Gravity of the Situation - Post 8
Now the trick is to find the bastards.
This entire process had made Raucous overwhelmingly fatigued, and as they once again boarded Sinister’s jet, this time to search the skies for three geniuses, he collapsed into his seat and exhaled heavily.
“No time to sleep,” Emma reminded him.
“You didn’t just have to fight a black hole.”
“I had to fight two in their minds. That’s just as exhausting.”
Raucous doubted it. Forge’s mind could not have been anything like whatever that…thing…in there was. Xavier’s…ok, she can have that. He wished they had handled that part better.
The black and yellow - plague was what it looked like - had climbed down the walls and started infecting the wires connecting Cerebro until Raucous let out a little yell. That’s when the shit hit the fan. The plague jumped out at him, traveling through the air faster than Raucous could think, leaping like thinking liquid, purposeful liquid, going for the throat. Raucous flipped back precariously on the short bridge connecting the rest of the basement to Cerebro. At least he had the damn things attention.
The liquid sunk into the ledge, and the ground beneath Raucous’ feet turned that sickly black with yellow symbols. What had Emma said? Douglass? What the bloody hell is this Douglass? Raucous did the only thing he knew how to; he yelled.
The liquid seemed to grow arms, struggling to maintain a handhold on the bridge as the rest of it was being blown away by the sound, clinging to avoid the abyss below.
He knew now why he had thought of that word - abyss. Because it wasn’t, really, Raucous could see the bottom. But all he could think of was abyss, abyss, no with a capital letter, Abyss. Why Abyss, what was Emma…?
Suddenly Raucous could feel his back being sucked into the main basement hallway. He looked down and saw that the liquid was still struggling, but it was struggling the other way - it was being dragged inside as well. Abyss, Abyss, Abyss...she could’ve been a little bit clearer, ya know? Raucous had never heard of this Abyss before. How was he supposed to know there was someone else who had sights set on Cerebro.
Raucous couldn’t keep himself in Cerebro’s chamber for long. He and the liquid flew into the metal hallway and skidded across the floor.
“How about a clearin’ a little space?!” The voice was nauseating.
Raucous looked up to see a seven-foot tall, blue haired thing, dripping black from its body, dripping limbs from its body, weird spiraled arms and legs that seemed to bounce and bob to and fro. And behind the thing was a man Raucous did know - Fabian Cortez.
A treacherous man who could manipulate and strengthen other mutants’ powers. Wait, was he behind the thing? How could he see...?
That is Abyss. He must be stopped.
“Oh come now, honey, you wouldn’t want to do that!” So it talked. And it could hear Emma’s thoughts. It lifted an arm and pointed it at Emma. She let out a wailing scream. “Rumble rumble, deary! Have fun trying to concentrate while I deal with your little friends here.”
The liquid began to rise from the ground and form something solid. A man. So, this Douglass was a mutant.
”Self Doug-Lock will not allow Abyss to interfere again!” Douglock? Ok, Douglock.
“Parlor tricks! I love them!” Abyss leaned in close to Douglock, “Wanna see what I can do?”
Cortez’s hands began to glow as he supported Abyss. The translucent body flipped backwards, arms flailing, hair blooming, and suddenly the torso began to glow. Douglock began to run back towards Cerebro. Looking back, Raucous was glad he doubted Douglock’s motives. It may have saved his own life.
Raucous followed Douglock, running towards Emma, who was on the floor, holding her head, still screaming. And suddenly, the tugging was back. Raucous looked back and saw that the walls, the floor, even Cortez himself were being sucked into Abyss’ chest. He got the nickname. He wasn’t amused.
Douglock’s arms reached up and became that black and golden goo again, stretching into the vents and disappearing. What the hell was going on?
Raucous grabbed a hold of the door and gripped it for dear life. Suddenly, a spiral arm wrapped around his body and wrenched him free. Raucous was pulled back and then catapulted into the Cerebro chamber. His fall was broken - by Emma.
“Careful, you ignorant brute!” So, Cortez was in control. “We came here for Cerebro. Eliminating them is just a means to an end.”
The chest started up again, pulling Raucous back into the hallway. He reached for the doorframe - and his grip slipped. Time to make one last stand. Letting out everything he could, Raucous screamed. He could taste blood bubbling up from his throat - his vocal chords were damaged, he couldn’t keep this up much longer. But damn if he was going to end up inside that thing. He couldn’t hear, his ears were ringing with so much pain he had to force his eyes open just to pay attention. And suddenly, Abyss began to come…undone. The body began to unravel, pull apart, stretch so that it was not translucent but transparent. As sudden as it had begun to expand, it collapsed at once into the black hole of its chest. Raucous fell to the floor and hit his head, hard.
“No! What have you done?” Cortez had his arms raised, holding up the air, supporting nothing.
“Emma! Finish the job! I’ll handle Cortez.”
”I don’t think you will, Raucous. Abyss certainly wasn’t my only weapon. Guards, bring him out!”
Two men with guns walked out from behind a corner, followed by an old man in a wheelchair, and two more men.
Raucous let out a chuckle. He remembered clearly underestimating Cortez’s ‘secret weapon’. What a fool he had been. He was ready, but the next voice he heard was Emma’s, behind him.
“Charles?! He’s alive!”
Raucous did a double-take. Sure enough, Professor Charles Xavier was sitting in that wheelchair, guarded by four men.
“Oh he’s alive alright,” Cortez bragged. “His mind, however, is ready to die. The only thing keeping him alive is my power, augmenting his mental capabilities beyond even your comprehension, White Queen. And as long as he is under my control, he will obey my commands. Xavier, kill these fools.”
“No!” Emma reached out with one hand and touched her mind with another. Xavier was powerful, but Emma had Cerebro. Raucous wanted to see what was happening, who was winning, what he should be doing. The two combatants didn’t move, but they were fighting just the same. Xavier had entered Raucous’ mind before, as a gladiator. He hoped Emma was not facing that. But all he had to do was look at Cortez’s face; Emma Frost was winning.
“Guards, take him out of here! We will find the five another way!”
“Emma! Kill Xavier now!”
She opened her eyes. “How dare you?! Charles is my friend, and I would never do anything to hurt him!”
“Emma, they are getting away! Do something!”
Cortez, Xavier, and the four guards turned the corner they had come from. Raucous heard feet hitting metal, fleeing. They would no doubt be back.
“I will do what I came to do.” And with that, she resumed her meditation.
It was a few minutes before anything happened. But when it did, Raucous was ready for it. It was a simple voice heard all around the chamber - “I’m not finished with you.” Raucous’ voice was always more powerful.
“But I am finished here,” Emma replied. “Let’s go Raucous.”
So they crawled back through the caves and boarded the plane outside the mansion grounds. And now all they had to do was find Alchem, Beast, and Forge. A sentinel’s head rose above the horizon. Oh, and not get shot down.
This entire process had made Raucous overwhelmingly fatigued, and as they once again boarded Sinister’s jet, this time to search the skies for three geniuses, he collapsed into his seat and exhaled heavily.
“No time to sleep,” Emma reminded him.
“You didn’t just have to fight a black hole.”
“I had to fight two in their minds. That’s just as exhausting.”
Raucous doubted it. Forge’s mind could not have been anything like whatever that…thing…in there was. Xavier’s…ok, she can have that. He wished they had handled that part better.
The black and yellow - plague was what it looked like - had climbed down the walls and started infecting the wires connecting Cerebro until Raucous let out a little yell. That’s when the shit hit the fan. The plague jumped out at him, traveling through the air faster than Raucous could think, leaping like thinking liquid, purposeful liquid, going for the throat. Raucous flipped back precariously on the short bridge connecting the rest of the basement to Cerebro. At least he had the damn things attention.
The liquid sunk into the ledge, and the ground beneath Raucous’ feet turned that sickly black with yellow symbols. What had Emma said? Douglass? What the bloody hell is this Douglass? Raucous did the only thing he knew how to; he yelled.
The liquid seemed to grow arms, struggling to maintain a handhold on the bridge as the rest of it was being blown away by the sound, clinging to avoid the abyss below.
He knew now why he had thought of that word - abyss. Because it wasn’t, really, Raucous could see the bottom. But all he could think of was abyss, abyss, no with a capital letter, Abyss. Why Abyss, what was Emma…?
Suddenly Raucous could feel his back being sucked into the main basement hallway. He looked down and saw that the liquid was still struggling, but it was struggling the other way - it was being dragged inside as well. Abyss, Abyss, Abyss...she could’ve been a little bit clearer, ya know? Raucous had never heard of this Abyss before. How was he supposed to know there was someone else who had sights set on Cerebro.
Raucous couldn’t keep himself in Cerebro’s chamber for long. He and the liquid flew into the metal hallway and skidded across the floor.
“How about a clearin’ a little space?!” The voice was nauseating.
Raucous looked up to see a seven-foot tall, blue haired thing, dripping black from its body, dripping limbs from its body, weird spiraled arms and legs that seemed to bounce and bob to and fro. And behind the thing was a man Raucous did know - Fabian Cortez.
A treacherous man who could manipulate and strengthen other mutants’ powers. Wait, was he behind the thing? How could he see...?
That is Abyss. He must be stopped.
“Oh come now, honey, you wouldn’t want to do that!” So it talked. And it could hear Emma’s thoughts. It lifted an arm and pointed it at Emma. She let out a wailing scream. “Rumble rumble, deary! Have fun trying to concentrate while I deal with your little friends here.”
The liquid began to rise from the ground and form something solid. A man. So, this Douglass was a mutant.
”Self Doug-Lock will not allow Abyss to interfere again!” Douglock? Ok, Douglock.
“Parlor tricks! I love them!” Abyss leaned in close to Douglock, “Wanna see what I can do?”
Cortez’s hands began to glow as he supported Abyss. The translucent body flipped backwards, arms flailing, hair blooming, and suddenly the torso began to glow. Douglock began to run back towards Cerebro. Looking back, Raucous was glad he doubted Douglock’s motives. It may have saved his own life.
Raucous followed Douglock, running towards Emma, who was on the floor, holding her head, still screaming. And suddenly, the tugging was back. Raucous looked back and saw that the walls, the floor, even Cortez himself were being sucked into Abyss’ chest. He got the nickname. He wasn’t amused.
Douglock’s arms reached up and became that black and golden goo again, stretching into the vents and disappearing. What the hell was going on?
Raucous grabbed a hold of the door and gripped it for dear life. Suddenly, a spiral arm wrapped around his body and wrenched him free. Raucous was pulled back and then catapulted into the Cerebro chamber. His fall was broken - by Emma.
“Careful, you ignorant brute!” So, Cortez was in control. “We came here for Cerebro. Eliminating them is just a means to an end.”
The chest started up again, pulling Raucous back into the hallway. He reached for the doorframe - and his grip slipped. Time to make one last stand. Letting out everything he could, Raucous screamed. He could taste blood bubbling up from his throat - his vocal chords were damaged, he couldn’t keep this up much longer. But damn if he was going to end up inside that thing. He couldn’t hear, his ears were ringing with so much pain he had to force his eyes open just to pay attention. And suddenly, Abyss began to come…undone. The body began to unravel, pull apart, stretch so that it was not translucent but transparent. As sudden as it had begun to expand, it collapsed at once into the black hole of its chest. Raucous fell to the floor and hit his head, hard.
“No! What have you done?” Cortez had his arms raised, holding up the air, supporting nothing.
“Emma! Finish the job! I’ll handle Cortez.”
”I don’t think you will, Raucous. Abyss certainly wasn’t my only weapon. Guards, bring him out!”
Two men with guns walked out from behind a corner, followed by an old man in a wheelchair, and two more men.
Raucous let out a chuckle. He remembered clearly underestimating Cortez’s ‘secret weapon’. What a fool he had been. He was ready, but the next voice he heard was Emma’s, behind him.
“Charles?! He’s alive!”
Raucous did a double-take. Sure enough, Professor Charles Xavier was sitting in that wheelchair, guarded by four men.
“Oh he’s alive alright,” Cortez bragged. “His mind, however, is ready to die. The only thing keeping him alive is my power, augmenting his mental capabilities beyond even your comprehension, White Queen. And as long as he is under my control, he will obey my commands. Xavier, kill these fools.”
“No!” Emma reached out with one hand and touched her mind with another. Xavier was powerful, but Emma had Cerebro. Raucous wanted to see what was happening, who was winning, what he should be doing. The two combatants didn’t move, but they were fighting just the same. Xavier had entered Raucous’ mind before, as a gladiator. He hoped Emma was not facing that. But all he had to do was look at Cortez’s face; Emma Frost was winning.
“Guards, take him out of here! We will find the five another way!”
“Emma! Kill Xavier now!”
She opened her eyes. “How dare you?! Charles is my friend, and I would never do anything to hurt him!”
“Emma, they are getting away! Do something!”
Cortez, Xavier, and the four guards turned the corner they had come from. Raucous heard feet hitting metal, fleeing. They would no doubt be back.
“I will do what I came to do.” And with that, she resumed her meditation.
It was a few minutes before anything happened. But when it did, Raucous was ready for it. It was a simple voice heard all around the chamber - “I’m not finished with you.” Raucous’ voice was always more powerful.
“But I am finished here,” Emma replied. “Let’s go Raucous.”
So they crawled back through the caves and boarded the plane outside the mansion grounds. And now all they had to do was find Alchem, Beast, and Forge. A sentinel’s head rose above the horizon. Oh, and not get shot down.