Panther - A Nightcrawler Fanfiction

22) Wipe Out

[Author's Note:

{5.20.2013} Just edited through this again. Just small stuff, no content changes

X-Men Characters In This Chapter: Professor X (Charles Xavier), Gambit (Remy), Rogue (Marie), Wolverine (Logan), Multiple (Jamie), Jubilee, Shadowcat (Kitty), Cyclops (Scott), and Phoenix (Jean)

StormFireGirl's OC: Bio-hazard (A.J.)

OCs: the Shadow (Marcus Preed)]:

"Marcus. Marcus Preed, the Shadow, at your service," the man said.

Multiple, Shadowcat, and Jubilee burst out laughing.

"That's, like, such a nerdy name," Shadowcat giggled.

Marcus steamed, his pride and ego wounded. Wolverine stepped in front of the younger x-men, but a grin broke out on his face.

"What's the matter Marcus? Can't take a few laughs at your expense?" Wolverine grinned.

The Shadow's figure began to darken.

"On your guard half-pints," Wolverine growled.

The three of them lost their smiles, dropping into a fighting stance. Cyclops and Jean prepared themselves to attack the Shadow, whose laugh rang out in the enclosed space.

"Wolverine, I'm disappointed in you. You brought such an ill-prepared team to confront me. What happened to that lovely woman you brought last time? You know the one that got the upper hand of me." At the sight of Wolverine's face Marcus laughed again. "She's dead! Of course, it's been well beyond her lifetime now hasn't it? So why," he said, floating up into the air surrounded by a black cloud, "are you still here? And looking young I might add."

Wolverine growled at him. "I haven't aged in years."

"I noticed."

"Wolverine, what's going on?" Cyclops asked.

"No time to explain. Multiple, get Bio-hazard. Cyclops, Shadowcat, left. Jean, Jubilee, right. We are putting Marcus here back into the freezer."

~

Back at the Institute:

"You love me?" Emery asked.

"I do, und I really believe you are my mate, that I am yours."

"I don't know anything about that mating stuff."

"Your intuition knows, kätzchen."

They sat in silence for a while, watching the other's eyes.

Breaking the silence, Kurt said softly, "You never did answer my question, Em."

"Ask it again."

Kurt smiled. "Vill you be mine?"

Emery blushed and looked away temporarily. When her eyes found their way back to his, she answered him.

"I will."

"You will?" Kurt breathed a sigh of relief.

Emery nodded.

Kurt's lips found hers in a passionate kiss. He wanted her to know just how much he appreciated her agreeing to be his. This meant no one would ever be able to take her from him. Genau? Right?

'Right,' her voice whispered in his brain.

His lips curved up into a smile against her lips.

~

Multiple fell back behind the other five, as they waited for the shadow to attack. And he did. He disposed of each of them fairly quickly. He threw a wave of shadow at them. Wolverine dropped to the floor and out of the way. Multiple followed suit. Jean put up a shield around her and Jubilee. Shadowcat snatched Cyclops' hand and faded them out. Unfortunately for the two of them, the wave interfered with her mutant power and instead of passing through them it traveled through their body like an electric shock. They were down for the count.

"Scott!" Jean called, but it was no use. He'd been knocked unconscious.

Jean's shout drew the Shadow's attention to her. He grinned. Jean's shadow, cast on the floor from the glow of the blue lights in the room, rose off the ground. It encased her in a tight, binding hold and choked the air out of her. She passed out unconscious on the floor.

This angered Jubilee. She threw energy ball after energy ball at the Shadow; Multiple used this distraction to run around the Shadow and kneel beside Bio-hazard. Jubilee's energy explosions were of no use. The Shadow's body was encased in a dark shadowy essence that absorbed each and every one. The energy he absorbed built into a giant mass of darkness. When Jubilee realized that she was feeding the Shadow the energy he was using, she stopped. But it was already too late. The Shadow pushed the mass at her. She had nowhere to go. It exploded on contact with her body and sent her flying into the wall behind her. Who knows whether it was the blast or the impact of the wall that knocked her out, but she was no longer conscious.

Wolverine growled. "Enough of this Marcus; pick on someone your own age."

Marcus just laughed. And as he laughed, sound waves of a dark pressure radiated from him. When it reached both Wolverine and Multiple, the two of them clutched at their ears, trying to block it out to no avail. The sound weakened them. Wolverine, ears far more sensitive than Multiple's, collapsed first. He was grumbling about no one being able to do anything and Marcus getting to have his messed up fun. Multiple followed shortly, falling to the floor beside Bio-hazard. He inched forward and clasped her hand in his. That's as far as he got before the dark sound wave knocked him unconscious.

~

The Shadow was so happy. He'd finally gotten his body back. That girl, Emma Frost, from way back when, had died, likely from old age. He was free, and there was no one that could get in his way. He was smiling as he exited the building. Then he remembered there was one girl that probably could stop him: the one with the tail and ears. What was her name again? Amelia? No. Emily? No... but that kind of sounded right. Oh! It had to be Emery. She seemed like she would pose a problem. He'd have to go back to the Institute and pay her a visit. Maybe he could talk her into joining him. Or at least find out what she was capable of so he knew how to defend himself from her attacks.

~

The Professor lost contact with the six person team he'd sent to retrieve Bio-hazard. He'd felt a sudden surge of mutant power, but he had no idea where it came from. He picked up the phone and dialed Gambit's cellphone. He had a feeling he would need every experienced mutant on this one. Wolverine, Cyclops, Jean, Shadowcat, and even the two younger x-men were not to be taken lightly. If they were all out of commission, as well as Bio-hazard, well, there was something terribly wrong going on here.

"W'at's up, Professor," Gambit's Cajun drawl floated over the phone.

"I need you and Rogue to return to the Institute as soon as possible. We have a problem."

"What kind of problem?"

"One that was able to put, Bio-hazard, Shadowcat, Cyclops, Jean, Jubilee, Wolverine, and Multiple out of commission. They're all still alive, but none of them are conscious."

"Well, sh't," Gambit swore.

"What's wrong, Remy?" Rogue's voice was heard in the background.

"A whole bunch of us got knocked down for the count today. The Professor wants us back at the 'nstitute as soon as we can get there."

"Leave it to them to get a mess brewin' when I'm not there," Rogue growled, starting to pack up their suitcases.

"We're on our way, Professor," Remy told him.

"Yes, make haste." The Professor hung up the phone. What on earth was going on here?