Well, although in the last chap I said I wouldn't go out and get the Mutant Massacre grapic novel, I saw it in a comic book store for ten bucks -- that's right, TEN -- and just because it has a little tear (not much, teny tiny, really) on the cover, it was marked down $14! Plus, when I bought a very expensive comic, they marked MM graphic novel down again $5.00, so I paid 4.00 for it! Cool, huh? Anyway, I got it, and I've come to the conclusion that ... There is no almost no way that Gambit could have helped them into the Morlock tunnels! Almost, just when I thought it was hopless ... I started thinking (boy is that ever scary!) and I thought up a way, it's a little bit far out, but I think you get the point. Anyway, It'll be spred out in the next three chaps, and I'll even throw a little bit of Power Pack, the X-Terminators, and Thor in there for flavor ... anyway, (if you're still reading this that is) here's chap 16.
Disclamer: Lizzie, Devin, Dor, Shadow, and Red, all belong to me. Blink belongs to Shera Crawler 007. Everyone and everything else belongs to Marvel.

The Sun Will Shine Again
by Raven Adams
August 1998

Chapter 16

Lizzie couldn't stop shaking. She felt cold but she was sweating. Her hair was sticking to her forehead, her clothing felt sticky, and she couldn't stop shaking. The adrenaline rush, which had given her speed and the courage to do what she had done, had left her, leaving her feeling sick and scared.

When her shaking got too bad for her to keep walking, she stopped, leaning up against the wall, and slid down it to the floor, and cried. She sobbed because she was scared. Scared of what she had just done, and what she thought would be done to her for doing it.

She wanted her mother and father's arms around her, comforting her like they used to when she got scared. That pulled up memories that seemed to have happened years ago, and she sobbed harder.

But as much as she wanted her parents, she settled for Shadow. He got down on his knees and put his arms around her, pulling her into a hug. She was so small compared for him, so little and frail. He held her carefully, giving enough pressure to the hug to let her know she wasn't sitting on the floor all alone.

She hugged him back. Later, laying in her bed trying to sleep, she would remember this, and wonder how Shadow, as her warden, her guard, could emit so much love to her, when he kept her from the sun, her family, and the outside.

But then she didn't think about it, just drew strength from him and let it fill her to overflowing, until she stopped crying.

"Sorry." She mumbled, wiping her eyes with the bottom of her shirt. "I didn' mean t' sound like a baby, I-"

"Hun, what you did, took more courage then you could ever possibly know. He's not gonna be bothering you again for a long time." Shadow cupped her chin in his huge hand and made her look up at him, he was smiling. "You just showed him who was boss. You have a lot of guts to have stood up to him, and I don't think you're a baby at all... You definitely showed Blink that you're not."

She sniffled. "Really?"

His smile got bigger, "Real-" His smile crumpled at the look on Lizzie's face. Her eyes turned gray and dull, and it seemed she was a hundred miles away. He shook her slightly, she didn't move, just stared through him. He snapped his fingers in front of her face, and she blinked, coming back to reality. She opened her mouth, as if to scream, but nothing came out.

"Wha-" he started and was cut off. The scream she couldn't voice was coming from down the hall.

The sky was painted a carousel of colors -- the reds, yellows, oranges, purples, and blues that usually make up a sunset -- but it gave away very little light to a train yard in Los Angeles. Instead, it only clothed the ground in deep, dark, breathing shadows.

A gold-yellow flash of color danced from one shadow and slipped back into another, darting from the cover of one train car, to the next. Sabretooth stepped out, nose in the air, inhaling deeply, searching for a scent beyond that of the strong smelling diesel fuel that covered the air like mist.

Red-black "demon's" eyes opened slowly in one shadow, and a flash of fuschia appeared long before Remy LeBeau did. His sleek, thin thief's body was armored in black and blue gear with fuschia leggings, complete with mask to keep his red hair from his eyes and trench coat. He moved easily, like liquid, from the cool cover of the same shadow, and into the night. He had brought Sinister's "Marauders" here, following the tracks of a man and woman who was little more than a child.

Sabretooth sniffed the air, inhaling the scents once again, yellow-green cat's eyes shifted nervously. A snarl, much like one from his namesake, came from the very bottom of his throat and hissed between his teeth. "This way." He slowly walked in the direction his nose was pointing in, stalking his pray.

Like a cat huntin' a mouse. Remy shivered at the thought. He knew what cats did to mice when they caught them, and he felt this would be no different.

He followed anyway.

After walking past three cars without so much as catching a glimpse of anything moving, Remy said, "If you c'n track dem by you'self, wha' you be needin' ol' Remy f'?" His own eyes shifted nervously, keeping track of Sabretooth, and watching his sides and back at the same time. The sky was growing darker, and the shadows filled more of the ground, casting strange images over the place. To eyes less trained then Sabretooth's, Remy, stepping from one shadow to another, would seem little more than a phantom ghost, the setting sun's tricks on the eyes.

But Sabretooth could see him, very well, and proved it by whirling around and taking a slash at Remy with one hand. The claws hit his armor, doing little damage, but they caught his trench coat, and ripped it.

Creed grabbed the coat, pulling Remy up to him, face to face. "Don't back talk yer betters, boy. I could snap ya like a twig." He blew a puff of his rancid breath into Remy's face, before pushing him back.

His softly booted feet fell on hard railroad tracks, hurting them, and he almost lost his balance. Almost. He swirled away, drawing his trench coat around him, and tuned back, collapsible bow staff in his hands, stretched to full length. One hand glowing brightly, the other holding the staff in a way to show Creed he knew exactly how to use it, Remy growled, "Don' you ever touch me 'gain, boy." Putting an emphasis on the word "boy" to show he didn't appreciate being called that himself.

They stood off, both glaring at each other, fighting with their eyes instead of their bodies. Slowly they circled, sizing each other up with their eyes. Just when it seemed Creed would attack, he sat back on his haunches, a smile spread across his face, and he chuckled, his eyes promising pain at a later date. He turned back, following his nose again.

After the big man had taken a few steps away from him, Remy hit the release on the staff, collapsing it, and put it back into the pocket of his trench coat where he could reach it easily. He slowly followed, more on guard than before.

Scalphunter, Vertigo, Scrambler and the others had separated from the two some time ago, and that above all else made Remy uneasy. He didn't know what they were doing, why they were following these two people, and he didn't want to know. He did know, however, that when he completed whatever it was they wanted him to do, Sinister would have him killed, and he was sure Sabretooth was the one to do it. The one who would get the most pleasure from it.

So he stayed on guard, and decided not to do anything to make the man want to kill him sooner then was needed. He even, briefly, thought of high tailing it the other way, and running. 'Member who you doin' dis f', Remy boy. He thought to himself, slowly following Creed's footsteps. Lizzie important! You got t' save her... or die trin'! His mind made up, he didn't say another word, but he would keep himself ready for anything.

Which, as it usually does, turned out to be something that no one could ready themselves for, something that was too unexpected to be avoided.

Sinister stared at Red Lagoski in front of him. The man was looking out the window of the limo, watching the scenery pass him by, thinking hard. Sinister said not one word, just stared at him, until he turned back.

"You let bo'h de children go? Lizzie an' de ot'er one you said you 'ave?" Red asked, not looking away from the window.

Sinister smiled. "Of course. I am a man of my word. They will no longer be in my compound. They will leave there, not harmed... anymore than they already are."

Red's head turned sharply, piercing Sinister with his own red eyes. "Wha' dat supposed t' mean?"

Sinister shrugged. "Mr. LeBeau owed me a few things. When he gave his daughter to me, I took my payment from her, and then the boy. When you... take over his debt, I will have the let the children leave, and they shall never return to the compound again."

He turned back to the window.

"An' you see t' it dat Lizzie returned t' her Grandpére?"

"Of course. She will be reunited with her family, quite soon."

Red didn't move. He didn't say a word for a long while. The scenery passed him by, but he saw none of it. Lizzie was the last of his family, his parents, aunt, uncle, brother and sisters all killed at the same time. A car accident that had left only he and Juliet barely scratched on the outside, and torn up on the inside. But now, Juliet was gone, forever. But Lizzie was still alive; there was still hope that after this "debt" to Essex was paid off, that he and Lizzie would be together again.

"I get a go at Remy?"

"Mr. LeBeau... has prior engagements with someone else, but should he fail that someone...?"

Red turned back and held out his hand. "You 'ave a deal, Mr. Essex."

Sinister smiled, grabbing the hand. "Of course I do." They disappeared.

Lizzie and Shadow followed the sound of the scream, running into the library where they had left Devin. The chess table was overturned, the finely crafted ivory pieces scattered about the floor in disarray. The mirror which had hung from the wall between two book cases, was shattered all over the floor. A dozen Lizzie's stared back at her, the way they were scattered, she looked like a Picasso in them. Some books from one shelf were pulled down and scattered with the chess pieces and glass about the floor as well.

Devin moaned. He was on the floor, glass in his hair, and all around him, rolling from his side to his back, and to his side again. It was obvious he was in pain, not just from the look of him, Lizzie could feel it too.

"Oh, Saints." She whispered, and ran over to where he was. The closer she got to him, the more she began to hurt. It was his back, a ripping pain in his back, and now in her's. Devin screamed, and she whimpered, dropping to her knees, if she got any closer, she'd be doing the same as he was.

"Get her up and out of here!" Shadow shouted, and hands came under Lizzie's armpits, pulling her to her feet. She was quickly pulled away. Dev screamed again, this time she did too, both of their brains hurting now, the separation was too quick, and their link was shattered.

She pulled away from whoever it was who had her, only to be grabbed again, and dragged to the doorway, where the pain lessened.

Shadow stepped up, and put an hand on Dev's hand, he screamed, louder this time, and Lizzie could do no more then watch, held back by Dor, as her brother writhed on the floor in pain. She had felt it too, the pain, the ripping of her back; it was her's to share as well. Was it going to happen to her also?

Like the blue that had appeared in their hair, right at the roots now, but once their hair grew longer, they would have a blue strip down the center. Devin's ears had gotten longer, more pointed, and he could hear ten times better. Lizzie had done the same. Right now, she wanted to cover her ears, to block out Dev's screams for help, and for the pain to stop. But even had she been able to do that, she would still hear him, feel him.

He cried out, looked up at her helplessly, his beautiful eyes filled with the pain. Tears escaped from her own eyes, and she stopped struggling with Dor, trying to get away. What's wrong with him? What's happening? She wanted to cry out. She wanted to kill Dor for holding her back, she wanted to be the one on the floor, writhing; not Devin. He had done nothing! Neither had she! Why was this being done to them...what had they done in life to deserve this?

She could only watch helpless as Dev's skin tore open at his back, shirt ripping. Two wings slowly, agonizingly, pressed out, feather, by feather. They were covered in blood, and a morbid thought crossed her mind: she wished he would bleed to death, if only to escape this.

Devin's screams turned to sobs, as he pulled his knees to his chest and wrapped his new wings around his body. As he quieted, Dor finally let Lizzie go. The girl rushed past Shadow to her brother's side. Her head came down to his and silently she told him he'd be okay, that the pain had stopped. She couldn't open her mouth, for fear she would scream just to scream.

Shadow put a hand on her shoulder, trying to draw her away, but she shoved him away, fearful of him now. Wasn't he one of their keepers, the one who brought them to the test that had done this to them? She pulled away, flinching at his touch. She missed the hurt look that crossed his features. Lizzie pulled Devin's head into her lap, stroking his hair, careful not to touch the feathers, or his back, and she sang softly, a lullaby that her mother use to sing to her. She pulled glass from his hair, then stroked it lovingly. And slowly, Devin stopped crying.

"YIAERRGH!"

"RICHARD!?!"

The two screams filled the night air, cutting off the silence. After the echoes died away, even the crickets and frogs who had been singing in the back ground ceased to make a sound. Silence reigned.

Creed's head popped up, a snarl on his lips. He looked towered the sound, and pushed past Remy, running towards it. "Out o' my way, Cajun!" he yelled, "Ya've already caused me to miss the prey."

Whatever that meant, Remy didn't want to know, but he followed Sabertooth. He caught sight of the girl running away, rainbow colored hair flying out behind her. He didn't call to his companion, and only briefly thought about following her. ~Run petite, get 'way fast as you c'n,~ he thought, but still said nothing.

He ran past an empty train car, just in time to see Scalphunter step on the hand of the man they had been tracking.

"Naughty, naughty, chum. No more guns for you." One booted foot twisted on the hand grounding it into the dirt, while the other kicked away the man's gun. Scalphunter grinned, his face twisting more into a look of hatred then one of joy, but his eyes shown with the pleaser of a hunter taking down its prey with one quick blow. "No more anything." His gun pushed up against the man's head.

Remy's eyes grew wide, and he tried to step in to intervene. Sabertooth stopped him. His eyes said, "Don't even think about it" and Remy took the hint, stepping back, and slipping into shadows. He leaned up against the cool train car, closed his eyes for a second, sick with himself for being such a coward. First t' Poppa, now t' des bag o' muscle, next I be cowerin' on de floor when a kitten meows. He hated himself for being such a coward, for letting Sinister use him like he was. Lizzie, Lizzie. T'ink 'bout your baby, Remy, t'ink 'bout your girl.

The man on the ground whispered something, Remy was too far to hear it all, but a little carried over to his ears, and he could make out a few words; "Mistake... Hellfire Club... pay back." Remy'd heard of the Hellfire Club before; both the Thieves and the Assassins Guilds had run into the Hellfire Club on more than one occasion. Sometimes as friends... most times as enemies. He knew they weren't someone to be taken lightly, but he didn't say a word.

The man had finished talking and Scalphunter chuckled, a dry sound like sandpaper on sandpaper. "They're welcome to try. They'll get the same as you."

CHBOOM!

Remy jumped inspire of himself. Without out much as blinking, Scalphunter killed the man, shot him in the head. Dear Saints... what had he brought together?

"You!" Vertigo raised a hand, pointing at him. He looked up from the dead man, not even realizing he had steeped from the shadows. Even when not using her mutant powers, her green and white hair and matching outfit were enough to make one dizzy. "Where's the girl?"

He shrugged, "Your guess good as mine," he lied, hoping to give the girl a good chance to escape.

Sabertooth looked at him, disgusted. "She's in the fifth car," he said, nodding to a train just about to pull out.

"Take her now?" Archlight asked, looking up at Scalphunter.

"Later," Sabertooth answered instead, moving with the train. "According to the Boss's plan." He didn't seem too happy about it.

Scalphunter shook his head. "Don't fret Marauders. Before we're through, we'll all have our share of kills, and then some."

Remy didn't didn't like the sound of that at all. The words made his stomach fall out, and he felt like he was going to be sick. "Wha' 'ave I done?" he whispered.

Scalphunter chuckled, and slapped him on the back, almost knocking him over. "Guess what, Cajun? You're gonna get us on that train."

Remy just looked up at him, then ran foreword, grabbing hold of one car door. The train was moving slowly, so he was able to pull out a lockpick, and work on the door.

While this was being done, Sabertooth pulled Scalphunter over. "What'd we need him fer?" He asked, sticking his thumb out at the Cajun.

"Don't sweat it. The Boss said he's yours soon as he's done his job."

Sabertooth smiled, showing off his animal-like canines. "That boy's gonna hurt."

Shadow closed Lizzie's door and sighed. He felt like sagging into the floor, disappearing without a trace. He'd tried that before, leaving his world behind him, and Sinister had gotten him, erased most of his memories. All he really could remember was one night, standing in knee deep snow, wearing nothing put a pair of pants.

He was holding out his hands on either side of him, stopping the two-without-faces-or-names from fighting. The Two, he came to call them that, having many memories of each, only they were very fragmented. They hated each other for some reason, but he had always been a moderator. Making the
tall man, hard built man with cold cat's eyes stand down, and the short, stocky man put down his hands and stop baring his teeth.

"Ya ain't got no right ta stand 'tween us, Shad'." The short man would always say. The taller one, nodding, but neither would do anything, at least, not while he was around, later they would go at it again, teeth and claws scratching at each other, but never ever doing too much harm to the other.

Shadow. It was his name, and Lizzie had picked up on it. He'd sent it to her, of course, but now she didn't know that. She feared him now, feared that what happened to Devin would happen to her.

He wished he knew exactly what had happened to Devin. Just as soon as the boy had calmed down a bit, the wings had gone away, folding into his back. It was quite possible that Lizzie would get them too, but were they permanent, or some kind of side affect from something?

He wasn't sure, but he was sure of one thing, he regretted ever finding and bringing Devin here. He regretted that all that had been done to Lizzie had been done. She deserved to have her mother and father back, and he couldn't help but think that maybe he could help them... escape...

He knew it was possible, he'd done it once before... and this time he wouldn't get caught. He'd bring them to the snow, to the two-without-faces-or-names. He could do it, and they would be safe, all he had to do was-

He heard a noise down the hall. Leaving Lizzie's door, which he had been leaning on, he walked down to investigate, thinking of Blink getting his spine back.

But he didn't find Blink, instead he found Sinister holding hands with a red haired stranger.

Continued in Chapter 17

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