New X Men (Intersperse) Ch13

Chapter 13

I step out into the common area of the X Mansion, closing my eyes and listening to the surrounding. I control my breathing and focus my mind, forcing away all thoughts aside from survival. This is insane. Why did I decide to do this? I flip to the side before I get a chair to the face and twirl around to take on the enemy but there's no one there. Next I hear a fluttering sound and dive forwards before an explosion takes me out. How long have we been at this? A hand reaches out towards me and I flash intense blue light out from my arm before it could touch me.

I run through one of the dormitory halls, eyes dodging from side to side, scanning the walls for anything unusual. I jump back before one of the doors bursts open and burning hot fire flies through. That's not the end of the attack. I can hear the sound of blades in the air so I flip over the attacker behind me. Before they can come back at me I send an electrical current down the hall to cover my escape.

I can't keep going like this. I'm too far on the defensive. I know where everyone of them is but they each have so much more experience than me. I've taken one of them down so far, now I know who I'm taking out next. One of the enemies is alone so I track them down to the outside. He's trying to get his com link working. A little static electricity makes sure that doesn't happen. I go to sneak up on him but he knows I'm coming. Spinning around he blasts me with frosty energy but I radiate heat to melt through it and send out my own ice blast. He smirks with confidence at the futile attack, not realizing that it was a feint and I blast him with heat, forcing him into his natural form and I finish it with a straight punch to the face.

Next up I track down two at a time. This time when I attack they gat a distress call through and everyone learns where I am. I can feel them zeroing in on me. Razor sharp blades flash in the light of the dinning hall. I grab the persons arm and flip them over my shoulder and into the table, blasting them with energy and burning them to the point they couldn't move. The partner comes at me next, swinging from the chandelier on the ceiling and kicking me away from the other. "Mr.McCoy." I wipe the blood from my face and attack the Beast with a blast of ice, taking out one of his arms and one of his legs in one go. "Pretty good Skylar." He compliments me and holds out his frozen limbs so the new arrivals to the combat can help him. Magma melts the ice off of his limbs as Gambit tosses glowing cards at me. I smirk at the lame attempt at attack and suck the kinetic energy right out of the cards, sending it into the table beside them and blowing it up. I go for a knock out punch of Beast but Magma blasts at me, forcing me to jump back. I've already got Rogue and Iceman knocked out but I still have these guys and two others. Speaking of which, an arrow flies by my face, nearly cutting my cheek. Crap. They're all here. Magma blasts my body with her powers and I melt away. "An icy apparition." Beast poetically puts it. "He was fighting us with a clone." Moonstar looks around for any traps. "Looks like he's been studying his teachers abilities." "Spread out and search. If you find him contact the others before you engage. Remember that he nows where we all are." Wolverine gives the orders.

Beast and Gambit locate me first. Gambit charges a card but Beast puts his hand on his shoulder. "Our orders are to observe, not engage." "He's just a student." Gambit ignores the warning and tosses the card, creating a smoke screen. He aims his pole and strikes at the back of my head, but the ice falls away before it hits. "Another clone." Gambit says as he spins around and blocks my ice sword with his pole. "This one the real, yeah?" He asks. "The one and only." I smirk and devolve the sword, using my newly freed hands to blast him with spastic electricity and nail him to the wall, giving me enough time to counter another one of Beasts kicks. I charge my body with kinetic energy to give me enough of a boost to keep up with him. The static charge wears off on Gambit and he whips out his cards. I can't snatch them out of the air but I absorb their energy, redirecting it into the wall behind Beast, knocking him unconscious with the debris. Gambit's next. I jump through the smoke and go for a lash with my sword. He side steps it and charges the thing with his energy. I drop it and run before the thing blows up and use the cover to run.

I try going after Magma since I can cancel out her powers but Moonstar is with her so it might be harder than I think, but I have to start somewhere. It looks like it's only Magma but I know Moonstar is nearby. I have to be careful. I face Magma straight on and walk into the room confidently. She goes to use her power but by controlling the thermal energy I cancel her powers out and render her the same as a human. I go on the attack and head in for close combat, giving her the only chance she has of taking me on right now, but I have to jump back to avoid an arrow and in so doing I give up my kill shot. I go to send a blast of ice at Moonstar but am faced with Abigail instead of my enemy. "What are you-" I begin, getting shot through the chest by two arrows. Moonstar thinks she's got me but all she did was fall for my plan. Telling where the arrows came from by the way they hit me was a snap and I sent freezing blasts from my hands back at her seconds after hearing the line snapping on her bow. She was frozen before I was even hit. Next I snap the arrows in my chest and heal the damage. "What if she hit vitals?" Magma asks me. "She's a teacher." I explain, sending an electrical blast at her. "I knew she'd aim for a non-vital area. If not then it's a good thing I already duplicated all of my vital organs just in case."

Only three left. Wolverine, Gambit and Karma. They've figured out who's left and regrouped. The only way to end this is to attack them head on since they aren't giving me much of a choice. I meet up with them at the entrance hall. "You ready for dis boy?" Gambit asks me, charging his cards which only proves to my advantage as I manipulate his energy and absorb it into a rock I have in my hand. "I think so." I say, feeling pretty good. I just hope I don't throw up. I toss the rock at Logan and use the distraction it makes when it blows to go after Gambit. Close combat was a mistake. He smacks me in the back of the head with his staff and knocks me to the floor. He goes in for the kill but I blast a heat beam from my back. Not the flashiest move but if X men where worried about appearance we wouldn't have the fast ball special.  Just as I'm about to get up Logan slashes at me with his claws. I go in for an attack but get hit with a charged card. I was too distracted with Logan to notice. My attention keeps getting pulled between the two of them and I get more and more frustrated. The two of them keep one step ahead of me, in perfect synch. I guess I should expect teamwork from two long time X men. As Logan runs in to distract me from stopping Gambit's kinetics I get hit with energy. I get scratched when I focus on suppressing Gambit's powers too. that leaves one person out, Karma. I look up to see her watching us from on top of the staircase. So that's it.

Once I put Karma's possession powers and Logan's weird synchronization with Gambit together it was a snap to figure out that she was body hopping between them. Number one rule of fighting the possessed; Take out the possessor and the drones will fall, or in this case loose their perfect synch. I blast at Karma but she returns to her body and backflips her way away from the attack. "Can't stop what you can't catch." She tells me. I go to get her but Wolverine attack me before I can. "Listen darlin." He calls up to Karma. "We agreed we wouldn't do that possession thing." "I thought it might help." She explains. "I like to fight my own battles." He says, taking a claw filled swing at me. I block with an electric energy sword which carries up his claws and electrifies him. With his muscles temporarily out of commission I go after Karma. I've been especially worried about her powers this whole time. I'm almost to her when Gambit pins me. "Get im girl." He tells Karma who goes to possess me. "No!" I struggle to get free. "He's blocking me off." Karma tells Gambit. "I got him." Wolverine helps Gambit keep me down. I snarl and squirm to get free as I feel my consciousness becoming uneasy. "I don't get it." Karma tries harder and harder to get me to black out. "I'm not using the same power as telepathy but hi mind is rejecting my attempts to take over his body." My eyes begin to glow a very dark crimson. "Get up!" I demand my body to move as I start to stand with both Gambit and Wolverine on top of me. "That ain't good." Gambit says as the two of them are lifted off the ground. "Keep em down." Wolverine tell him. "If we don't hell take us down as soon as he has the chance." "Yer training at work, eh?" Karma ignores the two and focuses only on taking me down. She focuses all of her power on me but it's too late. I've already woken my psychic powers. Crimson streams of what looks like electricity erupt from my body, shredding through Wolverine and tossing Gambit into the wall. It knocks Karma back but she doesn't fall and keeps pushing to get control of me. The fabric of my jacket and shirt shred under the pressure of the energy seeping from my body. My long hair is waving behind me like I'm in a gigantic fan and my glowing red eyes surge flames of psychic power. I walk up to Karma, the red electricity destroying everything around us and I reach out and put my palms on her temples. The red energy subsides as she closes her eyes and falls unconscious. "You still got us." Gambit says as he and Logan walk up behind me. We're all in shredded rags from the little show I just pulled off. "I'm impressed." Gambit applauds, shuffling his cards. "But let's see how much you got left, no?" I take stance and create two ice swords. I parry Logan's attack and steal the charge of one of Gambit's flying cards. Turns out he's learnt to use his cards for distraction instead of attack against me and took the time they gave him to come up behind me. I can't outrun them and I have very little energy left from that crazy display of power before I decide to go all out with this and go for broke. I freeze gauntlets over my arms with spikes at the end of each knuckle for added damage. Next I go in for hand to hand combat.

I'm no match for Logan or Gambit and I soon realize my mistake in taking them both on in close combat. I've used up all of the ice I can and now I'm down to energy alone. I charge my body with kinetic energy, keeping myself one step ahead of each lethal blow. With Logan every attack is deadly and with Gambit I can't tell if he's attacking or setting me up. This is what experienced X men are like in battle. Awesome. I have to go for the kill now. I charge up a blast of thermal energy and strike Gambit, burning him and almost taking him out of the game. Logan's next. I sear his legs and make him and easier target. Then I blast him with heat until he can't move and turn my attention back to Gambit and go in for a knock out punch. My punch is interrupted by a blast of red energy which I absorb into my arms and turn back on the attacker who simply blasts me back harder and knocks me to my butt. "Surrender." Cyclops orders and I give in when I realize I can't get up anymore.

The Danger Room session disappears and I'm surrounded by the Xavier student body. Cyclops gives me an applause. "Let's all congratulate Skylar Medley for coming so close to defeating each teacher in the school." Everyone starts clapping and I rub my healing neck and smile, a little embarrassed. "Now, Skylar made made one fatal mistake, he used a power that cost him too much for his body to continue performing at full strength." Mr.Summers continues. "But other than that it was a flawless victory. I'm certain if I didn't step in as a surprise enemy he would have won." "Speak fer yourself." Gambit says, trying to act like I didn't totally destroy him but he's having a little trouble standing up straight. "As mutants we must always be aware of our limitations. Our powers can be deceiving and make us feel invincible but that is never the case." Mr.Summers keeps talking to the students. "But on another note, Skylar has performed very well today and shall be commended for his incredible advancement…And so will everyone else. Since our teaching staff will need a little recuperating time classes are cancelled today and you are dismissed." Now, that earns me an applause.

Later I am called to Professors Xavier's office. He's looking really impressed with me when I walk in and sit down in the chair in front of him, Logan, Bobby, ms.Frost and mr.Summers. "We are all very pleased with your progress Skylar." He tell me. "Defeating several X men, in a training battle or not is no minor feat for a student. You should be proud." "I am sir." I say with a blush and an involuntary grin which is met with a warm smile from the prof. "It's not only your recent scores in both your training and scholastic work but all of us have noticed exceptional growth in you personally. We are all very proud of you and would like to extend an invitation." Cyclops steps forward. "We would like to have you become an official X man." He tells me. "You will be taken on for more dangerous mission alongside us teachers as an equal. This will require courage and quick thinking which you have shown us in the past. We'll ease you into it at first but from now on you will be an X man through and through." "I appreciate it." I tell them, not sure how to say what I want to say. "But I don't think I'm ready for a spot on the X men yet." "I understand." The prof tells me. "There are certain advantages to being on your team isn't there?" "You saw right through me." I sigh and blush. The prof wheels his chair over to me and puts his hand on my shoulder. "I'm sure a young woman who walks through walls would be sad to see you leave the team as well." I don't say anything but my expression tells it all. "We thought this might happen so I took the liberty of coming up with a solution." Ms.Frost tells me. "If you do become an X man then you will also partake in the works of Excelsior during your time away from the team. We will keep you on call, if that's okay with you." "That sounds cool." I agree. "I knew you would agree." She says with a triumphant smile. "Then starting next semester you will become an official X man."

Later on after I tell my teammates about everything that happened pretty much everyone congratulates me except Andy who sort of ignores e but that's seems like the usual so I ignore it. A fist clenches and punches the air in rage. "It's not fair." Andy clenches his teeth in anger. "Why him?" "Someone looks pretty unhappy." Macaulay walks out from behind the corner with a condescending smirk on his face. "Beat it Micro." Andy tells him but Macaulay ignores his threatening looks and continues on anyway. "Sky's gotten pretty far da past little while. Now he's even an X man." "Not until next semester." Andy corrects him and Macaulay shrugs. "That's jus a formality. They want him ta graduate first. Which he'll do with flying colours." He pauses to give a more obvious point. "I'm feelin' kinda jealous." "What are you saying?" Andy clenches his fists. "That I'm jealous of him?" "Course not." Macaulay smiles cheerfully. "All he's got is two cute girls in love with him, awesome powers, he's omega," "I get it." Andy interrupts him and walks away. Macaulay sighs as he watches the guy leave. "Seriously. That guy really needs to get his ego under control before 'e gets on Sky's bad side."