins and Moira. Sean answered the phone and saw Hank, Cecilia and the Summers standing at the other end. "Moira an' Emma're goin' t'walk th' Mahn twins through removin' the implant," Sean said. "Jean, Scott - ?" "Do it," Jean said after she and Scott traded a fearful look. "We trust them and you, Sean," Scott nodded. #Thank you, M'sieu Summers," Leong thought. He slipped his hand into Nga's, and they felt Moira's presence enter their minds as they touched the side of Steve's head. Nate dared not even breathe as a white light surrounded the interface jack. He watched, silently stunned, as the implant slowly worked its' way out of his brother's head and into a specimen pan Sean held at the side of the table. Finally, the incision closed, leaving no sign there had ever been an implant. Instantly, the Mahns collapsed into Sean's arms. Emma caught herself on the edge of the exam table with a cry. "Good - LORD !" she breathed, thanking Sean as he helped her to a chair. "That was ... Moira, is he - ?" "My God, he's all right," Moira whispered, grinning at the response from the bioscanners. "T'is as if th' bluidy implant was never in him. His psychological health t'is what I'm concerned about now. Th' twins - ?" "I've set them on th' couch in th' office," Sean said. Nate pulled up a chair beside Steve and wiped his eyes, smiling gently. ~Come on, bro - it's gone, you can wake up now,~ Nate sent gently. Moira squeezed his bare shoulder and said, "Ye'd best let him sleep, laddie. Emma's psionic sedation'll let him get th' rest he needs after such a trauma." "I suppose," Nate sighed. "But what about that implant ?" Emma picked up the specimen tray and dropped the implant on the floor. She slammed one high-heel-clad foot down upon it, grinning viciously as the device shattered to scrap. "And may Sinister rot in hell," she chuckled. -------------------------------------------------------- Somewhere overhead, similar sentiments passed through the mind of Apocalypse. #How foolish of them to isolate their next generation in the wilderness,# En Sabah Nur thought, examining the remote sensor sweeps of the Academy from the bridge of his Ship. #The children will not be easily taken, but they will be bowed or slain.# "IN EITHER CASE," he rumbled to himself, "LET THE STRONG SURVIVE AND THE WEAK PERISH." -------------------------------------------------------- "Nate - ?" Nate smiled weakly as he reentered the boys' dorm with an exhausted Leong at his side. "Hey, 'Rik - Leong and Nga got the implant outta Steve's head," he smiled to a yawning Erik on the stairs. "Damn ! That's great !" Erik grinned. "Is he - ?" "We won't know until morning," Leong mumbled. "Got to ... sleep ..." Nate helped him into his room, trying not to disturb Lewis, and crashed on the spare bed in Erik's room. "You wanna sleep in here - ?" Erik asked. "Nah ... I really gotta learn to sleep alone," Nate smirked. "You're a softy, runt," Erik teased. "For all that macho, you really care about other people." "You're my family," Nate said, rising and high-fiving Erik. "And the other Muties're -" His eye flashed, and he looked up at the sky with a nervous expression. "Did you hear something ?" he asked his foster brother. Erik opened the window and looked upwards, then narrowed his gaze. "Something's - THE STARS ARE MISSING," he growled. A huge shape cleft the usually unbroken night sky, and Nate frowned. "Giant shapes in the sky at night. Great. Either we've got alien abductions going on, or some nutcase is out to get us," the boy muttered. "GET THE TEACHERS !" Frank yelled, bolting into Erik's room. The others looked at him as he gasped, "Precog flash - ship's - carrying - " "Giant ship - APOCALYPSE !?" Erik yelled. "YES !" Frank yelled, catching his breath. ~Oh GUYYYYYYSSS ...~ Nate sent, donning his training uniform. -------------------------------------------------------- ~Nate - ?~ Ray sat bolt upright as the air in her and Buffy's room began to part. Something humanoid, green and armored began to approach the girls - - but screamed when a stake pierced its' chest. "Time to kill," Buffy hissed, leaving the closet fully dressed. More armored figures appeared from midair, but screamed as a fireball leapt from Ray into the transportal. The portal slammed shut, and Ray donned her uniform quickly. "Good thing you were up, 'Slayer,'" Ray grinned to her sister. "Let's just get moving," Buffy said with a wink. The hallway had filled with the other girls, and all of them were clad in their training uniforms. "If it's him, we're NOT ready," Sarah warned. "You said that in Antarctica, but I think we can take them," Alexa reassured her. "Let's get out of here and outside," Buffy advised. They vanished in a PAMPH, and reappeared on the quad. The air was rent by the sound of teleportational rifts, and the occasional energy blast. The girls' eyes narrowed as dozens of green-armored figures approached from above and on the ground. "Dad told me they're clones," Sarah said, assuming a defensive posture. "Which means we can get messy ?" Ray grinned evilly. "Let's show these clowns Xavier's doesn't take any crap," Buffy nodded. "YELLOW AND BLACK ATTACK !!" -------------------------------------------------------- "And are we gonna let the ladies have all the fun ?" Erik grinned to the other boys. "You guys go ahead - I'm gonna go get Steve," Nate said, heading to the medlab. He nodded gratefully as Erik laid down cover fire, magnetically battering attackers left and right. "DAHEEEEEEE!" Lew shouted, sound pummeling the attacking forces. The Shade twins slammed into platoons of the green-garbed figures, heat vision striking down those who were out of hammering range. The boys smiled as a low hum and repeated punches announced Luna's own brand of attack. Lightning struck down more of the attackers, followed by Naomi's winds. An entire flank of the invaders - vanished - under a wall of psi-fire, and Frank shivered at his handiwork. He narrowly ducked an energy blast, but smiled as Ray deflected it and levitated him to safety. Several of the attackers were teleported atop each other by Alexa, while Sarah got in close and jammed bone-daggers where they did the most damage. Those invaders who displayed mutant powers were shocked when Leech got in close - and broken by magnetic force bursts from Erik. "Anyone seen the teachers !?" Erik yelled over the firefight. He saw a lithe figure slam an attacker into the dirt and nodded as Gwen landed beside him, shaking her head. "No idea ... ooh ..." she moaned. Erik caught her and looked at her with wide eyes, asking, "Were you hit ?" "No ... BLEAGH -" Erik winced as Gwen vomited, and wiped her mouth on her sleeve. "DAMNIT ! Not now," she growled. "Erik, listen - I really shouldn't be here - I've got someone else to think of -" Erik's eyes widened, and he whispered, "I picked up two biomagnetic signatures when I scanned you ... but - " "It's a long story," Gwen pleaded. "Later," Erik agreed. "Stick by me." He wrapped them both in a magnetic force field, and said, "The ship's the real problem. And its' owner ..." -------------------------------------------------------- #Excellent,# Apocalypse thought, teleporting to the medlab. He opened the door - - and frowned as a sonic barrage slammed into him. "GET OUT," Sean snarled. Moira, Emma and Giles stood on either side of him, wielding massive energy rifles, while Nate stood before Steve's bed with a visible telekinetic field shielding them both. "FOOLS," Apocalypse sneered. "I WILL SAVOR BREAKING YOU. AS FOR YOUR STUDENTS, THEY WILL KNEEL OR -" "DIE." Apocalypse ... screamed. The teachers looked behind them as a raw psionic force beam lanced from Nate into the External. The boy's face was twisted in rage, and he flew at Nur like a bullet. The impact sent Apocalypse flying onto the quad, bleeding. "COME ON, MR. 'SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST' !" Nate snarled. "I'M NOT AFRAID OF YOU ! YOU WANT TO PICK ON WEAK, HELPLESS KIDS !? SCREW OFF !" The Mutants, and Apocalypse's forces, froze as Nur picked himself up off the ground and slowly grinned. "THEN LET US DANCE, DAYSPRING," he chuckled. Nate just smirked and said, "Salsa or merengue ?" -------------------------------------------------------- NEXT: No T-O virus. No psimitar. NO RULES. Can an 11-year-old psionic powerhouse take the Son of the Morning Fire ? -------------------------------------------------------- end _________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? 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