Invasion:MSV Chapter 8

[dazzledfirestar.livejournal.com]

Wow... I might actually be able to catch up with myself at this rate! lol I felt the need to look in on some canon characters that (for the most part) aren't really tied to the main problems in this fic. I am very glad to have one of them out of my head now... good god he's boring. Bet you can guess who I mean. lol
 
Title: Invasion:MSV
Fandom: Marvel Universe
Rating: 18+
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the recognizable  characters here. They and the world this is set in are the property of Marvel Entertainment. The Purple Team is the property of ginevrasm (Morgan/Faye), ladydeathfaerie (Dare), sessys_fangirl (Jehnna), nanaeanaven (Roxxy) and dazzledfirestar (Haley). They are not to be used without permission. I make no money from this, and it is simply a form of entertainment. 
Warnings: graphic M/F sex, language, and as always... ANGST 

Reed Richards was not used to having a problem he couldn’t solve. Moreover, he was not used to the solutions that he came up with not working as they were supposed to, but after six weeks of work in the X-Mansion, he was quickly discovering that he didn’t enjoy these new experiences. They made him want to bang his head against Xavier’s heavy oak desk, despite the danger of cranial injury, and the fact that his head might just bounce up like a rubber ball. He wasn’t sure which one was a bigger deterrent.

 

His gaze fell on his wife, curled up in one of the large old fashioned leather chairs near the picture window, fast asleep. That was good. She hadn’t rested enough in the last six weeks. She’d spent nearly every waking hour with Johnny and Ben and occasionally checking in on Haley. Sue seemed to feel some sort of bond to the young redhead. He supposed it made sense, as the girl was tied to her brother. It probably stemmed from some sort of genus group survival instinct. In a more primitive societal structure, Susan may have even tried to eliminate the threat to her brother’s dominance. He frowned a little. As interesting an idea as that was from a research stand point, it was slightly disturbing when applied to his wife and his family in general.

 

Reed’s eyes focused again on the information laid out on the makeshift desk in front of him. Nothing seemed to fit, add up or even make sense. Part of him wished that Tony or Hank Pym were awake and able to help. Maybe if Dr. McCoy had some time… Perhaps a different perspective would shed some light on the creature hovering above the mansion. He rubbed his eyes, unwilling to get the rest his body was craving until he cracked at least part of this madness.

 

He began listing the known factors. The creature feeds on bio energy, specifically female energy. So if they could find the right electrical current… no, that wouldn’t do it. The creature possessed intense psionic abilities; therefore psionic attacks were of little use. The professor couldn’t read anything past the shields it projected. So, logic would dictate that a physical or energy attack would damage the creature. No, they’d tried that. He shook his head, trying not to think about his friends lying in the med lab because of that attempt. He let out a groan and rested his head against the back of the chair.

 

“Reed?” Sue sat up, rubbing her eyes a little. “What time is it?”

 

“One fifty seven am.” He hunched over the pages on the desk. He felt her hand rest on his shoulder.

 

“Come to bed.” She kissed his cheek lightly.

 

“Soon.”

 

“Reed, you won’t be any good to anyone if you’re exhausted.” He waved her off, and picked up another page of notes. Sue sighed. Nothing short of a solution would get him out of that chair, and she’d learned years ago when to stop trying. The nap she’d taken in the old leather chair had driven sleep from her mind. She wandered the halls of the mansion without a clear idea of where she wanted to go. A sliver of light ahead of her in the hall called her attention to the barely open door. The soft breathing of someone sleeping was the only sound she heard at first. Curiosity took over, and she pushed gently on the door. Normally, she wouldn’t have dreamed of looking into the room, but the name plate on the door told her that a least one of the occupants would more than likely still be awake.

 

The light that was spilling into the hallway was coming from a dim desk lap. “Haley,” the young woman was sitting in a plush arm chair, pushed against the window sill. She was hugging her knees to her chest and staring blankly out the window. She didn’t turn when Sue spoke. “You should get some sleep.” Haley only shook her head, her eyes still locked on the sky. Sue sat on the bed across from her, casting a quick glance at Roxxy, who it seemed had finally given into her exhaustion, and was dead to the world asleep.

 

Haley’s gaze moved slowly to the blond sitting across from her. “Do you believe in fate, Sue?”

 

Something in Haley’s eyes reminded Sue of something she hadn’t seen in ages. There was a flash of the little girl Sue had known years ago, in fact, the little girl she’d babysat in high school. The little girl who had, despite being terrified, sworn she could fight the monster under her bed all by herself. It was that fear she saw there now. “Do you remember when you were about 11… maybe 12? You were reading on the swings in front of the elementary school in Oakville.”

 

“That isn’t really specific enough for me to know what you’re talking about. And it isn’t an answer.” Haley’s gaze drifted back to the stars.

 

“Bear with me. I’ll get there.” Sue got up and settled herself on the over stuffed arm of Haley’s chair. She paused, waiting for the pained look on Haley’s face to pass. It didn’t completely, but the redhead’s eyes flickered open, so Sue began to speak. “You were reading on the swings, and a group of boys, a year or two older than you started to bother you.”

 

Recognition flashed in Haley’s eyes. “I was 12.” Her cheeks flushed a little. “Harper had just started at the Institute.” Why was Sue bringing this up?

“Do you remember who came to your rescue?”

 

Haley’s cheeks felt like they were on fire. “Of course I do.”

 

“When you two started seeing each other, I remembered that day.” Sue put her hand on the younger woman’s shoulder, half expecting her to pull away. She was happy when she didn’t. “Johnny’s always had a tendency to try to protect the women in his life, play the knight in shining armor… with you I thought maybe he’d finally gotten that white horse pointed in the right direction.”

 

“That doesn’t answer my question, Sue.”

 

The blond sighed heavily. “I think fate gets you to the point of making a decision. Where you go from there is up to you.”

 

Haley nodded, and stared out the window again, trying to hide the flicker of pain as it crossed her face. “You think I screwed up.”

 

“I think…” Sue started slowly, “You made a choice, whether you were conscious of it or not.” Realizing how that must sound, Sue sighed. “I’m sure Colossus is a good man.”

 

“He is.” Haley tried to shake off the lingering image of that good man cuddling their daughter.

 

“But he’s a superhero.” Sue’s voice was carefully neutral, but Haley flinched.

 

“My options are pretty limited around here.”

 

“Haley…”

 

“Okay, yes. I know. I’m a fucking hypocrite. Believe me, I know.” She leaned forward, pressing her forehead against her knees to hide the look of disgust on her face. “I was just… so scared.”

 

“Of what?” Sue realized before she finished speaking how stupid the question was. “Haley, in this line of work, it’s always possible that you’ll lose someone you love.”

 

“I know, but with Piotr, it’s different.” Her words were muffled, her head still resting on her knees.

 

“Why?”

 

“Because I know what’s happening. I can do something if something goes wrong. I can be there.” She lifted her head.

 

“You were there pretty quickly when we fought Doom.” Sue kept her voice even. She could see where the girl was coming from, of course, but she felt the need to play devil’s advocate.

 

“There’s a reason I don’t like watching the news anymore, Sue.”

 

The blond hadn’t thought of that. How horrible that must have been. Turning on the TV to see… Sue took a deep breath, wondering how she would handle it if she’d found out about Reed being injured like that. “Are you happy with him?”

 

“Right now I’m not happy with anyone.”

 

“You know what I mean.”

 

Haley turned and stared at the stars again. “Yes.”

 

“Happier than you would be with Johnny?” It was an unfair question, Sue knew that. But, given the unfairness of the whole situation, it was something Haley would have to consider.

 

The redhead obviously knew that. “How do you want me to answer that?” She kept her voice quiet, not wanting to wake Roxxy, but scorn dripped from each word. “Would I have been happy with Johnny? Yeah, probably. But that’s not what happened. What happened was I got scared and ran. I fucked things up, and I have to live with that. And I have, believe me. I’ve carried around more guilt about that than anyone realizes. And now, it’s all being thrown back in my face.” Tears rolled unheeded down her cheeks.

 

“I’m sorry, Haley. I didn’t mean to…”

 

“No one ever does.” She wiped her cheek on her sleeve. Her eyes closed, a pained look crossing her face. “I just want it all to stop.” She sobbed a little, not opening her eyes. “I just want my life back.”

 

Sue rubbed circles on her back as she cried. “I know, honey.” She sighed. You can never really fight the monster under the bed by yourself.

 

 

There wasn’t even a whisper of a breeze to carry the smoke away. It curled like ghostly fingers around him. He glanced at his watch. 3:27am. Back in the old days, he’d probably just be creeping in the door. He felt someone walk out onto the patio. “Y’know, Morgan will have your ass if she smells smoke on you.”

 

“Don’ tell ‘er, an Remy don’ say not’in’ ‘bout you not sleepin’.” He exhaled slowly as she sat down. Her eyes were a little red but lately that was a common enough occurrence.

 

“I can’t sleep.” She glanced at the cigarette in his hand. “Can I have one of those?”

 

“Since when you smoke?” Even in the dark, he could see the flush on her cheeks.

 

“I don’t… I mean, not really. I…” she flinched, and her emotions went wild for a second. “When my brother died, I started. Now…”

 

“Jus’ when the chips are down?” She nodded and he handed her a smoke. The flame from his lighter lit up her face for a moment. He could have sworn that her eyes lingered on the flame for a moment longer than they had to before she leaned in to light the cigarette. Haley had always been an easy read for him. She didn’t hide much, and the things she did hide, he figured she had good reason to keep to herself. There had always been that one little patch that she hid exceptionally well, and now he knew why, hell, now everyone knew why.

 

“Remy?” She exhaled slowly. “There are enough people in my head right now without you poking around in there.”

 

He couldn’t hide the shock as it flickered across his face. “’ow did you…?” She looked just as shocked as he did.

 

“I… I don’t know.” Her contemplation of the strange turn of events was marred by another painful spike of emotion. He vaguely wondered what she saw, but was tactful enough not to ask when he saw a tear escape her control. She took a deep drag from the cigarette between her fingers. “Sorry… I’m just tired.”

 

“Tired got not’in’ to do wit’ it.” He stared at her for a long time. “’ow you know I was in dere, chere?”

 

She shook her head again. “I really don’t know. It was…. I just… knew. Like instinct, a hunch.” She took another long drag.

 

“Gotta tell de Professor ‘bout dis.”

 

“Why?” She was suddenly angry, and he couldn’t quite pin down why. Knowing Haley, she’d tell him. “So he can tell me I’ve really lost it, maybe get Hank to drug me up again?”

 

Ah, that was it. There was a heavy dose of fear building behind the anger. She didn’t want to lose control. That was the one thing she had clung to as long as he’d known her. She controlled her team, and many aspects of her life. But now, it was all slipping away from her. Her fate in the hands of other people. Merde. If the memories and images flashing through her head weren’t enough to drive her over the edge, that would do it. “Dey all jus’ want to help.”

 

She shook her head again. “No one can help. They told me as much.” Her hand shook as she snuffed out the cigarette in the nearby ashtray.

 

“Dey won’ find a way, if you don’ let ‘em.” She shook her head again. “What you t’ink Pete would say ‘bout all dis?”

 

She leaned forward resting her head in her hands. “You know, you’re the first person to ask about him in six weeks.” She took some comfort from this, he could tell that much. “I really don’t know, Remy.” He thought he understood why people were far more interested in her other connection. It was scandalous to the gossip queens that littered the halls of the mansion. He also knew she loved Colossus. Maybe, with all the confusion swirling around her, she needed a reminder of that.

 

“’e love you, an’ ‘e won’ want to see you like dis.”

 

She lifted her head and looked at him, long and hard. She sighed heavily and looked away, fixing her gaze on the stars. “Think I could get another cigarette?” She turned her eyes back to him.

 

He smiled and reached into his pocket. “Take de pack, chere.” He lit the cigarette for her, and reached into his other pocket. “Remy always got more.”

 

 

Jehnna shifted in bed, turning away from the open window. For a moment she thought she smelled smoke, but the brief whiff was gone before it truly registered. She couldn’t sleep. She’d tried. She’d even managed a few hours, but those hours had been plagued by nightmares. She sighed heavily and threw off her covers, slipping her robe around herself. If she couldn’t sleep, there was no use laying there, staring at the ceiling. She might as well do something productive, or at least, semi-productive. She quietly made her way down the stairs from Storm’s attic apartment, and down to the kitchen. The glare of the clock on the stove announced the time. 4:02am.

 

She frowned a little and moved closer to the stove, putting a kettle on to boil for some tea. Maybe she would be able to calm down and get a few more hours of sleep. She didn’t bother turning the lights on, the sun was starting to creep over the horizon giving enough light for her to see what she was doing. She sighed heavily and set herself down on the nearest chair. Shadows played thick against the walls in the slowly growing light, and a few times she had to talk herself down after seeing something lurking in the dark, usually something blue and winged.

 

The whistle of the kettle made her jump. The presence in the doorway nearly made her shriek, which given her powers was a dangerous thing to do. It took a moment for her to recognize the indigo fur and unreadable yellow eyes. “I’m sorry, Mr. Wagner.” She felt a flush color her cheeks. Somehow she found it exceedingly difficult to refer to her former teachers by their first name, or their code name, no matter how many times they asked her to do so. “You startled me.”

 

“No need to apologize, Jehnna.” He smiled. “I was the one lurking in dark doorways.” He moved toward the coffee pot, busying himself with starting the first pot of the day. “You are up early.”

 

“I couldn’t sleep.” Her eyes were glued on the table as she sat down with her cup of tea, and she fidgeted a little.

 

Kurt nodded. He considered for a moment the irony that these comas were robbing so many people of their sleep. He was relieved that, at least, this all hadn’t happened during the school year, loading all the teaching staff with so much extra work. Of course, that wasn’t going to last. The professor had spoken about pushing back the class start dates, but really, how long could they be pushed back? He sighed, leaning against the counter and fixing his gaze on the girl sitting at the table.

 

He frowned a little. He had done his best to stay out of the drama that surrounded the formation of Purple Team, but he had hoped the girls would prove their detractors wrong and become an official team, despite what he knew that would mean for them on a personal level. Being an X-Man carried some dangers that very few of the students that attended the school considered. The emotional effect of watching friends, and in some cases lovers leave the mansion, knowing full well what could happen to them was far greater than most of them wanted to admit. And then of course, there was the strangeness factor that seemed to follow them around as if on a leash. The current situation was the perfect example. And yet, this team of young women was carrying this weight with a grace he’d known was in them on some level. He couldn’t help but wonder how much more they could take though. Even for an X-team, they’d been pushed to the limit.

 

His musings were interrupted by the gurgle of the coffee perk. “Have the powers that be made any progress into a solution for your… insomnia?”

 

Jehnna shook her head. “Not that they’re telling me.” She sighed and swirled her tea around her mug. “Without Haley, we’ve been kind of… cut out of a lot of what’s going on.”

 

Kurt nodded. “She is a force to be reckoned with.” He heard a soft chuckle come from the direction of the table.

 

“That’s putting it mildly.” She took a long sip.

 

“I am sure that any day now, they will come up with something.” He turned to the coffee perk, pouring a healthy dose of the dark liquid into a mug. When he turned back she looked a little more down trodden than she had. “Was it something I said, Jehnna?”

 

She shook her head. “No, no… I just wish I could go down and see Warren.” Her voice was so quiet; Kurt had to strain to hear her. There were shades of the very shy young girl in his German class so many years ago haunting her eyes.

 

“I have no doubt that Warren would like that too, liebchen.”

Comments

[ladydeathfaerie]

another good chapter, hon.

it flowed nicely and there was a lovely bit of humor in it. you're doing an excellent job with this. can't wait to see what's next.

[dazzledfirestar.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I was a little worried about this one. It felt a little piecemeal to me, but then, I think all my stuff sucks so... *shrug*

It was also an excuse to get some of my Reed hate out. lol The image of his head bouncing off the desk had me giggling for hours. LOL

[ginevrasm.livejournal.com]

Good work. Nice to see a new perspective here and there.

You do realize Remy was just trying to get rid of the evidence, right? Damn cancer sticks...

*grumble*

...Somebody better brush his teeth, that's all I got to say...

[dazzledfirestar.livejournal.com]

Yes, it's a filthy disgusting habit which I have thankfully given up... but I think if I had to deal with what Haley's going through, I'd need a smoke, and a drink. LOL

I'm sure Remy was fully fresh and clean when he went back upstairs.

[sessys-fangirl.livejournal.com]

Great chapter. Nice bits of humor thrown in with the seriousness of the situation. And I see we've had a flash forward of 6 weeks. * whistles * Damn, those poor guys in the med ward.


And Haley...She needs to talk with the Professor. Remy's right. With the way this is affecting Haley more than the other's she really needs to tell them what is going on and that she was able to feel Remy in her head. Something tells me that is a small key to what is going on.

I too hope that Rem brushes his teeth after smoking. There's nothing worse than a smokers mouth. Ick...No offense to anyone that does. But I've known some hardcore smokers and their breaths smelled worse than an ashtray even if they did brush their teeth!

And it was really nice of Kurt to be so understanding. I too think Jehnna should go see Warren. * coughbiasedcoughbiased - HACK * Anyway, I think the girls should see their guys. Even if its from afar. Except Haley. That might be a little to rough on her. There's no telling what kind of side effects there could be.

Until next chapter!

( And this doesn't suck! >.< )

[dazzledfirestar.livejournal.com]

I love how you always manage to pick up the little things that I hope people will pick up on! :D

The jump in time is... well... necessary in the long run. *evil cackle* Oh...my... where did that come from? *evil grin*

We'll see if Haley can get her head around the fact that she needs help. Subborn as she is, it might take a good beating to get it through her thick skull. lol

And we'll see about the visit... if there is one think I respect it's blatant agenda pushing. ;)

I'm really glad you enjoyed this one. Hopefully another one will be along shortly.

Zzzzzzz

[nanaeanaven]

Roxxy's passed out cold. Sue is being ... kinda bitchy, actually. Haley is stress-smoking. Jenna still can't sleep. Wow. How much more can Team Purple take? Stay tuned to find out .... LOL

Good job, hun.

Re: Zzzzzzz

[dazzledfirestar.livejournal.com]

Bitchy? well... yeah, she is. I prefer to think of it as blatant agenda pushing. lol

We'll see how much more they can take, I'm sure. They're a tough bunch. I'm sure they'll pull through.

I'm glad you liked it! :D