Persistence of Memory
folder
X-Men - Animated Series (all) › General
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
57
Views:
7,475
Reviews:
68
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
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Category:
X-Men - Animated Series (all) › General
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
57
Views:
7,475
Reviews:
68
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own X-Men Evolution, or any of the characters from it. I make no money from from the writing of this story.
53
Persistence of Memory Chapter Fifty Three (NC-17)
Disclaimers Apply
A/N Goddess Foxfeather, Queen of Mad Plotbunnies, BUSIEST
WOMAN ALIVE ™, Prophetic Muse, Hamster Witch and Uberbeta…now I’ve got the
giggles. We’re secret elves. *sigh*
Too much sugar… InterNutter, TC
and Maxwell Pink are shiny happy people because they archive! J ProPhile gets muse kibble for being a
smutmuse. Readers/Reviewers: *sigh * I just watched Hugh Jackman in
“Oklahoma.” Wolverine is now doing
disturbing things in my mind… Thank you
so much for reading and reviewing! J The ducks thank you, too!
The cameras
were rolling with a very faint electrical hum as Firestar was led into the
otherwise empty room. The walls gleamed
faintly with reflected light from some hidden source as Mesmero secured her to
a standing board like those used for paraplegics. She worked her jaw and failed to make much beyond a muffled
squeaking noise under Mesmero’s influence.
Magneto smiled proudly as Scatterbrain nodded curtly to the camera crew
and strode into Cerebro. “This,”
Magneto intoned to the reporter present, “This has never been witnessed
before. Feel honored.”
“What’s
that room he went into?” Stevens asked in hushed awe.
“Ah…a
control room of sorts. Nothing you need
to be concerned with.”
A subtle
nod from Magneto and Saint Anna pressed a button on Cerebro’s outer control
panel. “Ready,” she murmured after a
moment.
The air was
thick with silent anticipation, no one seemingly wanting to even breathe as they
waited. Under his feet, Pietro could
feel the hum of Cerebro starting up, then fading. Frowning, Saint Anna glanced at Magneto, who made a slight
gesture at his side, and she pressed the button again. “Um…”
“A moment,
please,” Magneto murmured, rushing to Saint Anna’s side.
“If this is
a bad time,” Stevens began, only to be cut off by a sharp glare from
Magneto. “Ooookay…”
Firestar
looked smug despite her inability to articulate it. She gave a surreptitious tug on her bonds and sighed when she realized
she was too weak from lack of sleep and food to do much good. Unless… She glared in the direction of Magneto for a moment, then the
cameras: one was focused on her, one on the trio at the door, Mesmero now
having joined them in their cursing and pushing. She gave another experimental tug on her bonds to confirm her
situation then sighed. I really
don’t want to do this… But do I even owe Magneto anything? Even my sense of honor isnorthorth this dog
and pony show. Making her decision,
she inhaled long and deep through her nose and forced it to happen. Her powers flared to life so suddenly that
it nearly blinded the cameraman trained on her. It was a brief flash, like that of an old camera, and her bonds
were seared off, but it was enough to enrage Magneto and stun the news
crew.
“Mesmero!”
Magneto snapped, but it was too late.
The hypnotist could not regain his control over Firestar. She refused to meet his eyes or even look
his way as she grabbed the camera that had been focused on her and swung it at
Magneto. There was enough metal in the
camera to let Magneto work. Like before
with the wall fixture, this stopped in mid-arc but unlike last time, Firestar
was there.
She kept moving, dropping low to
sweep her leg behind him and knock Magneto to the ground. Saint Anna yelped and backed against the
wall, her eyes wide with surprised fear.
Mesmero made a final grab for her but Firestarked ked him solidly in the
groin. The news crew did not budge, not
even the man who’s camera she took. She
looked at Saint Anna, still pressed against the wall. “Don’t let him out until I’m gone, understand?” She did not wait for an answer but fled,
her legs shaking as she ran up the stairs to the main hall and then out of the
mansion. She heard the commotion behind
her and had the sick feeling it wabretbretooth, the one person she had ever
seen and been scared of without ever experiencing their personality. Firestar decided she was beyond caring if
she was seen. Hell, they already
have me on tape! With a rush, she
let herself take to the air somewhat shakily.
Note to self: use this power more… It was Sabretooth after her, followed by Magneto and Saint Anna
at a more decorous pace. What now?
she cried internally. She had no idea
where to go, what to do… She closed her
eyes and scorched the ground beneath her, trying to buy time. Boston…Emma…I can’t go back to that. Her powers flagged and she began sinking
before she could force herself upwards again.
I’d better think of something soon…
“What’re you in such a good mood
for?”
Rogue shrugged. “Can’t I just be happy?”
“Usually, I would disagree but
since you aren’t kicking my ass right now, I’ll say yes.”
Rogue grinned at Amara and
continued raking the side yard. “Todd
told me why you hit me.”
“How’d he know?”
“He and Lance are worse than old
ladies, gossipin’. Really.”
Amara snorted and deigned to pick
up a handful of damp leaves to shove in the mostly empty bag. “I don’t understand you.”
“All my life, I’ve thought I had to
run away, ya know? I had not
choice. If I’d stayed in Meridian, what
would’ve happened to me? I had to keep
movin’. I get here…” She shrugged and leaned on the rake. “I tried to run but y’all came after
me. No one ever did that before. Not cause they liked me anyway.”
“I never said I liked you.”
“You do.” Rogue toed the pile of leaves idly. “Know how I know?”
“Do tell.”
“I wasn’t out the whole time in the
car. Your voice carries.”
“Liar.”
“Really. I heard you. And what’s
more…” She leaned closer and
grinned. “We’re too much alike for you
not to like me.”
“You’re insane.”
“All part of my charm, dearie.”
“And delusional.” Amara busied herself with her hated chore of
stuffing leaves into the lawn bag for several minutes before curiosity got the
better of her. “Where were you going?”
“Does it matter?”
“No…but for future reference.”
“Always wanted to see Canada.”
“Go to Plattsburg and look north.”
“Ha.”
“What would you have done there?”
“Tried to start over, I guess.
Why?”
“Vague concern for the citizens of
Canada should you ever run off again.”
Rogue snorted then made a slight
“shhh!” sound as Logan approached. “You
girls done?”
“Does it look like it?” Amara asked
haughtily.
“Plenty of time to finish later,”
Logan said genially. “Get inside and get cleaned up.”
“Why?” Rogue asked uncertainly.
“Professor Xavier feels it might be
time for the residents of the Institute to go out…”
“Alright, lissen up!” Logan barked
to the assembled groups. “Catholics,
follow Kurt and Rahne. Episcopalians,
Anglicans and assorted Protestants, divide up between Banshee, Emma, and
Jean. Pagans, Jews, Muslims, Hindus,
Atheists, and anyone else who does not need or want to attend church on Sunday,
follow Storm and Amara.” There was a
general muddle of people and voices as everyone divided up and cars were
organized. “Now before you go out,
here’s what’s going on. The longer we
stay hiding here, the worse it looks to those people out there calling us freaks. Today, we go to church or town. No one strays from their group and we all
meet at one o’clock for lunch. Got it?”
“Yes, Logan…”
“No matter what happens, no
powers. No matter how funny you think
it might be,” he growled, directing this at St John and Bobby.
“One time!” Bobby cried. “And it didn’t hurt her!”
Storm cleared her throat. “Those coming with me will need to be ready
in ten minutes.”
“I can’t leave Lucas here!” Tabby
pouted.
“Bring him with,” Wanda
sighed.
“I’m not lugging a baby around all
day,” Tabby continued.
“Leave him with me,” Kitty broke
in. “I’m not going anywhere until I get
my staples out.”
Kurt waved. “I’ll stay with you.”
“No, you won’t,” Logan
ordered. “Amanda’s all over the news
gushing about you so you’d better show your face, Elf.”
“Watch the Elf business,” Storm
murmured. “Where’s Evan?”
Emma looked shifty. “He’ll be along.”
“Come on,” Scott opened the door. “The median time for
the services is ten and it’s after nine now.”
Kitty took Lucas from Tabby and
Wanda and made him wave good bye as everyone trickled out. “Just you and me, kiddo,” she sighed,
wincing as his weight pulled on her wound.
“You gotta cut back on those bottles, Luke. C’mon…” She padded into the
rec room and settled on the couch with Lucas beside her. “You want to watch Dr Phil reruns, Daily
Show, or…hmm…” A familiar face gave
her pause as she flipped channels. “Is
that…” Even Lucas fell silent as the
image of Firestar flaring into full glory looped over and over. “Well, this sucks.”
A/N Next up, Risty, Evan, and the
disastrous trip to town and a little more Mags.
Disclaimers Apply
A/N Goddess Foxfeather, Queen of Mad Plotbunnies, BUSIEST
WOMAN ALIVE ™, Prophetic Muse, Hamster Witch and Uberbeta…now I’ve got the
giggles. We’re secret elves. *sigh*
Too much sugar… InterNutter, TC
and Maxwell Pink are shiny happy people because they archive! J ProPhile gets muse kibble for being a
smutmuse. Readers/Reviewers: *sigh * I just watched Hugh Jackman in
“Oklahoma.” Wolverine is now doing
disturbing things in my mind… Thank you
so much for reading and reviewing! J The ducks thank you, too!
The cameras
were rolling with a very faint electrical hum as Firestar was led into the
otherwise empty room. The walls gleamed
faintly with reflected light from some hidden source as Mesmero secured her to
a standing board like those used for paraplegics. She worked her jaw and failed to make much beyond a muffled
squeaking noise under Mesmero’s influence.
Magneto smiled proudly as Scatterbrain nodded curtly to the camera crew
and strode into Cerebro. “This,”
Magneto intoned to the reporter present, “This has never been witnessed
before. Feel honored.”
“What’s
that room he went into?” Stevens asked in hushed awe.
“Ah…a
control room of sorts. Nothing you need
to be concerned with.”
A subtle
nod from Magneto and Saint Anna pressed a button on Cerebro’s outer control
panel. “Ready,” she murmured after a
moment.
The air was
thick with silent anticipation, no one seemingly wanting to even breathe as they
waited. Under his feet, Pietro could
feel the hum of Cerebro starting up, then fading. Frowning, Saint Anna glanced at Magneto, who made a slight
gesture at his side, and she pressed the button again. “Um…”
“A moment,
please,” Magneto murmured, rushing to Saint Anna’s side.
“If this is
a bad time,” Stevens began, only to be cut off by a sharp glare from
Magneto. “Ooookay…”
Firestar
looked smug despite her inability to articulate it. She gave a surreptitious tug on her bonds and sighed when she realized
she was too weak from lack of sleep and food to do much good. Unless… She glared in the direction of Magneto for a moment, then the
cameras: one was focused on her, one on the trio at the door, Mesmero now
having joined them in their cursing and pushing. She gave another experimental tug on her bonds to confirm her
situation then sighed. I really
don’t want to do this… But do I even owe Magneto anything? Even my sense of honor isnorthorth this dog
and pony show. Making her decision,
she inhaled long and deep through her nose and forced it to happen. Her powers flared to life so suddenly that
it nearly blinded the cameraman trained on her. It was a brief flash, like that of an old camera, and her bonds
were seared off, but it was enough to enrage Magneto and stun the news
crew.
“Mesmero!”
Magneto snapped, but it was too late.
The hypnotist could not regain his control over Firestar. She refused to meet his eyes or even look
his way as she grabbed the camera that had been focused on her and swung it at
Magneto. There was enough metal in the
camera to let Magneto work. Like before
with the wall fixture, this stopped in mid-arc but unlike last time, Firestar
was there.
She kept moving, dropping low to
sweep her leg behind him and knock Magneto to the ground. Saint Anna yelped and backed against the
wall, her eyes wide with surprised fear.
Mesmero made a final grab for her but Firestarked ked him solidly in the
groin. The news crew did not budge, not
even the man who’s camera she took. She
looked at Saint Anna, still pressed against the wall. “Don’t let him out until I’m gone, understand?” She did not wait for an answer but fled,
her legs shaking as she ran up the stairs to the main hall and then out of the
mansion. She heard the commotion behind
her and had the sick feeling it wabretbretooth, the one person she had ever
seen and been scared of without ever experiencing their personality. Firestar decided she was beyond caring if
she was seen. Hell, they already
have me on tape! With a rush, she
let herself take to the air somewhat shakily.
Note to self: use this power more… It was Sabretooth after her, followed by Magneto and Saint Anna
at a more decorous pace. What now?
she cried internally. She had no idea
where to go, what to do… She closed her
eyes and scorched the ground beneath her, trying to buy time. Boston…Emma…I can’t go back to that. Her powers flagged and she began sinking
before she could force herself upwards again.
I’d better think of something soon…
“What’re you in such a good mood
for?”
Rogue shrugged. “Can’t I just be happy?”
“Usually, I would disagree but
since you aren’t kicking my ass right now, I’ll say yes.”
Rogue grinned at Amara and
continued raking the side yard. “Todd
told me why you hit me.”
“How’d he know?”
“He and Lance are worse than old
ladies, gossipin’. Really.”
Amara snorted and deigned to pick
up a handful of damp leaves to shove in the mostly empty bag. “I don’t understand you.”
“All my life, I’ve thought I had to
run away, ya know? I had not
choice. If I’d stayed in Meridian, what
would’ve happened to me? I had to keep
movin’. I get here…” She shrugged and leaned on the rake. “I tried to run but y’all came after
me. No one ever did that before. Not cause they liked me anyway.”
“I never said I liked you.”
“You do.” Rogue toed the pile of leaves idly. “Know how I know?”
“Do tell.”
“I wasn’t out the whole time in the
car. Your voice carries.”
“Liar.”
“Really. I heard you. And what’s
more…” She leaned closer and
grinned. “We’re too much alike for you
not to like me.”
“You’re insane.”
“All part of my charm, dearie.”
“And delusional.” Amara busied herself with her hated chore of
stuffing leaves into the lawn bag for several minutes before curiosity got the
better of her. “Where were you going?”
“Does it matter?”
“No…but for future reference.”
“Always wanted to see Canada.”
“Go to Plattsburg and look north.”
“Ha.”
“What would you have done there?”
“Tried to start over, I guess.
Why?”
“Vague concern for the citizens of
Canada should you ever run off again.”
Rogue snorted then made a slight
“shhh!” sound as Logan approached. “You
girls done?”
“Does it look like it?” Amara asked
haughtily.
“Plenty of time to finish later,”
Logan said genially. “Get inside and get cleaned up.”
“Why?” Rogue asked uncertainly.
“Professor Xavier feels it might be
time for the residents of the Institute to go out…”
“Alright, lissen up!” Logan barked
to the assembled groups. “Catholics,
follow Kurt and Rahne. Episcopalians,
Anglicans and assorted Protestants, divide up between Banshee, Emma, and
Jean. Pagans, Jews, Muslims, Hindus,
Atheists, and anyone else who does not need or want to attend church on Sunday,
follow Storm and Amara.” There was a
general muddle of people and voices as everyone divided up and cars were
organized. “Now before you go out,
here’s what’s going on. The longer we
stay hiding here, the worse it looks to those people out there calling us freaks. Today, we go to church or town. No one strays from their group and we all
meet at one o’clock for lunch. Got it?”
“Yes, Logan…”
“No matter what happens, no
powers. No matter how funny you think
it might be,” he growled, directing this at St John and Bobby.
“One time!” Bobby cried. “And it didn’t hurt her!”
Storm cleared her throat. “Those coming with me will need to be ready
in ten minutes.”
“I can’t leave Lucas here!” Tabby
pouted.
“Bring him with,” Wanda
sighed.
“I’m not lugging a baby around all
day,” Tabby continued.
“Leave him with me,” Kitty broke
in. “I’m not going anywhere until I get
my staples out.”
Kurt waved. “I’ll stay with you.”
“No, you won’t,” Logan
ordered. “Amanda’s all over the news
gushing about you so you’d better show your face, Elf.”
“Watch the Elf business,” Storm
murmured. “Where’s Evan?”
Emma looked shifty. “He’ll be along.”
“Come on,” Scott opened the door. “The median time for
the services is ten and it’s after nine now.”
Kitty took Lucas from Tabby and
Wanda and made him wave good bye as everyone trickled out. “Just you and me, kiddo,” she sighed,
wincing as his weight pulled on her wound.
“You gotta cut back on those bottles, Luke. C’mon…” She padded into the
rec room and settled on the couch with Lucas beside her. “You want to watch Dr Phil reruns, Daily
Show, or…hmm…” A familiar face gave
her pause as she flipped channels. “Is
that…” Even Lucas fell silent as the
image of Firestar flaring into full glory looped over and over. “Well, this sucks.”
A/N Next up, Risty, Evan, and the
disastrous trip to town and a little more Mags.