Lizzie, Dev, the giant, Dor, Morn, Red and Juliet belong to none other then me. Black Thief, Blink, and Arcane belong to Shera Crawler 007, and she can keep them for all I care. Sinister, the Marauders, Sabertooth, and Gambit belong to Marvel.

The Sun Will Shine Again
by Raven Adams
May 1998

Chapter 12

Her dress was ripped, her hair a wild mess, and her eyes searching, tears blinding her vision. Her check was swollen, obvious that she had been hit countless times. And every step she took sent pain up her legs and her back.

She looked like walking death, she felt like it too.

Maybe she was dead, and this was Hell. If so, then Hell sure did look like her house, because there it was right in front of her. And the devil must have been waiting up for her, because there was a light on.

The Black Thief walked into the kitchen while Lizzie was silently peeling carrots to be added to the stew she had simmering on the stove. Dev had been dragged away for more of the TESTS, and for once, she was left alone. Even the giant wasn't there, having left some time that morning. Neither had seen him all day.

Dev was sick. Neither knew what was wrong with him, but he felt bad, and could barely walk today. He had been carried to the lab for the TESTS.

The Black Thief, one of IT's Malevolent Quartet, was a quiet girl with haunted black, rimmed in silver, eyes. She was the only one of the 'Levolents who hadn't tried to hurt Lizzie or Dev in one way or another.

"What're you cooking?" She asked in a soft voice as she put a coke beside Lizzie and opened one for herself.

Lizzie was surprised she'd said something to her. There were many people working for IT--Lizzie knew his name was Sinister, but both she and Devin preferred to keep calling him IT--but only the teachers ever talked to them, unless it was something in a threat. "I cook chicken soup. I t'ink Dev, he come down wit' de cold, see? An' my momma always make me chicken soup when I got de cold." Lizzie said softly, wondering if Thief would hit her or something for answering.

Instead the girl, who couldn't be too much older the Lizzie, fifteen maybe, lifted the lid to the pot and smelled the soup. "You can cook good. I tried some of your gumbo once." She blushed slightly at letting Lizzie know that.

Lizzie beamed. "You like t' eat some wit' Dev an' me? Dere be plenty," she said, stepping over to drop the carrots into the pot.

Thief smiled. "I'd like-" she stopped and looked up. Her whole body went stiff and her eyes went even darker.

Lizzie didn't understand the change until she to turned and saw who the Thief was staring at.

Blink.

Another of the 'Levolents.

His orange hair was cropped short in a crew cut, and his yellow eyes stared at Black Thief with interest. But then they turned to Lizzie, and once they were on her, they filled with something she couldn't identify.

"Leave." He growled at Thief, his eyes were still on Lizzie.

"No." She said stepping in front of the girl, forcing Blink's eyes back to her.

"No?" He asked, clearly amused. He stepped into the kitchen and over to her. His hand shot out and he ran a finger down her arm. "Well, well, well. What have we here? You protecting the Master's newest toy?" She shuttered when his hand traced down her arm, but she didn't move. "Perhaps you'd like it better if my interest was on you again?" he asked, his voice sensual.

It was clear that she was afraid of him, and that she wanted to be anywhere but here, but she didn't move. She stood her ground. He smiled at her, his hand leaving her arm to touch her face lightly, tracing her jaw line with the back on his hand to running down to her lips. She jerked away from his touch.

He leaned his face closer to hers and whispered, "And here I thought you hated this...Maybe you can show me something that would make me change my mind about you?" in her ear.

She jerked away from him, her heart beat quickening, and her breath coming labored from her open mouth. No! She screamed silently, unable to form the word on her tongue. You can't do this to me... not again! You can't! Forgetting Lizzie, Black Thief slid away from him, and fled from the room.

Blink watched in amusement as she ran. But it mattered not, she had long since stopped being interesting to torture in his own way. But this one, he eyes turned back to Lizzie, this one is young... Young and sweet. He thought, a wolfish smile came to his lips and he moved to her.

Lizzie had no idea what any of this was about or why Blink was looking at her like that, she just knew she needed to get away. But that wasn't possible. He had backed her up against the counter, and placed his arms on either side of her so she couldn't get past.

"W-Wha' I do?" She asked. Along with her and Devin's new sense to hear each other's thoughts, their other senses had been enhanced as well. They had learned that they both could hear, see, smell, feel things differently, better then before. Devin's ears had grown long and pointed, like an elf's, and hers were beginning to do the same.

Right now, She could hear his heart beat getting faster and faster. And what she smelled on him made her want to puke. It wasn't something she could identify, or something she would want to, it just made her sick, and she wanted him as far away from her as possible.

But he wouldn't let her. His face came close to hers, and she could smell his rancid breath. "Leave me alone." She whispered, and disappeared from view. Her cursed and grabbed at the air where she had been, finding nothing.

Lizzie sagged back against the counter, afraid that he would be able to see her like IT could, but apparently her powers worked against him.

But not for long. He pulled something out of his pocket, a little black box with a red button, and turned it on. Suddenly, Lizzie felt something under the skin of her neck start to heat up, and she found herself visible again, just in time to get hit across the face by Blink's flying hand.

She fell to the floor, and cringed when his hand came back to hit her again.

But the blow never came.

Instead, he grabbed a fist full of her shirt and pulled her back to her feet slamming her up against the counter again. His face came close to hers again, "Do that again, little girl, and I'll beat you until you can't fight me. Believe me, the fighting's just what I like, and I won't like it too much if you just lay there like a dead fish. And if that happens, you'll like what I do to you even less." He growled this in her ear, and shook her, slamming her into the counter over and over again, until she thought her back was about to break.

She was crying now. Tears streaming down her face, wishing her poppa was here.

The train went on through the countryside, shaking houses close to the tracks. It went so fast the scenery was nothing but a blur, but Remy didn't care. He sat there staring at a picture of the three of them together, taken last year at Lizzie's birthday party.

She had turned ten last week. He had gotten her a present too. Under his seat, all wrapped up nice and pretty with ribbons and bows, was a new guitar. How the girl loved to play the one Red had given her, but it was so old, the strings kept popping, and it had started to sound bad, no matter how much she would tune it.

She and Juliet have a gift for music. They both can sing, and play almost anything. Juliet said that they could play by ear. They didn't need notes, just let them hear the song, and they could play it.

The days had been happy, filled with music and love. His Petite Belle and his Juliet.

He couldn't understand why Juliet had left him. Why she had listened to his father. Or why she hadn't told Red, her only other living relative besides Lizzie, where she was going. But they were gone now. Gone and caught by this man...this Essex.

Remy practically growled, his hands balling up into fists.

He had done some checking up on Nathaniel Essex, and didn't like what he had found.

The man was also known as Sinister, and it was the perfect name for him, because he was just that; Sinister. It was known that he was always fighting with the mutant heroes/outlaws called the X-Men. Remy had almost thought to go to them for help in getting his loved ones back from this Mr. Sinister. Almost but not quite.

The first picture that Sinister had given him, showed Lizzie, her face a mask of horror, her hands covered in blood. The next one, given to him should he change his mind about his little... "deal," was Lizzie and Juliet cowering in a cell, arms wrapped around each other. Juliet's face and arms covered in bruises, and both had blood all over them in places.

It was four months ago since he had last seen them. Last sat down to watch the sun rise with his daughter. Last eaten gumbo in their kitchen. How could four months seem like four years? How could he have done so much, and missed them so terribly in what was supposed to be a short period of time. He had found Sinister's "help." Scalphunter, Arclight, Blockbuster, Harpoon, Prism, Riptide, Scrambler, and Vertigo. They had each given him those names, and he didn't want to know what the real ones were. He didn't care. They were below him, and once he had his daughter back, he would turn them in to the cops, and that would be that.

To lead them all, he'd gotten the most feral man he'd been able to find. Out of the depths of Canada he had found Victor Creed, the man known as Sabertooth. He was perfect for the job, and Remy felt almost as slimy sitting in the same rail car with this man as he had standing in front of his apartment with Sinister.

Creed was asleep right now, but he knew that if he moved an inch, the man would be awake in an instant, growling that growl of his.

Remy sighed and leaned his head up against the cold window. He looked at his reflection and asked himself "Wha' 'ave you done, LeBeau? Wha' 'ave you gotten yourself int'?" Am I gonna regret dis f' de rest o' my life? An' am I really gonna see Lizzie and Juliet 'gain? He thought. If Essex lie t' me, I kill him. I kill him an' I watch 'im die, an' I n't care.

He shook his head, his long hair flying into his eyes. I 'ave t' get Juliet t' cut it. He thought absently. He sighed and looked down at the picture in his hand.

He had crushed it.

"Well looky here. Just what do you think you're doing, Blink?"

Blink's head shot up from Lizzie's hair, wondering who would dare intrude on him. Then he growled. "Arcane." He sneered. The orange eyed, silver haired co-leader of the 'Levolents had slipped into the kitchen without his noticing, and now leaned on one counter pealing an orange with her claw-like fingernails.

"I asked you a question, Blink. What do you think you're doing?" Arcane's voice is like ice laced with razor blades. She looks at the two of them, Lizzie slammed up against the counter, and Blink ready to beat her senseless if she tried anything, and smiled.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm entertaining myself. Get out."

"I think not. I believe I would like to watch your little... entertainment. Just don't scar her too badly, unless you want the Master breathing down you neck." She smiled at him menacingly and walked to lean on the counter close to them.

"Get out." He said again, his voice a bit more sharp.

Lizzie took this opportunity while they were fighting, to find a weapon. Her hands searched the counter behind her and her left one hit upon the knife she had been peeling carrots with. It wasn't extremely sharp, but it would get the job done. She palmed it, and thinking to all that her father and all that Dor and Morn had taught her about self defense lashed out with the knife, making a deep slash across Blink's already scar-covered chest.

She threw the knife at Arcane. Then, while Blink screamed in surprise at the blood coming from the gash, and not wanting to wait and see if she had hit Arcane or not, she ducked under his arm, and bolted for the door.

She was out and in the hallway when a growl came from behind her and tin cans started flying from the kitchen, hitting her in the head. Knives fallowed, but those she ducked. Unfortunately, she couldn't duck and get away fast enough as Blink ran up behind her and pushed her to the floor, covering her with himself.

"What'd I tell you, pretty? I told you I'd have to hurt you if you tried to run again, didn't I? Now, not only will I have little pleasure in taking you, but I'll probably hurt you so bad now, that I won't be able to do it again for a while. Something to think about next time, huh?" He grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked her head up. "I ought to make you lick up this blood." He whispered in her ear before biting it.

Lizzie screamed and tried to get away from him, but a punch to her kidneys stopped her, and she lay there under him whimpering like a beat puppy.

Red was halfway through his second bottle of the best scotch he had found in his bar, when he heard the thump on the porch. No matter how he wished he were, he wasn't drunk enough not to realize that the thump was way too loud to be an animal of some kind, and 'gaiters wouldn't come up this high.

He stood up from the chair he and Lizzie use to sit in when she was little, and watch cartoons, and stumbled to the door.

He opened it, and in fell Juliet, bashed and bruised.

Continued in Chapter 13

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