Fic: School House Burn
Fandom: X-men
Rating: Going with R cause it'll eventually get bloody.
Random dream I had and it sounded good to write. Now I have to figure out where to take it.
“I want to go home.” Jubilee sighed picking up the little girl and holding her tight.
“I know sweetie. We will soon. The fire department and the police will come and get us out.” It felt like it had been days, but according to the clocks it had only been an hour or two. Some of the children were napping on a pile of blankets in the corner. She’d only been a teacher’s helper for this elementary school for a few weeks so far. Then something happened. An earthquake or something had hit trapping them in the school. The lower classes had hopefully gotten out. Some of the classes on this floor had, but then the stairwells had gotten blocked by fire on both sides.
The teacher wasn’t a typical school marm. Just a few years older than Jubilee herself, and had been working here since she finished college. The students loved her, and thankfully were behaving instead of freaking out thanks to it. The little girl scurried away to get a drink from the water fountain. It wasn’t so bad. The water pipes hadn’t broken, there was a bathroom nearby, and the only thing the earthquake had taken out where they were was the fire escapes. The kids were getting awful lethargic though and using the bathroom often as was herself and the teacher. Pretty soon the snacks they had were going to run out as hungry as they kept getting to. This was why it felt like days instead of only two hours.
If the clocks had stopped she would have understood, but their watches hadn’t and said the same thing. She could hear hers ticking away when she put it to her ear. When the girl came back in giving her a shy grin she stood up stretching. She watched the girl join the cuddle of students sleeping away while the teacher napped nearby. They’d gone to sleeping in shifts so none of the students would wander to the stairwells or further into the building.
Tapping the teacher she gave her a quick shake of the head pointing at the door. “Checking the stairwells again. The fire mighta burned out some. Won’t be long, Lucy.” A nod from the woman and Jubilee walked out heading the few feet to the first stairwell. Thank god they hadn’t been in the basement. Anyone down there was toast plain and simple. Climbing carefully she peered over the edge of the first set of stairs. They twisted in an L shape, but peering over let her see the firs still burning steadily at the bottom of the stairs blocking any way out. Unless the person could fly.
She sighed walking across the second floor to look at the other stairs. Also still burning steadily. It hadn’t spread, which was unusual, but it was still going. Yawning she headed back for the classroom peering in and doing a quick headcount. Enough time to handle her business then switch places with Lucy.
The building shook again as she was washing her hands. An aftershock she thought hearing the kids wake up and start crying again. Wasn’t the first wouldn’t be the last. Then there was something different. A light flickering in the stairwell closest to the room. Not firelight, she’d gotten used to that, like someone was waving a flashlight. She dashed out of the room skidding to a stop just before the first step. The flashlight beamed up almost in her face before lowering giving her a half glance at the person. “Scott?”
“Hurry. We got the fire out, but the building could go any minute.” It must have been a lot worse down there. Could see the fire dwindling before going out looking like someone was spraying water on it.
“Let me get the kids and Lucy.” She turned to head back before the beam was angled into her face again blinding her.
“No time. Bobby can get them while you work your way down.” There was Drake coming up the stairs behind Scott. She nodded working her own way down passing Bobby with a thankful smile in his direction. Barely even noticed she couldn’t feel the cold around him figuring it must be the heat.
“You have no idea how happy I am to see you. How’d you know to come so quick?”
“Your letters to Logan. We heard about the quake on the news.” A smile from Scott and she was ushered ahead of him past the almost gone fire further into the first floor hallway. It looked like a war zone. Beams exposed, smoke from the dry wall and fire filling the hallways. She coughed covering her face with one hand as she picked her way through the rubble. Then there was screaming again making her stop, turn and go to head back upstairs. Only to be stopped by Scott moving in her way.
“Scott what are you…ow” She stopped mid sentence something sticky wrapping around her and yanking her back a few feet. Landed hard on a pile of brick and dry wall head thumping back to look up at a shadow over her. Wrapped in a tongue, and staring up at Toad’s disgusting face.
“Imagine our surprise when we find out that an X-man was working in a school filled with the children of some of the worst mutant haters. What do you think their parents would do if they found out, hmmm?” Scott's form shifted turning blue, visor disappearing.
“I’m not an X-man anymore.”
“But you obviously keep in touch, or you would have realized I lied right away.” Mystique smiled as Toad’s tongue loosened enough to jerk her hands behind her back. A piece of plastic, a zip tie, wrapping around her wrists holding them in place. Lucy was screaming now long and loud. Jubilee lowered her face blinking back a few tears. All those children. Only one person out of the brotherhood would have fun with that, and she lifted her eyes as the screaming cut off. Could hear footsteps tromping down the stairs now, two sets of them. Two blond heads, one towering far over the other, came into view.
Creed and Pyro. One covered in blood the other tossing a fireball from hand to hand. Sabretooth grinned widely at her teeth bared as he licked a finger. Mystique moved her head towards her own with a satisfied smile. “We know what they do to our children. Now they’ll know what we can do to theirs.”
Everyone in the school then. How did she not hear all of that? The other woman standing nearby was proof enough of how. Illusions so good you can’t hear or see anything they didn’t want you to. “Six days, brat. Six days of utter and complete fun.”
“And you will be the only body not found. Implications are wonderful aren’t they?” Mystique stood as Sabretooth grabbed her by the back of her shirt lifting her up, Toads tongue disappearing except of an immense need to bathe and a sticky residue on her. She coughed again as she was thrown over his shoulder watching the floor move as they headed deeper into the building. The only door on this side was buried, and impossible to get to without everything else falling on them. “They’ll look into your background. Find out you’re a mutant. And everything will lead back to you, and the X-men.”
“They won’t believe it. The X-men know I wouldn’t do anything like this.” She scowled at the blue-skinned woman from Creed’s shoulder bouncing slightly as he walked.
“It doesn’t matter if they do, love. What matters is the press, and the parents, and everyone important will think the X-men did it.” And in the meantime now they had every file from the school. All the information on the families and a way to get them one by one.
“Don’t worry, brat. We’ll keep a hold of you. Be free and clear from the authorities. For a while anyways.” She squirmed kicking him when he slapped her ass.
Rating: Going with R cause it'll eventually get bloody.
Random dream I had and it sounded good to write. Now I have to figure out where to take it.
“I want to go home.” Jubilee sighed picking up the little girl and holding her tight.
“I know sweetie. We will soon. The fire department and the police will come and get us out.” It felt like it had been days, but according to the clocks it had only been an hour or two. Some of the children were napping on a pile of blankets in the corner. She’d only been a teacher’s helper for this elementary school for a few weeks so far. Then something happened. An earthquake or something had hit trapping them in the school. The lower classes had hopefully gotten out. Some of the classes on this floor had, but then the stairwells had gotten blocked by fire on both sides.
The teacher wasn’t a typical school marm. Just a few years older than Jubilee herself, and had been working here since she finished college. The students loved her, and thankfully were behaving instead of freaking out thanks to it. The little girl scurried away to get a drink from the water fountain. It wasn’t so bad. The water pipes hadn’t broken, there was a bathroom nearby, and the only thing the earthquake had taken out where they were was the fire escapes. The kids were getting awful lethargic though and using the bathroom often as was herself and the teacher. Pretty soon the snacks they had were going to run out as hungry as they kept getting to. This was why it felt like days instead of only two hours.
If the clocks had stopped she would have understood, but their watches hadn’t and said the same thing. She could hear hers ticking away when she put it to her ear. When the girl came back in giving her a shy grin she stood up stretching. She watched the girl join the cuddle of students sleeping away while the teacher napped nearby. They’d gone to sleeping in shifts so none of the students would wander to the stairwells or further into the building.
Tapping the teacher she gave her a quick shake of the head pointing at the door. “Checking the stairwells again. The fire mighta burned out some. Won’t be long, Lucy.” A nod from the woman and Jubilee walked out heading the few feet to the first stairwell. Thank god they hadn’t been in the basement. Anyone down there was toast plain and simple. Climbing carefully she peered over the edge of the first set of stairs. They twisted in an L shape, but peering over let her see the firs still burning steadily at the bottom of the stairs blocking any way out. Unless the person could fly.
She sighed walking across the second floor to look at the other stairs. Also still burning steadily. It hadn’t spread, which was unusual, but it was still going. Yawning she headed back for the classroom peering in and doing a quick headcount. Enough time to handle her business then switch places with Lucy.
The building shook again as she was washing her hands. An aftershock she thought hearing the kids wake up and start crying again. Wasn’t the first wouldn’t be the last. Then there was something different. A light flickering in the stairwell closest to the room. Not firelight, she’d gotten used to that, like someone was waving a flashlight. She dashed out of the room skidding to a stop just before the first step. The flashlight beamed up almost in her face before lowering giving her a half glance at the person. “Scott?”
“Hurry. We got the fire out, but the building could go any minute.” It must have been a lot worse down there. Could see the fire dwindling before going out looking like someone was spraying water on it.
“Let me get the kids and Lucy.” She turned to head back before the beam was angled into her face again blinding her.
“No time. Bobby can get them while you work your way down.” There was Drake coming up the stairs behind Scott. She nodded working her own way down passing Bobby with a thankful smile in his direction. Barely even noticed she couldn’t feel the cold around him figuring it must be the heat.
“You have no idea how happy I am to see you. How’d you know to come so quick?”
“Your letters to Logan. We heard about the quake on the news.” A smile from Scott and she was ushered ahead of him past the almost gone fire further into the first floor hallway. It looked like a war zone. Beams exposed, smoke from the dry wall and fire filling the hallways. She coughed covering her face with one hand as she picked her way through the rubble. Then there was screaming again making her stop, turn and go to head back upstairs. Only to be stopped by Scott moving in her way.
“Scott what are you…ow” She stopped mid sentence something sticky wrapping around her and yanking her back a few feet. Landed hard on a pile of brick and dry wall head thumping back to look up at a shadow over her. Wrapped in a tongue, and staring up at Toad’s disgusting face.
“Imagine our surprise when we find out that an X-man was working in a school filled with the children of some of the worst mutant haters. What do you think their parents would do if they found out, hmmm?” Scott's form shifted turning blue, visor disappearing.
“I’m not an X-man anymore.”
“But you obviously keep in touch, or you would have realized I lied right away.” Mystique smiled as Toad’s tongue loosened enough to jerk her hands behind her back. A piece of plastic, a zip tie, wrapping around her wrists holding them in place. Lucy was screaming now long and loud. Jubilee lowered her face blinking back a few tears. All those children. Only one person out of the brotherhood would have fun with that, and she lifted her eyes as the screaming cut off. Could hear footsteps tromping down the stairs now, two sets of them. Two blond heads, one towering far over the other, came into view.
Creed and Pyro. One covered in blood the other tossing a fireball from hand to hand. Sabretooth grinned widely at her teeth bared as he licked a finger. Mystique moved her head towards her own with a satisfied smile. “We know what they do to our children. Now they’ll know what we can do to theirs.”
Everyone in the school then. How did she not hear all of that? The other woman standing nearby was proof enough of how. Illusions so good you can’t hear or see anything they didn’t want you to. “Six days, brat. Six days of utter and complete fun.”
“And you will be the only body not found. Implications are wonderful aren’t they?” Mystique stood as Sabretooth grabbed her by the back of her shirt lifting her up, Toads tongue disappearing except of an immense need to bathe and a sticky residue on her. She coughed again as she was thrown over his shoulder watching the floor move as they headed deeper into the building. The only door on this side was buried, and impossible to get to without everything else falling on them. “They’ll look into your background. Find out you’re a mutant. And everything will lead back to you, and the X-men.”
“They won’t believe it. The X-men know I wouldn’t do anything like this.” She scowled at the blue-skinned woman from Creed’s shoulder bouncing slightly as he walked.
“It doesn’t matter if they do, love. What matters is the press, and the parents, and everyone important will think the X-men did it.” And in the meantime now they had every file from the school. All the information on the families and a way to get them one by one.
“Don’t worry, brat. We’ll keep a hold of you. Be free and clear from the authorities. For a while anyways.” She squirmed kicking him when he slapped her ass.