Date: Sun, 17 Jun 2012 22:38:27 -0700 (PDT) From: Lance Chua Subject: X-Redemption Chapter 6 Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any of the characters in this story other than those that I created. This story will contain homosexuality and I do not make any claims regarding the sexuality of anyof the characters in the story. All of the X-Men and Villains presented in the story (other than those I created) are the property of Marvel Comics. Author's Notes: With the disclaimer out of the way; I just want to say that this is my first submission to Nifty and would really love to get some comments about it. If you like the story, if you hate it, whatever send me an email . I forgot to mention in the previous chapter but I've taken some liberties with the ages of the X-Men and Brotherhood characters in the story . I'll be mixing in some really popular characters and some relative unknowns as well, so if you're an X fan you can skip the character section, if not then you may want to check it out for a bit of background. Oh and if there are any particular X-characters you want to see included in the story send me an email (don't worry about how obscure they are I probably still know them). Characters: Conner -- 16 year old high school student, our main character, frequency manipulation, new member of the Brotherhood Pyro/John – 19 year old member of Brotherhood of Mutants, Australian, pyrokinetic X-Redemption Chapter 6: No...that can't be John...it just can't be. I collapse on my knees and I can feel my entire body shaking. I'm breathing hard...I want to rush over to the sphere and make sure it's him but my body is too heavy. My limbs feel like dead weights and I can't move myself. I can feel tears down my face. I'm able to curl my fist into a ball and with all my strength I smash my fist against the floor of the hangar. Shockwaves start to flow from where my hand hit the steel floor and they immediately respond to my emotions. I can feel the hangar start to shake and the equipment start to move around in their moorings. I can hear screaming and I can tell that Magneto is issuing some sort of order but I'm completely oblivious to what he's saying. I give the hangar floor another shot and force the shockwaves to move even faster. Objects are now starting to fall and it feels as though the entire station is going to be ripped apart. I can tell that my powers are doing all of this but right now I don't care. John is dead and that's the only thing that matters. "Conner, mate...stop." I hear his voice calling to me. I look up and I can't believe what I see. Even behind all the tears on my face I can tell that John is standing mere inches from me. "John..." I manage to let out a whimper. I can feel myself calming down and the quaking begins to subside. "Sorry, mate..." says John with, what as far as I can tell, a smirk. Suddenly the image of John before me begins to change. The costume of orange, red, and yellow begins to transform more into blue skin. The face that I've begun to associate with kindness was changed to one of a cold, harsh stare. Those eyes that have always seemed so happy were replaced by empty pupils of yellow. It wasn't John standing before me...instead it was Mystique. "Sorry Conner," I hear another voice say as I feel a sudden strike across my head. And then the room suddenly went dark. " Conner, my boy, how are you feeling..." my eyes slowly adjust to the light in the room. Magneto is standing by me and Mystique and Toad are both flanking him. "I'm sorry I had Mystique and Toad attack you but I was afraid that you were going to rip Asteroid M in two. Most of the medical tests show that there was little damage done and you should be back on your feet in a few hours." My eyes have completely adjusted to the light now. There's a slight pain on the side of my head but I can tell that there was no significant injury. I can tell that I'm currently in the infirmary. "Where's John?..." I manage to say. "Pyro is in surgery right now. He was beaten pretty badly but he's a tough lad. I'm not sure what will happen at the moment." responded Magneto. "The bond that the two of you have formed is admirable and will be an asset to the Brotherhood but I will tell you this now Conner because you need to understand this. Pyro and all in the Brotherhood are fighting a war for the benefit of mutantkind. We may be superior to humans in every conceivable way but that doesn't mean we face an easy fight. There are some of us who will not make it out of this war alive and that threat looms over us everyday. Make every moment with John count but you must also be able to let go should things go badly." "Who hurt him?" was the only response I could make. "I can tell what you have in mind. Your eyes tell me that you want to avenge him. I would rarely send such a young talent as yourself out on the field but I can tell that you won't take no for an answer. Pyro's mission was to deal with a group called the Sons of Humanity. They are a group of anti-mutant radicals who have been attacking mutants all throughout the Southern United States. Pyro had infiltrated their group and found their base of operations. Sadly they found him and the rest as you can tell was quite brutal. Thankfully I was able to get to him in time and with the help of the strike team we were able to shut down the base of operations." "There must be something that I can do..." I so wanted to find a way to avenge Pyro. "There is something that you can do Conner. I would usually reserve this for someone more experienced so I must ask you. Are you willing to take a person's life?" Magneto posed that question without so much as a change in the tone of his voice. I knew how I felt. Images of my dad were brought back into my head as well as images of that hobo that I brought down in the train station washroom. I knew what my answer was. "Killing someone won't be a problem." "Alright then, once you're ready meet me in the War Room. I believe Toad showed you where that was." About three hours later I had left the infirmary and was outside the doors to the Brotherhood's War Room. The room was filled with monitors that were tuned into various feeds. In the center of the room was a massive table with a holographic representation of the Earth. Around the table sat Mystique and Toad as well as the members of the Brotherhood whom I saw come out of the sphere with John and Magneto. "Ah, Conner, there you are." I heard the distinctive voice of Magneto. He was actually levitating above the room staring out of the massive glass window that served as the War Room's ceiling. "Welcome to the Brotherhood of Mutants' War Room. From here we coordinate the Brotherhood's operations and plans. I believe you have seen the Brotherhood members other than Mystique and Toad already but let me introduce them to you." "The Blob is our resident strong man, he is the quintessential immovable object . Avalanche has the power to create seismic waves, a power similar in some ways to yours. And finally, Sabretooth is one of the most ferocious and dangerous warriors you will ever meet. There are other members of the Brotherhood but these are the ones whom I suppose you will see the most." "Now for your mission, Conner, I will be sending you along with Mystique to the last known location of the leader of the Sons of Humanity. The leader of the Sons of Humanity fled from their base before we destroyed it. Our plan was to make him an example to show that mutants are superior but circumstances prevented us from doing so. Your task is to go down there and finish the job. Kill him and make a statement. Mystique will guide you and assist you, as well as serve as a safety precaution lest you are not able to get the job done." "Believe me Magneto, I will."