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Chapters
Prolog
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Epilog
 
 
 

The Vault - REVIEW THIS STORY

Written by NicoPony
Last updated: 08/15/2007 08:57:57 AM

Chapter 16

32 Flavors, Ani Difranco

God help you if you are an ugly girl

course too pretty is also your doom

’cause everyone harbors a secret hatred

for the prettiest girl in the room

and God help you if you are a phoenix

and you dare to rise up from the ash

a thousand eyes will smolder with jealousy

while you are just flying past

When Jean came to, she found herself dangling by a harness, trapped inside a glass tank. The walls of the tank were blurred with condensation, but through the glass, she could see the sinister form of Doctor Milbury. Jean tugged at the harness which was holding her upright. Her face was obscured by a respirator. She moved to pull it away when Milbury spoke.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he said malevolently. He gestured downward, and Jean looked at her feet.

She saw that her shoes were gone, and that her bare feet were standing in a puddle of gelatinous liquid. The liquid was slowly filling the tank. Jean felt her toes go numb, and she let out a shriek.

“Let me go!” she screamed, kicking out at the glass walls. “Help! Help me!”

The doctor laughed cruelly. “There’s no one to hear you, my dear. Save for my other guests...and they certainly are in no position to help you.”

Jean looked to her left. The tank beside hers contained the limp form of Todd Tolansky. She gasped. Todd waved weakly at her. “Hiya,” he said blearily.

“What do you want?” Jean cried at Milbury. “What is all this?”

The doctor walked slowly to a strange device, a knowing smile on his face. He was holding a vial of red liquid, which Jean assumed was blood. The strange device was a tall transparent tube set upright in the floor. It too was filled with a liquid. The liquid was a dull putty color. Thin hoses ran from the base of the tube. The hoses ended at a console, where several other blood-filled vials awaited in a centrifuge.

“What I want?” the doctor mused. He seemed pleased to have a captive audience. “Well, since you asked...Years ago, I discovered the existence of mutants. People who were more than human. Superhuman. I confess, as a base human, I find myself somewhat jealous of your amazing abilities. I thought it impossible for someone such as myself to activate the accelerated x-factor that would make me a mutant. But then Apocalypse ascended.”

Jean’s blood went cold. Doctor Milbury took the vial of blood and affixed it to a tube on the console. “Apocalypse planned to turn regular humans into mutants, to force them to evolve,” Milbury continued. “He was a catalyst in many ways. First, he provided me with the inspiration and the methodology to turn regular human beings into mutants. Secondly, he created such a fervor of mutant hatred,” he paused and looked about the chamber as if seeing it for the first time, “he made all this possible.” Doctor Milbury continued to attach the vials to their respective tubes. “I hope to meet Apocalypse some day, have him recognize my work, following in his footsteps. And we will meet...as equals.”

Milbury typed in a sequence of keystrokes on the console and the vials of blood slowly drained. Jean watched as the blood flowed down the tubes toward the central container. The putty-colored liquid began to move.

“Mister, you’re nuts,” Jean said, punctuating her statement with another kick. The soupy liquid in her tank had risen to her knees. “What do you want me for? You’ve got your samples, now let me go!”

Doctor Milbury shook his head in mock sadness. “Jean Grey. I’m afraid I can’t do that. My associate has foretold the potential in your genes. Such great power. And yet, you’ve failed to reach that potential. I wonder why?” he paused, considering her with his hand on his chin. “Perhaps because you are young yet. Perhaps the delay is due to some mental block. In any case, I hope to tap that potential.”

Jean yanked on the harness again, this time with more fury. The liquid in the tank continued to rise. Cold numbness crept up her legs.

There was a computerized chime, and Bolivar Trask’s face appeared on a large computer monitor. “Milbury!” Trask shouted.

Doctor Milbury turned away from taunting Jean to stare at Trask’s image. “What is it?” he snapped impatiently.

“We’re having some problems topside! The mutants have escaped!” Trask shouted. “Two aircraft have been spotted in the area, and the Sentinels have been deployed!”

“Damn it, Trask. Where are the Marauders?”

“They’ve cornered some of the escapees,” Trask said.

From outside the chamber came a loud clang and the squeal of metal on metal. “What on earth is that..?” Milbury turned from the monitor. Jean realized the thrumming sound from the exhaust fan had suddenly ceased.

“I can’t locate one of the Executioners!” Trask continued, then looked at something off-camera. His expression became even more alarmed.

“Take care of it,” Milbury snapped. “I have my own problems to deal with.”

Trask had leapt to his feet. “Who are---wait!” he cried.

“The controls for the inhibitors, Trask...” a cool female voice said from beyond the camera frame.

“You?!” Trask cried. “No! Stay back!”

A blue and black blur streaked across the camera. The camera image jostled, then canted to the side. The monitor abruptly went black.

Outside the cavern, something heavy was moving down the tunnel. There was a groaning sound, and then the large metal fan tumbled into the chamber. It landed with a loud crash. Behind it stood the Blob. Jean and Doctor Milbury looked at him with their mouths agape.

“Jean?” Blob exclaimed.

“Hiya,” Todd said again, and waved.

Blob’s attention turned from Jean to Todd. “Hey, what’s going on here?” he said slowly. He looked at Doctor Milbury. “Who’re you?”

“Stay where you are!” commanded Milbury. He reached for something under the console and produced a large rifle.

Blob gave the doctor a critical look and wiped slime from his shoulders. He was unperturbed at the sight of the weapon.

“Blob! Help!” Jean screamed, banging on the walls of her tank. The liquid had risen to her chest.

Blob moved toward the holding tank and Milbury fired his weapon. The rifle emitted an energy bolt which scored Blob’s chest. Blob let out a yowl of pain. “Hey! That hurt!” he cried, then seized the nearest object, which happened to be the strange apparatus with the putty colored liquid inside.

“No!” Milbury yelled. “Don’t touch that!”

Blob let out a grunt of effort and hefted the container over his head. The tubes snapped free, dripping liquid. Blob hurled the container at Milbury. It landed with a crash just in front of the doctor, who scrambled backwards. The putty-colored liquid sloshed out, and the doctor was deluged with the container’s contents. Doctor Milbury collapsed. The liquid seemed to be interacting with his flesh. He let out of shriek of pain.

Blob marched over to the tanks holding Jean and Toad. He was about to land a heavy fist against the tank when the earth shuddered. Jean sloshed back and forth in her tank, the restraints yanking against her shoulders. The overhead lights swung and spluttered. The monitor overturned with a smash, pulling live wires down behind it. Brown water began to rush across the floor. The gelatinous liquid had crept up to Jean’s neck, and she cried out in panic. The large light fixtures began to tumble from the ceiling, smashing onto the floor and onto the tanks in loud, spark-filled bursts. The last remaining light fell, pulling down wires and tubes as it plummeted. Then, there was darkness.

The alley seemed to elongate, then twist, and the pavement beneath their feet began to ripple. Gambit kept his footing, while the others dropped to their knees or staggered into walls. He’d been handling vertigo for the last few days, this was nothing new. Pyro had fallen into the wall, and was retching, partly from the dizziness but mostly from the pain in his broken arm. Avalanche was on his hands and knees. Gambit hoped he wouldn’t try using his powers, it would only add to the confusion. The cute little girl with the athletic build was wobbling back and forth, as if trying to walk on a trampoline. The four guards began to move forward, unaffected by the topsy-turvy world.

The source of the turmoil seemed to be emanating from the green-haired woman, who stood with her arms braced at her sides, hands fisted with effort. Gambit closed his eyes, still feeling the world whirl around him. He took two steps forward, then several more as he gained confidence. When he reopened his eyes, he saw that Harpoon was nearly upon him, bearing the weapon for which he was named. Harpoon was pulling back his arm, readying to throw the weapon, which was now glowing green. Gambit had a charged chunk of rock in his hand, which he lobbed, grenade-like at the guards. Harpoon smirked as Gambit’s projectile flew over his head, missing him by a wide margin. Then he let fly with his spear.

Gambit grabbed Betsy and bore her to the ground as the harpoon pierced a nearby wall and exploded. Gambit’s own weapon had detonated, and he was pleased to note it had hit home. The sensation of vertigo abruptly ceased. When Gambit looked up, he saw that the green-haired woman had been struck aside by the charged rock. The mutant Harpoon was dangerously close, another spear in hand, aiming to skewer both Gambit and Betsy. A bright yellow blast knocked him into the wall. Pyro had regained his footing and was now wielding the recently-deceased Executioner’s staff. Avalanche had taken point and was causing the earth before him to shake. The pavement rippled like ocean waves, driving the guards back. Both Gambit and Pyro traded fire with the Executioner; Gambit hurling charged rocks and Pyro firing bursts from the staff. With Avalanche leading, they forced the guards back out of the alley. They pursued the guards out into the empty construction site beyond the buildings. The guards were reforming their ranks. The large woman, Arclight, was now flanked by Harpoon and Blockbuster, the Executioner just behind. For some reason, the male guards were backing away while Arclight remained steadfastly in place. She was grimacing, which Gambit supposed was her version of a smile. The shaking earth didn’t seem to effect her all that much. She held her ground, then raised her fists over her head and brought them to the ground with a smash. There was a bright flash of light and the ground heaved back in Avalanche’s direction. The force of the earthquake sent him flying straight up into the air. He squalled and landed flat on his back. Arclight roared and ran at the fallen Avalanche, fist raised.

Gambit didn’t have a chance to see what happened next. Harpoon was hurling charged missiles in his direction. Gambit dodged and weaved between the flying spears, trying to avoid the blasts that nearly knocked him from his feet. Surely the man would run out of things to throw, he thought. Gambit himself had run out of ammunition and was sorely missing his playing cards. He executed a back flip, then was forced to dodge to the side as another spear struck the ground where his toes had just been. The force of the blast sent him rolling across the pavement. He sprung to his feet and ran forward, trying to get out of Harpoon’s throwing range. Harpoon pulled a spear from the pack on his back and swung it at Gambit. The weapon whispered through the air. Gambit grabbed the spear as it passed, then drove his heel into Harpoon’s gut. Harpoon was forced to release the weapon. Gambit twirled the spear like a staff, then brought the blunt end down onto Harpoon’s head. Harpoon dropped to his knees, but lunged forward, his arms wrapping around Gambit’s waist. Gambit was knocked to the ground, and the harpoon went spinning away. Gambit gasped; he’d had the wind knocked out of him. Harpoon rose up, a new spear in hand. He held it over his head, aiming to gut Gambit with the sharpened point. Over Harpoon’s shoulder, a strange sight caught Gambit’s eye.

Three bodies were falling from the sky. Not falling, he realized, but floating. The tallest of the three figures raised her hands to the sky. There was a flare of blue-white light and a sharp crack. Gambit felt an intense flash of heat and smelled the stink of ozone. Harpoon’s body went rigid and he shrieked. His spear had been struck by lightning. Harpoon collapsed and lay twitching on the concrete, his uniform smoldering.

Storm touched down a few yards away. “Gambit!” she cried. “Are you all right?”

Gambit climbed to his feet. He must have looked much worse than he felt, with blood trickling down one side of his head, a black eye he’d been given ages ago during the fight at the University, and his clothing scorched and torn. However, he’d improved quite a bit after regaining his powers.

Nearest the buildings, Arclight and Avalanche were trading punches, each punctuated by the rumble of trembling earth and bright flashes of light. Avalanche was standing, but only barely. Arclight had the advantage of weight behind her heavy punches. The ground around them was wrought with fissures and broken cement. The buildings behind them cracked, broken bricks dropped onto the pavement.

A little ways off, a pile of brush erupted into flame. For an instant, it seemed as if Pyro had regained his powers. However, it was the Executioner’s staff he wielded which had caused the fire. Pyro had aimed his staff at the Executioner, only to find that the blasts had little effect on the guard’s armored form. Undeterred, Pyro began blasting everything in the nearby vicinity. He laughed madly as he did so. Chunks of concrete blew in all directions. Bags of dry concrete exploded into puffs of gray smoke. A haze hung over the entire scene. Unlike the Executioner, Pyro was not afforded the protection of heavy armor. He was struck in the thigh with a bolt from his opponent’s weapon. The Executioner, hiding behind a stack of bundled rebar, aimed his staff at Pyro. Suddenly, there was a flash of light and smoke, and the blue-furred form of Nightcrawler appeared, Rogue at his side.

“Yoink!”(1) Nightcrawler said, grabbing the staff. To the guard’s surprise, the staff and the two mutants vanished just as quickly as they had appeared.

Betsy was faring well against her opponent, Blockbuster, despite her diminutive size. She flipped and arced effortlessly through the air, slipping beneath Blockbuster’s swinging arms and clumsy kicks. She launched herself into the air and flipped over his shoulders, treating Blockbuster as if he were a pommel horse. She landed on the ground behind him and dealt him two swift punches to the kidneys. Blockbuster roared, more irritated than injured, and spun towards his opponent. Betsy danced away on her toes, looking like the world’s most deadly ballerina.

Blockbuster continued to swing at his opponent, this time cracking his fists against the pavement. Betsy stumbled a bit on some fallen debris and twisted her leg. Blockbuster’s eyes widened, seeing an opening for attack; his mouth a cruel hook of a smile. Another clap of air signaled Nightcrawler’s arrival. He and Rogue now appeared on each of Blockbuster’s shoulders. Nightcrawler tossed the stolen staff to Betsy while Rogue clamped a bare hand down on Blockbuster’s bald head. Nightcrawler once again vanished, leaving Rogue behind. Rogue vaulted off Blockbuster’s shoulder and landed behind him. Betsy’s expression had transformed into unholy glee as she depressed the button on the staff to fire a bolt at Blockbuster’s chest. The huge guard toppled backwards. Rogue seized him by the back of his uniform and launched Blockbuster over her head with her newly acquired strength. Blockbuster landed face-first in a pile of cement blocks.

Nearest the alleyway, Arclight had finally knocked Avalanche to the ground. She raised her booted foot, aiming to bring it down on her fallen opponent’s head. Nightcrawler reappeared for an instant, grabbed Arclight by the belt, and the pair vanished. When Nightcrawler’s portal reopened, he was above the water tower on the roof of the nearby building. He dropped Arclight and vanished once again. Arclight shrieked as she dropped through the top of the water tower with a splash.

With the exception of the Executioner, it seemed as if the guards had been defeated. Then the double doors of the assembly warehouse opened. Three partially assembled Sentinels appeared in the open doorway. The X-Men, including Avalanche, Betsy and Pyro, regrouped some distance away.

“There’s not any more of you comin’?” Pyro asked Storm.

“I am afraid not.”

Avalanche wiped the back of his hand across his bloody mouth. “Good. More for us then.” He stretched out his arms and then the earth cracked in two.

(1): Yoink

1. An exclamation that, when uttered in conjunction with taking an object, immediately transfers ownership from the original owner to the person using the word regardless of previous property rights.

2. A phrase appearing often in "The Simpsons" television program used to verbally indicate one has taken something from another and fled.

"Hey, great science project, Lisa. Yoink!"

 

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