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Post by sunofdarkchild on May 11, 2024 13:28:35 GMT -5
Episode 3: Who's scaring Stevie?
Brring, bring
"Hello?"
"Hi, Stevie."
"You know who this is. You know what I want. Soon, I'll come to get it."
"Bye … for now."
The teenage students of Charles Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters gathered in front of the mansion as they usually did when it was time for their dancing lessons.
Their instructor, Stevie Hunter, was not waiting for them in her van as she usually did, but was walking up the steps to the mansion itself. None of them had ever seen her so angry before.
"Is everything all right, Stevie?" Xuân asked.
"I'm fine!" the older woman snapped. She instantly regretted the harsh tone she had used. "I'm sorry, Xuân. I just need to see Charles right now."
"What about our class?"
"Cancelled for today. Go have fun, take a nap, whatever."
Stevie brushed past the teens, Xuân waiting a few moments before following her. The rest shuffled back into the mansion at a more leisurely pace.
Illyana was the quickest to the living room, grabbing the television remote and turning on a cartoon.
Roberto plopped himself down on the couch next to her. "You like Scooby Doo?"
"I like the talking dog, yes," she said simply.
"It's always nice to meet someone else who also appreciates the classics," he said. "Since we've got some free time, you feel like sharing what you can do?"
Kitty's eyes shot open and her head moved so fast it was practically a blur.
"What I can do?" Illyana asked.
"Yeah, you know, your power. There's no way you're going to school so far from Russia just because your brother's here."
"You keep asking about what I'm doing here."
"I'm curious.
Illyana tilted her head slightly as she thought of her response. "A while ago, one of the X-Men's enemies kidnapped a bunch of their loved ones to try to blackmail them. We were all rescued, but since I was the only kid who was kidnapped, it was decided I'd be safer here than back home in Russia."
"Oh," Roberto said, his smile flipping into a frown. "So it's just for your protection."
"That is the sole reason I came to live at the mansion."
Roberto stood up and turned to Sam.
"You wanna shoot some hoops?"
Henry Gyrich's eyes were hidden behind his dark sunglasses, but his face was so red with rage his head seemed ready to pop.
"Would someone please explain to me why I just spent thirty minutes explaining to the President that one of our agents went rogue and that we lost three pieces of American government property worth half a billion dollars each?!"
"What the hell was Oglive thinking?! I explicitly forbade the use of Sentinels against Xavier's students! If the media ever connects the 'mall-attacking robots' to the government, there'll be a Congressional investigation that'll shut us down!"
Gyrich's subordinates kept their heads down, not wishing to risk becoming the target of his wrath.
"Somebody, give me something!" he demanded.
"I can give you something Henry," came a familiar voice. Gyrich turned to the doorway.
"And what could you possibly give me that would be of any help at this point, Shaw?"
"Let's talk in private."
Gyrich took Shaw to an empty room. "All right, what are you offering me?"
"I believe I can arrange for your Sentinels to be replaced at no expense to the American taxpayer, if you're ok with off the books funding."
"Even you aren't that wealthy," Gyrich scoffed.
"On my own, no. But my associates in the Hellfire Club combined have greater wealth than some whole nations."
The red began to recede from Gyrich's face and he looked at Shaw from over the top of his glasses.
"I'm listening."
Sam held the basketball high above his head. He was nowhere near the athlete Roberto was, but he was so much taller than the other boy that there was no chance of the ball being stolen before he could take a shot or of Roberto blocking the shot.
The ball bounced off the rim and Roberto got the rebound.
"You seem pretty disappointed Illyana didn't say she has powers," Sam observed as Roberto took the ball back to the halfcourt line.
"I was thinking of asking her out," Roberto said. He began to dribble the ball, walking slowly at first. Sam attempted to get in front of him but even with his long arms, Roberto was too fast for Sam to block once he got moving. He spun around Sam's defense and took an open layup.
"Really? She your type?"
"Gorgeous, Russian, mysterious. If she was a mutant too, she'd be the total package."
"Why's it matter if she's a mutant?"
Roberto stopped. "After what happened to Juliana, I don't think I can date anyone who isn't a mutant ever again."
"Did it make you hate humans?"
"No!" Roberto protested. "It's just, everyone in Brazil knows I'm a mutant now. There's nothing to stop the next gang of mutant haters from kidnapping or murdering the next girl I fall in love with like they did to Juliana."
Roberto did not try to stop Sam from getting close enough to the basket for an easy shot. "Just going out with me is going to be dangerous, so I don't think I can risk putting another girl through that unless she can defend herself."
"Ah didn't think of that. No one knows or cares about me or my family, but it's different when you're rich and famous."
"I'd give away all my money if it meant having Juliana back. I'd give anything to feel safe asking another girl out ever again."
Stevie was even angrier than before when she left Xavier's office and spoke to no one as she left the mansion. Just outside the front door, her cell phone rang.
"Bring it on, you little weasel!" she yelled into her phone after a moment. "Let's see if you're man enough to threaten me to my face!"
Xuân watched from the ground floor window as her dance teacher got into her car and drove off at a far higher speed than usual.
Four teenagers were waiting for her when Stevie returned to her studio. Tandy, Mike, Mindy, and Peter stood in front of the locked door and looked up expectantly as she arrived.
"What are you kids doing here?" Stevie asked. "Didn't you get my message that class was canceled for today?"
The teens looked at each other. "You never sent us any texts, Miss Hunter," said the brown-haired boy, Mike.
Stevie put her palm to her temple and shook her head. "Right. Sorry. I meant to tell you, no class today."
"Is everything all right?" Tandy asked.
"Everything's fine," Stevie lied. "I'm just really busy today."
"Ok," said the red-headed boy. "We'll practice so we don't get rusty for the next class, Miss Hunter."
For the first time all day, Stevie smiled. "I wish all my students were as dedicated and hardworking as you, Peter."
"See you on Friday then!" the last girl, Mindy, called out as they left.
Now alone, Stevie unlocked the door to her studio and stepped inside, relocking the door immediately. She did not bother turning on the lights, instead leaning against the wall and collapsing to the floor as she buried her face in her hands.
"Come in," Charles Xavier said before his visitor had even knocked on the door to his office. Ororo Munroe and the other X-Men had long since gotten used to his telepathic detection of anyone who approached his place of work, and it was to be expected that he would be more alert for potential threats after the incident at the mall.
"You wanted to see me, Professor?"
"Yes. It seems we have a serious problem, and we need to be prepared."
Ororo nodded. "I agree. If the government has learned that this school shelters mutants, the threat to us has grown exponentially."
"From what my own sources in the government tell me, that can still be handled at the political level. The use of sentinels on a public mall showed that they are a threat to everyone, not just mutants, and it will be a long time before those who seek to harm us will be able to regain their political favor, which gives us an opportunity."
"If the sentinels aren't the problem, what is?"
Xavier looked out his window. The sun was setting, creating an orange glow over the treetops.
"The other day, Illyana revealed something I don't think she meant to."
"What did she say?" Ororo asked.
Xavier turned back to her, and his voice dropped to little more than a whisper, as if he was afraid he risked summoning the devil himself with his next words. "Belasco's still out there."
Ororo froze. Her eyes were as wide as Xavier had ever seen them. The sky behind him darkened as the sunset was covered by a thick layer of clouds that had suddenly appeared.
The X-Men's leader gripped the empty chair in front of Xavier's desk as she fought to undo the change her momentary lapse in control had caused in the weather.
To say Xavier was surprised at her reaction would have been an understatement. The woman known as Storm was the most fearless person he knew, surpassing even Wolverine in that regard. Watching her sit down in response to hearing four words told him that he had underestimated the threat he had summoned her to discuss.
"I had … I had hoped Illyana escaped by killing him in his sleep," she admitted.
Xavier audibly gasped. "You wanted that child to commit cold-blooded murder?" It was unthinkable for someone who loved all living things as much as Ororo.
"You weren't there, professor. You didn't … face him," she explained. "That monster, that kind of evil, has to be eradicated. If I could have done it myself, I would have without hesitation."
She leaned forward. "I think you should read Illyana's mind, find out everything she knows about him. If he is still out there, we need all the information we can get."
"I can't."
"Normally I'd agree, but this goes beyond the ethics of reading another person's mind."
"I didn't say I wouldn't," Xavier said loudly. He looked down, ashamed of what he was admitting. "I said I can't."
"What?" Ororo asked in shock.
"I've already tried to read Illyana's mind. At first, it was just a surface reading to try to gauge the extent of the trauma she suffered, so I wasn't concerned when I couldn't sense anything. But after this latest revelation, I did what you're suggesting, and her mind is completely closed, like Magneto, only without the helmet he uses to block telepathy. She has psychic shields so powerful I can't breach them no matter how hard I try."
Ororo sat down. "All this time, we've been worried that she'd take after her…"
Xavier nodded solemnly. "I promised her that if he does return, this time we'd protect her."
Ororo let out a sound somewhere between a sad chuckle and a sigh. "I don't know if it's even in our power to keep that promise."
It was well past midnight in London when a taxi pulled up in front of a nondescript house and Moira Mactaggert stepped out.
Moira waited for the taxi which brought her to be out of sight before she made her way to the front door. She was nobility, the daughter of a Scottish lord, and by far the most famous person on her home island of Muir. But it was her work in genetics that made her cautious, and her gut told her to obey the request that this summons be kept a secret.
Satisfied that she was alone, Moira approached the nondescript house and knocked on the door. Five seconds later, the door opened.
Ordinarily, Moira would have been surprised to see a foreign ambassador open her own door, but this was not an embassy or even the ambassador's official residence, and Gabrielle Haller had left her security behind for secrecy's sake.
"Please, come in," Gabrielle said, quickly shutting the door behind Moira.
Moira coughed. The house was full of the smell of cigarette smoke, and Gabrielle was still holding a lit cigarette.
"Thank you for coming all the way from Muir Isle," the ambassador said.
"I must admit, I am very curious why someone in your position would want to meet me of all people," Moira stated.
Gabrielle put her cigarette in her mouth for several second and blew out a puff of smoke. "Your reputation in the field of mutant genetics is considerable, as is my need. have a son, an autistic child."
"I'm afraid that's a wee bit out of my line, Ms. Ambassador," Moira responded. "I'm no' a psychiatrist."
"His autism is merely a symptom of his mutant abilities," Gabrielle explained. "I believe his abilities are primarily psionic – telepathy, possibly telekinesis. I've tried every means of helping him at my disposal, and now I turn to you as my last resort."
"I'm flattered," Moira said, "but my work is theoretical in nature, not practical. The man you need is my colleague, Charles Xavier."
Gabrielle's eyes flashed in anger, and she sucked on her cigarette for a full ten seconds before responding. "I want Charles kept out of this."
"Why? If your son really needs help that badly, Charles is by far the best qualified to do it."
Gabrielle approached her mantelpiece and put the used cigarette in an ashtray. She immediately took out and lit a second cigarette.
"I don't want Charles Xavier involved because he is my son's father."
"I'll see you very, very soon, Stevie."
"The sooner, the better, you creep!" Stevie yelled into her office phone. "So I can rip your heart out!"
Xuân appeared in her doorway. "Another call, just like the others?"
"YES!" Stevie screamed, slamming the cordless phone into its base.
"Have you called the police?"
"Of course I did! They say they can't do anything unless he makes a direct threat. Verbal harassment apparently isn't a serious enough crime."
"There must be something the X-Men or the New Mutants can do to help."
"You can," Stevie said, "by staying out of it. I'll handle this my way."
"But we're your friends," Xuân insisted. "We can't just sit back and watch you suffer."
There was a buzz as someone rang the studio doorbell. Stevie groaned at the prospect of yet another visitor when all she wanted was privacy.
Said visitor turned out to be Peter Bristow, one of Stevie's students from the School of the Holy Child. The red-headed boy looked sheepish as he held his hand behind his back.
"Peter? What are you doing here?" Stevie asked.
"All of us were worried about you, Miss Hunter," Peter said. "Mike, Mindy, Tandy, and me, I mean. So we made this for you."
He held out a small package. Stevie opened it, and her frown parted into a wide smile. Peter had handed her a coffee mug emblazoned with the words: "World's Best Dance Teacher."
"Thank you, Peter. I really appreciate this. Tell the others thanks from me as well."
Peter's ears went red. "It was nothing, Miss Hunter. You really are the best," he said before turning to leave.
Now in a better mood, Stevie began to regret some of the things she had said to Xuân. "Look, I'm sorry I snapped at you before. We'll talk later tonight, ok?"
Xuân nodded. "Ok."
The rest of the New Mutants were playing frisbee outside when Xuân returned to the mansion.
Dani called out Rahne's name and threw the frisbee far from the lupine mutant. Rahne was in her wolf form, and began moving before Dani had, somehow sensing her intention. With the speed of a wolf, Rahne easily caught up to the frisbee despite how far Dani had thrown it, and leaped to catch it. Her features morphed into a form between her human and wolf forms, allowing her to stretch out her arm and catch the frisbee in a hand equipped with an opposable thumb.
Rahne threw the frisbee while still in midair in the general direction of Roberto, who moved to where he believed it would land. However, Rahne wasn't done yet. She transformed fully into a wolf again and chased her own throw. With another leap, she grabbed the frisbee in her mouth like a dog playing fetch just before Roberto could catch it.
Rahne's leap caused her to careen into Roberto's chest, knocking both of them to the ground.
Dani and Sam burst out laughing. "Score one for the little lady, eh, Berto?" Sam said.
"I wish I had my camera," Dani added.
"I'm glad you don't," Roberto said. He did not try to get up, as Rahne was still on top of him and was licking his face.
Xuân smiled at her teammates' antics, but her smile turned into a frown when she saw that someone else was watching them. Illyana was sitting on the front steps of the mansion. Every minute or so, she would get up, take a few steps toward the New Mutants, then scowl and sit back down.
"Hey, Xuân!" Dani called out when she saw her leader, beckoning the Vietnamese girl to join them.
Dani's call alerted Illyana to Xuân's presence, and the Russian girl realized that she was being stared at. She got up and turned back into the mansion.
Roberto challenged Sam to catch the frisbee next, throwing it in the complete opposite direction of the other boy. Sam blasted off, easily overtaking the frisbee. He was so fast that he nearly overshot the disk before he had a chance to reach out for it. Once the frisbee was in hand, however, Sam could not stop, and crashed head-first into a large tree on the edge of the grounds, shattering it.
Dani had left the others to continue the game. She was now more interested in why Xuân was ignoring her and following after Illyana into the mansion.
She caught up with Xuân just inside the front doors. "Hey, what's up?"
What happened next shocked them both. When Xuân did not respond, Dani put her hand on the other girl's shoulder, causing her to jump at the unexpected touch. Dani flinched at the complete whiteness of Xuân's eyes. She was still not used to that side effect of Xuân's powers.
"Sorry," Xuân said as her pupils returned. "I didn't hear you."
"Were you trying to possess Illyana just now?" Dani asked.
Xuân nodded. "I was."
"Can I ask why?"
"Because I can't do it."
Dani looked back at the last place Illyana had been before she disappeared. "So you're trying to possess her because you can't possess her?"
"It's driving me nuts."
"Haven't other people resisted your power before?"
"Not like this. Professor Xavier can block my power with his telepathy. Storm and Wolverine can resist me through sheer willpower. But with Illyana, there's nothing. I don't think she even notices when I try to get into her mind. It's like she doesn't exist."
"Huh. That is weird," Dani admitted. "Still kind of a creepy thing to do."
"Whatever," Xuân said, changing the subject. "Can you ask everyone to come to the Professor's office? There's something important we need to discuss."
Professor Xavier was not surprised that the leader of the New Mutants wanted to see him. "I assume you want to discuss Miss Hunter's situation, Xuân."
"What situation?" Dani asked. "Is Stevie in trouble?"
"I think so," Xuân said. "Someone's been calling her, making vague threats. Neither the police or the telephone company have been able to find the culprit or stop the calls."
"Probably because he doesn't use the same phone number," Roberto said.
"I offered to help," Xuân continued," but Stevie refused. "I mean to go ahead regardless. We owe it to Stevie after she risked her life for us when the Sentinels attacked."
"You can count me in, whether or not the Professor approves," Dani said.
Xavier looked at each of the New Mutants. "Are you all in agreement with Xuân?"
Sam answered, "We are, sir."
"Very well," Xavier said. "Devise a plan of action and submit it to me for evaluation and approval."
Dani scowled. "This isn't a game, professor, or a classroom exercise. Stevie's life may be on the line."
"Exactly," he responded. "That is why good intentions are not sufficient. Any plan of action must be sound if it is to resolve the issue. In addition, every situation, especially when real, is an opportunity to learn. That is why all X-Men missions are uploaded to the Danger Room's computers, to study and learn from them."
Illyana stood in the Danger Room, holding a longsword at her side. Standing ten paces in front of her was the X-Man Nightcrawler, holding an identical sword in each hand.
The furry mutant was unnaturally still. "Are you ready to begin," he asked robotically.
Illyana thought for a moment. "I've got a bit more frustration than usual to work out today. Raise the difficulty level to the highest setting."
Nightcrawler's tail rose above his head, and another sword materialized in its grasp.
Illyana held her sword up and assumed a battle stance. "Now I'm ready. Start."
Nightcrawler leaped into action, swinging both blades in his hands from different directions. Illyana dove to the ground to avoid those first strikes and rose to one knee, bracing herself to block Nightcrawler's follow-up attack.
Kurt spun around, slashing at her with all three blades in succession. This attack allowed Illyana to block all three strikes with a single movement, but with each clang of metal on metal she was forced to stumble back. The tail sword then thrust at her, coming from an angle she had not expected, and she had no choice but to dodge rather than attempt to block again.
The third sword was proving to be far more of a problem than Illyana had anticipated. Not only did it give Nightcrawler complete coverage of his entire body, allowing him to perform moves and follow-throughs that would be too risky for an ordinary sword-fighter, but his tail could bend in ways no human arm could without breaking, giving his attacks an unpredictable nature.
In short, there was no space for her to make a single offensive move.
Illyana waited until Nightcrawler's attacks left him facing away from her again, knowing that his tail would slash at her as it always did to keep her from taking advantage of being behind him. This time, even as she moved her sword to block, she took her right hand off of the blade and used it to grab his tail.
This move had the immediate desired effect. In surprise, Nightcrawler dropped his third sword. But this did not mean that his tail was no longer a problem. Freed from the burden of carrying a heavy blade, the tail wrapped around Illyana's wrist, lifting her off the ground and throwing her across the Danger Room.
Illyana instinctively let go of her sword in midair so as to not accidentally impale herself when she inevitably landed. Even with her attempt to roll to lessen the impact with the floor, she landed hard.
She had no opportunity for a respite, as Nightcrawler threw one of his remaining swords at her. Illyana had not known that raising the difficulty to the highest level would allow her opponent to use such tactics, and she was more than just shocked when the blade crossed inches from her face.
Illyana let out an angry, guttural snarl, and a change came over her entire demeanor. Even her movements were different as her arms seemed to move on their own, grabbing the hilt of the sword that had been thrown at her and thrusting it under her right arm without her even looking at what she was doing.
Nightcrawler had teleported above her, holding his final sword high above his head. He came down right on top of the sword sticking out between Illyana's arm and side.
Illyana blinked at the gurgling sounds made by her opponent, as if she was snapping out of a trance. She slowly turned her head to look back, and her jaw dropped in a silent scream as she saw what she had just done.
She dropped the sword, and it and Nightcrawler collapsed to the ground.
With the match over, Nightcrawler's body disappeared, along with all four swords scattered about the floor of the Danger Room. There had not been so much as a drop of blood. It was as if the fight had never happened.
But it did happen. Illyana held a hand to her mouth and her body convulsed as she violently retched. She fell to her hands and knees as she retched a second time. She raised her head and finally, the third time, she mercifully began to vomit.
The New Mutants all gathered at Stevie's apartment, standing around Roberto attached a pair of small devices to her home phone and cell phone.
"The mansion already has all the technology we need," Roberto explained. "With this, even if our culprit is blocking caller ID, we'll not only be able to find the phone number he's using, but trace his exact location.
"I still don't think this is necessary," Stevie said, "but I can see there's no stopping you."
Roberto grinned in anticipation. "All he has to do is call, and we've got him."
And so they waited. The first time one of the phones rang, the home phone, they collectively jumped. However, it was a false alarm; a cousin of Stevie's was going on a vacation and wanted to invite her along.
The second and third times the phones rang were similar false alarms, a telemarketer and a parent concerned over their daughter's sudden abundance of free time with so many of Stevie's classes having been canceled recently. The fourth time, however…
"Hi, Stevie."
The combination of horror, anger, and disgust on Stevie's face told the New Mutants that this was it. Roberto instantly began the trace, a map of the area appearing on the screen of his iPhone. He nodded at Xuân, who silently gestured at all of them to come along.
"Just you wait," Stevie said into her phone as they entered her car. "This time, I'm gonna get you."
Xuân took the driver's seat and Roberto took the front passenger seat, directing her towards their destination. Stevie and the rest of the team crowded into the back seat.
Stevie was shocked when they reached their destination. "There must be some mistake. Our guy goes to the 5th street high school? I don't even know anyone from that school."
Roberto looked at the map on his phone. "He made the call from the sidewalk in front of the school. Rahne, he was there just a few minutes ago. Can you get the scent of the last person there?"
Rahne transformed into a wolf and began sniffing around.
"There's two people who were here at the same time," Dani said, relaying to the others what she gleaned from Rahne's mind. "Both are boys about our age. One went back towards the dorms, and the other started walking north."
"If Stevie doesn't know anyone from the school then I'll bet the one going north is our guy," Roberto said. "He probably borrowed a friend's phone in case someone tried to find the phone he used like we're doing."
"If he's on foot, then he can't have gotten that far," Xuân said. "Rahne should be able to catch up to him easily, and Dani can follow her. Go."
Rahne dashed off, the New Mutants right behind her. Stevie did not run alongside them. Instead, she went back to her car and followed from the safety of the vehicle.
They caught up to their suspect about four blocks from where he had called. Rahne let out a howl when she reached him, causing him to stop and gape in horror at the wolf that had appeared behind him.
The New Mutants found the suspect holding one of his shoes high in the air as a weapon as Rahne ran in circles around him, barking and growling menacingly, but making no move to attack, merely to keep him there. Xuân's eyes went white as she easily possessed him.
Stevie's car arrived seven seconds later, and she gasped as she stepped out and looked into the now-vacant face of her tormenter. It was a red-headed boy with glasses and freckles.
"Peter Bristow?!"
Stevie did not normally drink coffee so late at night, but tonight was an exception. The aroma helped calm her nerves.
Peter was sitting on her couch, surrounded by the New Mutants. He was not an athletic young man and likely could have been restrained by Sam or Roberto alone. The presence of five other teenagers eliminated even the thought of attempting to fight or escape.
Her coffee finished, Stevie returned to the task at hand. "We just want to help you, Peter. I want to understand why you've made my life a living hell for the past week. Why won't you cooperate? Why are you forcing me to call the police?"
"You can't prove anything!" Peter mumbled under his breath.
"Wrong," Stevie declared. "We have recordings of your voice and the caller's, along with an electronic analysis showing that they are identical."
It wasn't entirely true. The professor was running that very test now back at the mansion, even as he telepathically monitored them. But she had no doubt anymore what the results of the analysis would be, and she would much rather have Peter confess on his own than have a situation in which Xavier's powers coerced the answers out of him.
"What will your parents say when they find out about this, hmm?"
Peter snapped. "NO!" he screamed, rising up off of the couch and grabbing Stevie's arms. "You mustn't tell them! Please!"
Stevie was shocked by his reaction. "Peter, what is it? What's wrong?" Despite the way he had tormented her, she found herself reacting with genuine concern.
Xavier's voice appeared in all of their minds except for Peter's. "The boy is in near-mortal terror, a fear so great that it is blocking my psi-scans at this range. I suggest that the New Mutants use your own abilities to get to the root of Peter's problem."
"Meaning me," Dani said softly. She wondered if the professor was telling the truth or if he wanted her to test her power in a real-world situation.
"I understand your hesitation," Xavier said, speaking this time only to Dani. "You are right to fear violating the privacy of another's thoughts. But rest assured, I would not ask this of you without good reason."
"All right," Dani said sadly. She knelt down in front of Peter and reached out with her mind.
Peter did not feel his mind being touched, but he screamed with an unfathomable rage as an image of his heart's desire appeared in front of them, an image of him sharing a passionate kiss with Stevie.
"That's what this was all about? A student's crush on his teacher?" Stevie wondered. "Peter, you have a very strange way of showing affection."
Dani reached deeper into Peter's mind, this time pulling the source of his anxiety, his deepest fear.
The second image depicted on his knees, a man standing over him holding a belt in his raised hand, while an angry-looking woman stood behind them with her arms crossed.
"This is for your own good, Peter," the man said as the woman nodded approvingly. "You'll thank me for it when you're older."
"Y-yes, pop," the image of Peter whimpered.
Xuân raised her hands to her mouth. "Non, ah non! They are his parents! How can they do such a thing!"
The rest of the New Mutants reacted with similar horror. Rahne started crying immediately, while Sam and Roberto looked away.
"Dani, we've seen enough," Roberto said, "more than enough."
"I-I can't break contact," Dani said. Shock and horror had taken hold of her, again robbing her of her control of her power.
His deepest secrets now laid bare, Peter exploded at Dani. "You little witch! I'll kill you!"
With a madman's face and strength, Peter leapt off of the couch and tackled Dani to the ground. Sam attempted to grab him, but only succeeded in ripping the back of Peter's shirt.
Xuân reacted quickly. Peter's pupils disappeared behind his glasses and he froze in place. "Are you hurt?" the New Mutants' leader asked Dani.
"Other than being scared half to death, no," Dani said as she stood up.
Sam looked like he was the one who had been attacked. "Anything he does to us won't matter beans compared to what's already been done to him. Look at his back!"
Whatever horror they felt before was doubled at the sight of the red wounds and scars crisscrossing Peter's back, some recent, others mementos of whippings from years past.
Stevie held her hand to her heart. "Xuân, release him."
Peter collapsed as his mind and body were returned to him.
"Peter…" Stevie said sadly as he began to sob.
"What do you want?!" he yelled. "You've already got your pound of flesh, isn't that enough? Call my folks, call the police, I don't care anymore?"
The New Mutants all looked at each other. All of the anger they had previously felt towards Stevie's unnamed tormenter had gone.
"Your parents," Roberto asked, "do they really hate you that much?"
"Don't be stupid," Peter retorted. He was beginning to calm down. "They don't hate me, they love me. It's just, I'm a bad boy and I need to be punished."
He looked up at Stevie. "When I started dancing class, Miss Hunter, I thought you were the most beautiful woman in the world. I couldn't help loving you."
"You said you liked me, but when you wouldn't punish me, no matter what I did, I figured you were lying," he continued. "You didn't really care, because if you loved me for real, you'd hit me. I wanted to get even."
"Oh, you poor, poor boy," Stevie said, bending down to pull Peter into a hug.
"I'm sorry, Miss Hunter," Peter said, starting to cry again. Stevie cried with him. "I'm so sorry."
Xavier arrived soon after. He rewrote part of Peter's memories to remove the New Mutants and their powers from his mind. Next, he called for an ambulance and put in a call to the child welfare bureau.
It was with mixed feelings that they watched as the police took Peter away.
"I'm reminded of the old saying, 'You always hurt the ones you love,'" Stevie said. "I wish it weren't true, but it so often is."
"What will happen to Peter now, professor?" Rahne asked.
"It's difficult to say," Xavier answered. "The physical damage can be put right, though the scars will remain. The prognosis on his emotional and psychological well-being is nowhere near as certain."
"Sometimes, abuse can lead to a cycle of abuse," he explained. "A young child whose only role model is an abusive parental figure may find themselves learning more that figure than they realized. Peter never realized that what his parents did to him was wrong, and given his recent actions would likely have done the same to his own children if he continued on this path. Hopefully, now he will learn the truth about his parents as he undergoes therapy and emerge from this crisis whole and healthy. It is far from certain, but now, at least he has a chance for a normal life."
Xavier turned to his students. "The fact that Peter has that chance at all is thanks to you. If ever you seek a justification for who and why you are – both as human beings and as mutants – this is it. Not fighting villains or evil mutants, but simply helping people, helping children like Peter out of the darkness and into the light."
He sat up in his wheelchair as his tone switched from philosophical to analytical. "However, before you get too full of yourselves, I want an analysis of tonight's incident, what was done right, what was done wrong, and how you could have improved. And I want it ready for tomorrow's class. As I told you before, every situation is an opportunity to learn, and after seeing your performance tonight, you do indeed still have much to learn."
Stevie smiled and winked at them. "The man has a point, but for what it's worth, you kids kid good work tonight, real good."
Illyana sat alone in the darkness of her room, staring at the inside of her locket again. The X-Men were away on a mission again and would not be back until the morning. This time, she was glad they were gone, even her brother and Kitty.
Her eyes were focused on the red stone embedded at the top point of the pentagram the locket contained. Few people on Earth would have glared with such hatred at an inanimate object, especially not a gem of such radiance and beauty. But after what had happened with the fake Nightcrawler in the Danger Room, the three stones in her locket were all she could think about.
With the lights off, a visitor entering the room might of have thought Illyana was a statue of a young woman deep in thought, so still was she. The glow from the stones lent a slight red tint to her features, making her look more threatening.
Said visitor would have jumped in fright when, like a stone gargoyle coming to life, Illyana suddenly roared in anger and threw the locket at the wall. The locket fell open, the red glow now confined to the corner in which it lay.
Illyana raised her knees to her chin and wrapped her arms around her legs. She continued to glare, but not at any object in particular.
She was looking straight ahead, into the darkness.
Don't turn away, I pray you've heard the words I've spoken
Dare to believe, over one last time
Then I'll let the darkness cover me
Deny everything, slowly walk away, to breathe again
On my own
Darkness - Disturbed
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