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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 17

Hunting for Witches, Bloc Party

Nineteen-nineties, optimistic as a teen

But now it’s terror, airplanes crash into towers

The daily mail says: "The enemy is among us!"

"Taking our women and taking our jobs"

All reasonable thought is being drowned out

By the non-stop baying, baying for blood

So I go hunting for witches

Go hunting for witches

Heads are going to roll

So I go hunting

“This place gives me the creeps,” Guido said, as he brushed aside a large fern. “I don’t think we’re supposed to be in here.”

“Of course not,” Joanna replied. “We’re prisoners. We’re supposed to be in our cells. You don’t want to go back, do you?”

“No.”

“Well, me neither,” Joanna replied stubbornly.

“This way, you two!” called the Scarlet Witch from up ahead. She was using her powers to whack away the heavy underbrush. They’d gone several yards into the jungle, heading towards where they’d last seen the X-Men’s helicopter, The Velocity.

“I don’t think you should talk so loud,” Joanna said, in what she thought was a hushed undertone. In fact, she was talking quite loudly.

“What’re you so afraid of?” the Scarlet Witch asked, mercilessly smashing aside a tree.

“I’ve heard there’s things out here,” Joanna replied.

“The denizens,” Guido added.

“Well, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I haven’t seen any denizens or anything else in this jungle,” the Scarlet Witch said blithely.

“Are you one of the X-Men?” Guido asked.

The Scarlet Witch made a derisive noise. “Of course not!”

“Well, you’re wearing a costume,” Joanna said.

“I’m not!” the Scarlet Witch came to a halt and turned around. Her long red jacket flared out around her legs. “This is how I dress!”

Guido and Joanna stared at her critically.

“Let’s just go!” the Scarlet Witch huffed. “I think the helicopter is over this way.”

Guido pushed aside a palm and peered up through the clerestory. They spotted a trail of smoke through the leaves. “We’re close!” Guido said excitedly.

The trio hopped over some fallen trees and found the Velocity down in a small depression. Smoke was rising from a hole in the tail end of the helicopter. The three slid down the small bank towards the aircraft.

“Bleah,” Guido said, raising his foot to look at the mud caked on his shoe.

The mud was slightly alarming to the Scarlet Witch. She’d seen Blob get sucked into similar mud almost instantly. She hoped they wouldn’t share the same fate.

“Hey!” she called out to the downed aircraft. “Hey, is anybody alive in there?”

Her answer came when Shadowcat phased through the side panel of the Velocity, followed by Wolverine and Colossus. Wolverine landed with a snarl, baring his claws at the Scarlet Witch and the two unfamiliar mutants. Both Guido and Joanna were rather imposing.

“Hey, we’re supposed to be rescuing you!” the Scarlet Witch cried, raising her hands threateningly.

“Oh, gross,” Shadowcat said, diffusing the tension. “What am I standing in?”

“It appears our transport is stuck,” Colossus said, turning to the Velocity. He transformed into his armored form. Silver metal slid over his skin. He walked to the front of the helicopter and pushed.

The Velocity made a disconcerting groaning noise.

“Hey, now careful with that!” Wolverine said.

“We can help!” Guido said.

“We can?” Joanna asked cynically.

Guido walked forward and braced himself against one of the helicopter’s wings. Joanna sighed, and walked around to the opposite side, taking hold of the other wing.

“On three!” Guido said.

Wolverine watched, somewhat horrified, as the three hefted the helicopter. He offered helpful words such as: “Watch it! Be careful! You’re scratching the paint!”

The three young mutants groaned with effort, Colossus taking much of the weight while the other two mutants guided the helicopter to higher ground. When they had pulled free of the mud, they set the vehicle down on the ground. Joanna and Guido collapsed, breathless from the effort.

Colossus returned to his more human form and dusted his hands off, looking ’round to make sure that Shadowcat had been impressed. She was picking mud off her boot with a stick. Wolverine and the Scarlet Witch trudged up the side of the depression.

“What happened?” the Scarlet Witch asked. “Why did you crash?”

“We were attacked by a Sentinel,” Wolverine replied, scanning the trees. “Where are we?”

“More importantly, what is that?” Shadowcat asked, pointing with her stick.

A smallish figure hunched at the edge of the depression. It cocked its head, giving a short rattle.

“It’s a denizen!” Guido said, terrified of the small creature, despite his enormous size.

Wolverine sniffed the air. “It doesn’t have a scent,” he replied. “All I smell is trees and mud.”

The thing rattled again. It was answered by several other rattling noises. The denizens carefully crept out of the jungle. Some walked hunched over, others on their hands and knees. The group of mutants realized they were surrounded. One of the denizens suddenly leapt and everyone ducked instinctively. It landed with a thunk on the Velocity. It promptly began yanking on one of the rotor blades. The other creatures moved forward, leaping upon the helicopter, rattling with fury. They began to strike the aircraft and yank on the panels.

“Hey! Hey quit that!” Wolverine cried, trying to wave them off. The creatures began pelting Wolverine with sticks. He once again bared his claws. The creatures stopped as one, turning to look with their strange eyes at Wolverine. He growled at them. “Go on, get off!”

One of the creatures pointed, and suddenly, Wolverine was inundated in falling bodies.

“Mister Logan!” Shadowcat cried.

Colossus moved forward, his body turning to steel. This instantly attracted the attention of the denizens. Several broke away to attack Colossus. Wolverine was growling and slashing at the creatures. They lost limbs, but were heedless of injury. More denizens were leaping from the forest.

Guido cried out as one of the tree-like monsters clawed at his mouth. The denizen seemed determined to rip Guido’s braces from his teeth. Another darted at Shadowcat, snatched her watch, and then ran off into the forest. The Scarlet Witch ducked, trying to avoid one of the monsters as it tried to rip her earrings from her ears. Joanna grabbed a pair of the creatures and hurled them into the forest. They only returned a moment later.

The trees above began to shake in a strong breeze. There was a high-pitched whine of an engine. Amidst the scuffle, the group of mutants was able to look up. One of the Sentinels had appeared, the propulsion system in its feet shredding the overhead vegetation. It emitted a blast of energy that burned through many of the running denizens. Their limbs curled and withered in the flames. The mutants scrambled away from the attack.

The Sentinel raised one of its arms. The outer casing along the length of the limb opened with a mechanical hiss, revealing a pair of missiles. The limb jerked back twice as the missiles deployed. The Scarlet Witch raised her hands and concentrated. The missiles swerved away and arced back into the air. The Sentinel dove, evading its own missiles, which crashed together and exploded. The mutants ran for the cover of the trees, drawing fire away from the helicopter. It was the only means for their escape.

A panel opened in the Sentinel’s chest plate, revealing a dark cavity. A bright blue charge built in the cavity, then fired. Trees and vegetation were blasted away, leaving stumps and smoking ruin. The denizens fled from the flames, helpless against the robot’s onslaught. The Scarlet Witch touched her bleeding ear. Her ankh earring was gone, along with the denizens who attacked her. The turmoil was becoming too much for her to handle. She felt herself slipping back into the instability that had plagued her for all of her young life. She aimed hex after hex at the attacking Sentinel. Uprooted trees threw themselves at the robot. The weapons system in the Sentinel continued to misfire. Lasers strafed the ground haphazardly. The scene was chaos, which only served to amplify the Scarlet Witch’s disquiet. She screamed and clutched at her head while tearing at her hair.

The others dodged the flying debris. “Wanda!” Shadowcat cried. “Stop!”

They realized it was hopeless. The Scarlet Witch was beyond listening. Her mad hexes were forcing the Sentinel dangerously close to the Velocity. Shadowcat grabbed Colossus’ steel arm.

“Piotr!” she cried over the roar of rocket blasts and whirling winds. Colossus looked down at her. “Throw me!” she cried, pointing to herself, then skyward. “Up there!”

“What? Katya, are you certain?” Colossus was shaking his head.

“I can stop the robot! Just do it!”

Colossus bent, lacing his fingers together to make a sort of step for Shadowcat to stand upon. She put her feet into his large hands. If he wasn’t encased in metal, Colossus would have been blushing furiously. “Go!” Shadowcat cried. Colossus heaved Shadowcat into the air. As soon as she was airborne, she made herself intangible. She flipped backwards in an arc over the Sentinel’s head. She reached out her arms, phasing through the Sentinel’s body. As she continued her fall, she saw that the Sentinel had jerked as if in surprise. The robot was malfunctioning as a result of Shadowcat’s ability to disrupt anything mechanical. Shadowcat continued her plummet to the ground.

“I got you!” Wolverine cried.

Shadowcat almost wished she had hit the ground instead. It would have been softer.

The Sentinel spun in the air. The engine in one of its feet failed and it began to fall. They quickly realized that the robot was about to crash into the helicopter. Colossus and Guido ran towards the Sentinel. Together, they leapt for the robot’s flailing limbs. The Sentinel landed with a crash, inches from the Velocity. The robot convulsed and the its head blew off. The remains of the robot’s head dinged off the Velocity’s side.

Wolverine unceremoniously dropped Shadowcat onto the ground and clamped his hands to his head. “Aw, no! The paint!”

“This method of transportation leaves something to be desired,” Xavier said idly.

“Seeing as how your X-Men absconded with the only two aircraft, I didn’t see much of a choice,” Magneto replied. The two men were soaring over the Indian Ocean inside a metal orb Magneto himself had crafted. The orb had elongated into a teardrop shape as their speed increased.

“I’m sure Cyclops had a good reason for departing without us,” Xavier said.

“Yes. Flying off to play hero to his girlfriend, no doubt,” Magneto responded.

“He is the leader of the X-Men for a reason,” Xavier continued. “I trust his judgment.”

“He’s also nineteen years old.”

“With more experience than a seasoned military operative,” Xavier concluded.

“Well, at least they left a note,” Magneto said with a hint of sarcasm.

“I am beginning to think that you’re only upset because you might miss out on the action,” Xavier said with a smile.

“Perhaps you should concentrate on finding the students, instead of complaining about the accommodations.”

“Hmp,” Xavier said, closing his eyes in concentration. “I’ve detected a large concentration of minds up ahead. A city, perhaps?”

“That’s impossible,” Magneto returned. He thinned the metal at the front of the orb until it became transparent. It rippled slightly in the passing winds. “There’s nothing out here but ocean.”

“Cerebro had indicated that there were several mutants out in this vicinity,” Xavier continued. “But their location wasn’t fixed. Maybe not a city...a large ship?”

“Or an island.”

“Islands usually remain in one place.”

“I was thinking about something along the lines of Asteroid M, Charles.”

Xavier’s brow furrowed. “This is very odd,” he said.

Magneto waited for his friend to continue.

“While I am sensing hundreds of minds, they all seem to share the same thoughts. Or rather, they are seeking the same objective. I feel---ah!”

“Charles!” Magneto put a hand on Xavier’s shoulder. Xavier sat hunched at the base of the orb, cradling his head in his hands. “What is it?”

“Terrible pain...and a name. Krakoa?” Xavier managed. “We’re close now.”

Magneto spotted the glimmer of green amongst the waves. He steered the orb forward in a gentle arc toward the land mass. They soared over the rocky cliffs surrounding the island. The trees swayed softly at their passing.

“I see smoke,” Magneto said. “I’m going to come in low.”

The orb ducked beneath the tree canopy and weaved through the trunks. The orb slowed, and the makeshift windscreen parted. As they flew closer to the signs of smoke and flame, they began to hear the sounds of a battle. Soon, they were able to see the edge of a compound through the trees. The orb, which now resembled something like a long silver canoe, came to a halt. The paved area beyond the trees was littered with debris and heavily cracked. The orb touched down, depositing the two men on the ground. The metal flowed across the ground like Mercury, reforming itself around Xavier’s legs.

“What do you mean to do, Erik?” Xavier asked.

“Your wheelchair won’t work here,” Magneto replied. “Use your telepathy to make use of my powers, and allow yourself to walk.”

“That’s certainly very generous of you,” Xavier said, surprised. “But to invade your mind to control your powers...?”

Magneto removed his helmet, which protected him from psychic attacks. “It’s not an intrusion. It’s an invitation.”

“Thank you,” Xavier said, touched by his friend’s offer.

“Besides, it would take only a small amount of my power to help you,” Magneto bragged, waving his hand dismissively.

Xavier smiled and stood. The two men walked cautiously from the tree line and out onto the cracked pavement. In the distance, they spied several low buildings. One crumbled as they watched. A pile of brush was burning enthusiastically. Several blasts of laser light criss-crossed through the air. The blasts were followed in short order by a flash of lightning.

“Storm is here,” Xavier said.

Several figures broke away from the buildings and began running toward the trees. They scattered haphazardly. “And there is the fight,” Magneto said, his expression eager.

“A moment to make contact with our students,” Xavier said, concentrating. He immediately gasped, and would have fallen forward if Magneto had not caught him. “There’s an enormous presence,” he groaned. “Not many minds, but one large mind. I don’t understand it.”

The ground began to shake, and this time, both men nearly fell to the ground. Magneto raised himself and Xavier in a bubble of magnetic energy a few feet above the ground. He propelled them toward the source of the laser fire. They spied Storm, her white hair blowing back like a flag. She was trying to hold off a robot while the others fled. Magneto soon realized why the figures were scattering. The robots had divided the fleeing mutants into groups, to make them easier to pick off.

“Sentinels!” Magneto cried, his voice bordering on rage. From this distance, Magneto recognized the distinctive figure of Nightcrawler scampering over the ruins away from them. Two others followed; a girl with purple hair and a young man who resembled Pyro.

Xavier failed to hear Magneto. His mind was too occupied with trying to contact the huge presence nearby.

“HURT!” the hive mind cried. “PAIN! STOP!”

“I’ll make short work of these,” Magneto continued, oblivious to his friend’s plight. Magneto raised a fist to crush one of the Sentinels...and nothing happened.

“Run away!” someone cried. Magneto looked to see Avalanche running past and into the forest. He was followed by two other figures, most notably Gambit. Magneto felt something akin to relief at the sight of his former charge, alive, if not well. The young mutants were stumbling over the broken ground, which canted from side to side like the floors of a funhouse.

“Gambit!” Magneto cried.

Gambit looked up and skidded down a slab of concrete as a laser strafed the ground behind him. Rogue appeared at the crest of the slab. She bent down, grabbed a chunk of concrete the size of a compact car, and hurled it at an encroaching Sentinel. The Sentinel deflected the flying chunk of rock with an energy bolt. The resulting debris rained down around them.

“I cannot stop it!” Magneto said, trying to get a grip on the robot.

“They’re made of polymer,” Gambit replied, gathering chunks of rock. He hurled charged projectiles at the Sentinel. Rogue was lifting another piece of concrete. As she strained, Magneto heard the squeal of metal breaking. He realized the concrete was laced through with steel reinforcement bars.

With a gesture, he yanked the rock from Rogue’s grip. She looked up, alarmed at Magneto’s sudden display of power. The bars twisted free of the concrete, straightened like javelins, and then launched themselves toward the Sentinel. A blue charge was building in the chest cavity of the robot. Before it could fire, several javelins speared the robot’s chest. It jerked spasmodically and then exploded.

“Magneto!” Xavier suddenly gasped. “The metal!”

Magneto spared his friend a glance, finally recognizing that Xavier was in incredible pain. “Charles!? What about the metal? Tell me!”

Xavier groaned, unable to answer. The earth was heaving, as if to shake the irritating humans from its back. Rogue and Gambit were thrown from their feet.

Magneto turned to where Avalanche had fled into the forest. The young man was hanging onto a nearby tree. “Do something!” he ordered.

“I can’t control it!” he cried. “The earth, it won’t listen to me!” Magneto realized that Avalanche was not overreacting. The earth-shaking mutant’s expression was one of terror.

“Look out!” Magneto heard Rogue cry.

Magneto turned to decipher Rogue’s warning, and saw several charged rocks fly in his direction. He braced himself for the ensuing explosion, but the projectiles soared past and into the trees. The rocks detonated and he was sprayed with dirt and vegetation. Something struck him from behind and both he and Xavier fell from the sky. Claws scraped at Magneto’s face. Several attackers fell upon him, beating him with rocks and sticks. He summoned his powers, struggling to grasp at the iron within his attackers’ blood. But there was nothing, not the barest glimmer of metal within the bodies of his attackers. With an angry cry, he reached out and found what metal he could. The steel bars within the concrete nearby were within his grasp. He was rewarded with the cracking sounds of shattering mortar as the bars pulled themselves free.

“Magneto stop!” he heard Xavier cry in the distance.

Magneto failed to heed Xavier’s warning. The metal was free, and it soared through the air under his command. In freeing the steel, he had freed the earth as well. The island, alive and sentient, was furious with hurt. Enraged at its long incarceration, the earth rose up and struck back.

“You killed him.” Her voice was timid and fearful, but also wondering. As if she couldn’t quite believe what she had seen.

Moxie stood slowly. Crimson hair became indigo. Pale fur raced over blue-skinned limbs. A tail elongated and swished through the air. Transformation complete, Moxie looked down. Bolivar Trask was laying on the floor, his head at an odd angle. A trickle of blood ran from the corner of his mouth.

“He was a loose end that needed tying,” Moxie replied. She turned to look at Lorna, who was standing in the doorway. Moxie gestured to a nearby console. “Take care of the inhibitor controls.”

“Wha-what should I do?”

“I don’t care. Smash it if you have to.” Moxie turned away from Lorna and righted a fallen monitor. She began typing at the keys with a practiced, confident hand.

Lorna approached the console, which was littered with various dials and readouts. She was still unsure of what she had just witnessed. For a moment, it had seemed as if Moxie had changed into someone else entirely. Lorna could never be certain of what she saw, especially when she was off her medication.

Moxie opened a line of communication and sent a transmission. She was quickly answered.

“Irene?” Moxie asked.

“Here,” the answer came with a puff of air, as if the person on the other end of the line were waiting with bated breath.

“Have you finished transferring the files from the catalog?”

“I have,” Irene answered. “You’d best hurry, you haven’t much time.”

“I thought you were certain of the outcome,” Moxie said.

“With my visions, nothing is certain. Overconfidence will be your downfall.”

Moxie paused, studying the speaker and pondering Irene’s ominous words.

“I’ll see you soon,” Moxie said finally, before ending the transmission.

She flicked through the channels displayed on the numerous monitors. Several monitors remained black or reported a fuzzy, broken image. At last she found a functioning camera. The camera had a fish-eye lens which covered a wide aerial view. A few clouds scudded across the evening sky. The peaceful scene was suddenly shattered when a Sentinel dropped into view, trailing smoke and flame. The X-Jet soared across the screen, pursued by yet another Sentinel. The jet’s weapons stabbed holes through the falling Sentinel while simultaneously avoiding enemy fire.

“Well, at least he can fly,” Moxie admitted begrudgingly.

“What?” Lorna said, as she approached Moxie and the bank of monitors.

“Nothing,” Moxie replied.

“Uhm, I think I got it to turn off,” Lorna said. She was fiddling with a dial she had snapped from the console. “See?” she said, offering Moxie the knob.

“Yes, good work,” Moxie said dismissively, without glancing at Lorna. Moxie flipped to another channel. This camera angle showed her a majority of the construction site. The image trembled and spluttered. She spotted three running figures: Betsy, Pyro and a blue-furred mutant with a slightly demonic appearance. The forth figure, a tall African woman, was holding a Sentinel at bay with bolts of lightning. The blue-furred mutant disappeared, only to reappear astride the robot. He jammed a metal spike into the Sentinel’s eye, then teleported away. The robot’s head burst in an impressive explosion. Apparently satisfied by what she saw, Moxie once again flipped to another channel. The next few screens showed nothing but static or open expanses of island shoreline. Moxie began passing through channels at a much faster pace.

“What are you looking for?” Lorna asked.

Moxie continued to switch through the security system monitors. She flipped past many channels displaying images of the tree line surrounding the compound. She nearly passed by the one she was looking for in her haste.

“Ah!” she said. “Magneto!”

Lorna leaned over Moxie’s shoulder to peer closely at the monitor. “Really?” she asked, mystified. “I’ve heard of him.” Lorna was transfixed at the sight of the self-proclaimed Master of Magnetism battling a Sentinel.

“Throwing his weight around as usual,” Moxie said, impatiently. “What is that fool doing?”

Metal bars tore themselves from the pavement, effectively destroying the robot.

Moxie and Lorna watched as Magneto and Xavier were attacked by several creatures from the forest; the denizens, as the prisoners called them. Moxie’s attention was immediately attracted by the sight of a young woman with a streak of white in her auburn hair. Moxie stared at the girl raptly for a moment. Then the camera began to shake violently. Both Moxie and Lorna were tossed against the console as the earth tremors reached them. The earthquake was perhaps the most powerful they had experienced yet.

“We have to get out of here,” Moxie panted. She seized Lorna by the wrist and hauled her from the room. The two wobbled down the shaking halls, dodging falling bricks. Fluorescent light bulbs splashed onto the floor tiles. They jostled through the narrow door opening and out into open air. Nearby buildings swayed as if made of rubber. The rumble of earth drown out all other sound.

“Lorna!” Moxie shouted over the rumbling. “Go to the hangar and find the other prisoners. Then flag down the X-Jet!”

Lorna’s liquid green eyes were frantic. “But---but---!” she stammered. “I can’t!”

Moxie slapped Lorna in the face, hard enough to gain the girl’s attention, but not enough to hurt her. “Use your powers, stupid!” she snapped. She gave Lorna a shove in the general direction of the hangar. “Bring down the jet! Save the prisoners! Do it however you can!”

Moxie turned and ran, not bothering to wait and listen to Lorna dither. Her footsteps were surprisingly sure despite the trembling earth. She ran toward the line of trees, not entirely sure where she had seen Magneto or the girl with the stripe in her hair.

A horrifying sound reverberated over the earthquake. It was like the howl of a wounded animal, only echoed a thousand times over. It was joined by the shriek of tearing metal and cracking stone. The earth lurched powerfully, and this time, Moxie could not keep her footing. Instead of falling, however, her body seemed to explode into a thousand tiny pieces. A swarm of bees angrily milled together, forming a sinuous mass in the air. The bees regrouped, then flew along the deep gash that had formed along the center of the prison compound.

Thousands of multifaceted eyes searched the landscape, at last finding the familiar shape of the girl she sought. The bees swarmed, then came together to form a solid mass. Moxie was Moxie once again.

She had arrived just in time to see a giant slab of concrete tip like a teeter totter, taking with it two young mutants. The pair slid down the slab and disappeared into the gaping fissure in the ground. It was as if the earth had swallowed them whole. Moxie paused on the precipice, looking down into the dark pit. Then she raised her arms over her head, and dove gracefully into the murk below.

 

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