Sins of the Father

Sins of the Father Chapter Fifty Four (NC-17)
Disclaimers Apply

A/N Goddess Foxfeather, Queen of Mad Plotbunnies, BUSIEST WOMAN ALIVE (tm), Prophetic Muse, Hamster Witch and Uberbeta... O.B.N. *happy purr * InterNutter, TC, Maxwell Pink and Dracena are loverly and wonderful for archiving/hosting! :) ProPhile: No, really...just fine! Morgan: Well? ;) Readers/Reviewers: So... *twirly dance of thanks * Hopefully, this is all starting to come together for y'all. I mean, I'm writing it so I know where it's going but since y'all are reading it, I'm hoping this is making sense, lol...



The rumbling shook the walls and floor, a strange reverberation signaling that it was echoing in the building around them, in rooms unseen and hidden. Lance's eyes went wide as the others in the room whipped around to glare at him. He threw up his hands and snapped, "I'm not doing ANYTHING!"
Tabby's grip tightened on Lucas, who had become disturbingly silent, not even whimpering as the rumbling built. Rahne was unsteady on her feet, her face bearing distinct traces of her lupine form as Poena fawned, murmuring in some unknown tongue and skimming her hands over the Scottish girl. Tightly, Tabby muttered to Wanda, "Get Lucas out of here. Now. I don't care how you do it but just go." She tried to subtly hand the child to her partner but Wanda stepped away and back. "Wanda!"
"No," the other girl hissed. "I'm not leaving you in here. Besides, no where to go and no way to get there."
The building heaved but the walls did not crack as would have been expected. "Mes amis," Remy said in a near jovial tone, "look like we got us a prollem here." He spread his hands wide and stepped towards Sabretooth. "I know you ain't a stupid man, homme," he purred, "so don' be actin' like you ain't unnerstanin' me." He stopped just a few feet from the hulking mutant and smiled slowly as if the floor was not shaking beneath his feet and a small horde of mutants was not standing behind them, their fingers on the proverbial hair triggers of their powers. "You get us outta here, you ain't gotta worry 'bout Magneto comin' down like de wrath o'God on you..."
"You are a fool," Sabretooth said in a low growl.
"Mebbe," Remy shrugged, "mais I gonna live another day. Et tu?" He moved with lightening speed, knocking Sabretooth off balance.
Amara's head snapped up from where she knelt at Poena's feet. Automatically, she lurched to stand but seemed unsure, looking from Poena to Remy for one brief moment, but it was enough. Poena lashed out, grabbing Amara and pulling her hard against her. "You follow me," she snarled. "I am your goddess!"
Sabretooth roared and was on his feet before Remy could move away to prepare a second attack. Lucas had begun wailing again, a purely infant response rather than a premonitory panic. Wanda drew in a deep breath and let it out in a spasm of orders. "Rahne! Get Amara! Lance, door! Tabby, move!" She held her hands out and closed her eyes. A wave of energy seemed to pour off her, intangible but present.
Rahne blinked, surprised by the assumption of control, but shrugged it off. Knowing what Wanda wanted her to do, she stood straight and snarled, "Poena, let her go!"
Poena dropped Amara as if she were refuse, too foul to touch. The Nova Roman collapsed to the floor, her legs weak from exertion and hunger, her body pale from loss of blood. She drew a shudder breath, her eyes rolling back in her head as she fell onto her back. Lance was scooping her up before she was truly unconscious, her body going limp as he settled her hurriedly against his chest. Poena tipped her chin importantly and asked of Rahne, "Yes, daughter of wolves?"
It clicked into place then. Rahne smiled inwardly. Wolves. Rome. _She bloody thinks I'm some sort of lesser deity or something... Cool. This can work... _ Remy thudded to the ground near her, rolling to his feet quickly, keeping himself between Sabretooth and Lucas. The rumbling seemed to intensify. "Take care of him," she ordered, pointing to Sabretooth. "Let me take them out of here."
Sabretooth actually laughed at that, dodging Remy's blow easily. "She is not your god," he told Poena in his rusty voice, little used under Magneto's command. "She is nothing."
Poena's eyes drifted over Rahne from head to toe, taking her in. Rahne stood still, trying to look as if the fighting beside her was not bothering her, trying to look as if Lance frantically trying to open the sliding electronic door was not making her nerves twist into a bundle of jittering pain. Rahne was not fully in her in between form but she was not entirely human in appearance anymore. She bore distinct traces of the wolf already and it was only a short shift... "Wanda," she said sharply. "Let me go. I can't change. Let me go now!" She felt the release like the snap of a rubber band. With very little effort, she let the in between form come and had the satisfaction of seeing Poena's eyes grow wide and her until-now superior demeanor become tremulous and awed. "Poena, listen to me," she snarled, her voice thick and rough. Poena stared a split second longer then moved. She grabbed Remy by the back of his coat and flung him easily to one side, his hissed curse as he hit the wall the only sound in the room now except the ever growing rumbling. Sabretooth spat on the floor, one of Remy's lucky blows having split his lip and oozing blood before the healing factor could take over. Rahne did not wait a moment more. She latched onto Wanda's elbow as she moved, dragging her to the door where Lance was still frantically looking for the locking mechanism. "Can't ye wake her up and get her to melt the damned thing?" she hissed in his ear.
Lance glared. "Even if I wanted to, no. She's too weak!" He looked desperately over his shoulder; Poena and Sabretooth were circling each other, one eerily placed and the other snarling in amusement. Lucas's earsplitting wails were making Lance's teeth ache. "Tabby," he snapped, nodding at the door. He had Amara awkwardly balanced with one arm, her repose against him precarious at best. "Hurry!"
Tabby handed Lucas off to Wanda, feeling the final release of her powers as her girlfriend took the baby from her. She closed her eyes, trying not to panic, and pressed her hand against the lock. Her efforts warranted nothing after several seconds, just a melted spot on the door. "Fuck, I can't do it unless I blow it up and we've got no where to go!"
Remy reached forward and pressed his fingers against the seam of the door. "I kin get it mais, she right. We ain't got nowhere to go ta get outta de way..."
"Hell of a time for you to be responsible," Rahne snapped. She kicked the door hard as Sabretooth roared again, Poena's berserker, ululating cry as they clashed making the shapeshifter panic. "Work, God damn it!" she howled, kicking the door. It hissed softly and slid to one side. "Whoa," Rahne breathed. "I wonder if that'd work on Scott's car then..."
Tabby gasped involuntarily and fell back against Remy, turning to shield Lucas from the apparition in the doorway. Wanda stepped forward, hands outspread to protect her. Kali stood, arms outstretched to fill the doorway, her red smile truly frightening as she towered over them. "It has started... good."
Kitty ducked around the lower arms, nearly running into Rahne. "Come on," she cried. "I don't know what she's done but it's bad and come ON!"
Kali snorted. "Take your time. It is inevitable." She lowered her arms and looked over their heads at the combatants. "Pretender," she snarled, her voice low-pitched but carrying through the room.
The rumbling stopped suddenly, leaving a vacuum of sound that made Kurt's ears ache as he moved forward to take Lucas. "Come on," he murmured to Tabby, nodding at Remy. "Don't ask questions, just move."
"Bon ide, homme," Remy sighed. He pushed Rahne and Kitty forward after Wanda. Kali stood, taking up half the space in the exit. "Um..."
"Pretender," Kali hissed again, her eyes fixed on Poena. "You defile the honor, you defile the existence..."
"I think," Kitty said thickly, looking back, "running is a good idea now."