Title: Kinda I Want To
Author: Askani'daughter / Eruntalince (newloverboys@yahoo.com)
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Kinda I Want To 5 - Through Betsy's Eyes
By Askani'daughter
I sighed and massaged my temple, Professor. Things had only gotten worse since Warren ran off to kill Sinister, and most likely himself. And it had only been two hours.
"What do ya mean Gambit's missing, too??"
"Gambit has joined Warren on his suicide venture. They've gone to find Sinister and kill him. Gambit has precious information on Sinister. And almost as much of a death wish," Jean explained sadly to Rogue.
By the time Bobby came sliding into the mansion, the X-Men were already assembled to figure out how to best diffuse the situation. The problem is that none of the X-Men knew where Angel and Gambit were going.
Except me.
"But why would either of 'em do somethin' so crazy, Jeanie? Breakin' into Sinister's lab is like breakin' into hell. Ya might get in, but ya don't have a snowball's chance of gettin' out," Rogue asked in horror. Her pretty face revealed that despite all the times she's pushed Gambit away, she still is in love with him.
Jean cast a glance at Scott, who was flying the Blackbird silently, following my commands on how to trail Warren and Remy. I sat beside him, my eyes closed, listening to the conversation around me, but not participating. Mentally, I was watching Warren fly top speed towards Greenland, with Gambit in his arms.
"Rogue, you know that Gambit's been depressed ever since we discovered his connections to the Morlock Massacre. He's just desperate. Desperate to prove himself. Desperate to prove he's not a bad guy after all," Jean said sadly.
Rogue bit her fist, looking near tears. She just turned away and went and sat in the back, next to Storm. I didn't have to be a telepath to know she blamed herself for all of this. And she was scared to death for Remy's safety.
"And Warren? Why would Warren do something like this, much less instigate it?" Storm asked darkly, putting an arm around Rogue.
Jean once again glanced at Scott. Scott had been utterly silent since Bobby told him what was going on, barely even looking at any of us.
"Warren, well, he's-" Jean began before Scott cut her off.
"It's my fault. I was cruel to him," Scott finally said.
Jean paused and stared at her ex-husband, closing her green eyes momentarily and then opening them. More than any of us, she knew how he felt. "Scott..." she whispered. They exchanged mental communication, but his lips only tightened, and he began to work his jaw.
"This is...just like when Warren tried to kill himself in that plane. Only he's not doing it this time. He's going to let Sinister do it," Bobby moaned, feeling partially responsible as well. There was really nothing he could have done to stop it. Warren couldn't handle Scott's rejection.
How many times has Warren lost a person he loves? His parents, Candy Southern, Cameron Hodge, and now Scott Summers. He lost even the tiny sliver of hope that he had. The tiny sliver of hope that caused him to get up every morning. I couldn't give him what he wanted when we were together. Warren wants an entire person, not just the relationship. He wants everything, and anything less makes him feel unwanted. It was the utter totality that he demanded, the devotion he wanted, that finally made me leave him, not the discovery of his feelings for Scott. I knew he loved Scott from the moment I first met him.
The X-Men were silent now, troubled with their thoughts.
"They've reached the compound," I finally murmured.
"Psylocke, can you establish a link with one of them without being noticed?" Cyclops asked, all business now.
I smiled. "With Warren, yes. Gambit's psyche is too strong. I'll be mostly out of it, if I do that, however," I warned the X-Men leader.
"Consider me your new bodyguard. Do it," Cyclops said in a tone that brooked no argument. Not that anyone in the X-Men was foolish to argue with him, except for perhaps Wolverine, and even then, not really.
I nodded my head and withdrew my presence from the Blackbird and flew miles and miles ahead through the ether of the astral plane to merge my psyche to Warren's.
The shock of it sent me reeling for a moment, and I must have made something of a spectacle in the Blackbird. After a few moments, I was able to balance my psychic equilibrium, and separate myself from the roaring pit that was Warren Worthington's emotions. It was too easy to get sucked into it.
He enjoys flying like this, Professor. I can understand why he would want to kill himself without his wings. The rush of pure joy he gets from flying at top speeds through the air is euphoric. Gambit, however, was less than euphoric, and was mildly airsick, but holding up admirably well, all things considered. I had no idea that Warren could fly this *fast*.
Warren circled the compound, landing at a spot Gambit picked out. Warren fluttered his wings, feeling invigorated after the flight. Unfortunately, it quickly wore off, and the weight of his rejection weighed heavily on his soul once again.
Remy leaned over and vomited his dinner. Warren raised a golden eyebrow. "Are you going to be able to make it inside there all right, Cajun?" he asked.
"Bien. Jus' no' so many loops an' spins nex' time, eh, homme?" Remy choked, wiping the bile from his lips. He grabbed some of the snow off the ground and ate it, the closest he could get to rinsing his mouth out.
"What's the best way to approach this place?" Warren asked coldly, quickly switching gears. He didn't want to stop and think about what he was doing for fear some common sense might overcome him.
"No' doin' it at all. But since we're already here, we might as well go f'r de cave exit a few feet away. De problem is dat Sinister, he no' stupid. He prolly knows we be here and dat we tryin' t' kill him. And he be hidin' out in his control center. We have t' fight t'rough de clones to get t'him. De traps, no problems wit' Remy here, but de clones, dey be de problem, oui." Only half of that came out in English. Good thing I can read minds.
"Clones? And will you *please* speak in one language? I can speak French. I can speak English. But I hate having to switch between two languages in the same sentence," Warren asked irritably.
Remy sighed. "Gambit speak Cajun, Angel, and dat be de one language f'r me. As f'r de clones, Remy surprised y' don' remember. Y' know. De Marauders," Gambit shrugged.
Warren worked his jaw. It was Harpoon of the Marauders that had destroyed his wings. He narrowed his eyes. "Wonderful. But one more thing before we jump in there," Angel said darkly.
"Bien?"
"Stop referring to yourself in the third person. It's even more annoying than your language issues," Warren said haughtily.
Gambit walked over to patch of snow and cleared off a trapdoor with his foot. "Pissy li'l bastard, aren' you?" he smirked at Warren, pulling the trapdoor open, and looking inside. Darkness. Nothing.
Warren favored the thief with a cold smile. "You have no idea, Cajun. Think about why Apocalypse chose me as his Fourth Horseman for a moment. I was chosen to be Death *before* Wolverine," he told the Cajun, almost proudly.
Gambit actually smiled. "Oui. Couldn' h've picked a better par'ner to help me kill Sinister, den," he said wickedly.
"Exactly. Now let's go," Warren commanded.
Gambit nodded and jumped feet first through the trapdoor. A moment later, Angel followed
I snapped back into my body and opened my eyes, looking over at Cyclops. "They just went inside. Scott, there are going to be *Marauders* in there. Harpoon, to name one. And we all know what happened to Warren last time he fought Harpoon in close quarters," I said darkly.
A flash of fear went through Scott's eyes, and his emotions bubbled to the surface for a moment before he shoved them back down. Concern, guilt, anxiety, fear, and...love...for Warren? It was too brief for me to examine the emotions. The love could have been of friendship.. or something more. Scott's a closed book as far as most telepaths are concerned.
"Go back in, Betsy. Keep an eye on them both. We're almost there. We'll be in time to save them. We have to be," Scott murmured. I bit my lip, staring at the man I once thought I loved. And for much the same reason Warren does. Strength. Compassion. A rock with a heart.
I closed my eyes again and disappeared into the ether, linking back into the recesses of Warren's mind. I enjoy this power, the ability to sneak in unnoticed into someone's mind. Professor, you and Jean may be far more powerful than I am, but you aren't nearly as subtle.
It was dark, but Gambit apparently knew his way around. Warren kept a hand on the Cajun's shoulder, to keep from getting lost. Gambit trailed a hand along the metal walls, then he stopped.
The sound of clicks and buttons being pushed filled the yaning silence of the complex. "What are you doing, Gambit?" Warren hissed.
"Disarmin' one of de traps, unless y' particularly wan' t'be decapitated."
Neither consciously wanted to die. They didn't mind it, but mostly what they wanted to do was kill Sinister. For Gambit, Sinister represented the taint on his soul, a blemish Gambit so desperately wanted to erase. For Warren, Sinister represented the man who made Scott's life miserable, and the man who ultimately had a hand in the loss of Warren's wings. And if they died in the process of trying to kill him, then so be it. No great loss.
Gambit began to walk again after a minute, stopping every so often to disarm one trap or another. Warren just followed quietly.
I suddenly felt a presence, and a scream ripped from my psyche as I was torn from Warren. A brief image of Sinister's grinning face appeared in mind.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Braddock, but I'm trying to have a private moment with my intruders. I'm sure I'll see you soon. I really wouldn't recommend coming in the way Remy and Warren came. I've already reset the traps."
And pop, I snapped my eyes open and I was back in the Blackbird.
"What happened? Betsy? Psylocke? What happened??" Scott asked anxiously, anxiety for his fellow X-Men coloring his emotions.
"Sinister kicked me out of Warren's mind. We have got to get in there *now*!!"
"We're here, we're here!" Scott said, and I realized his voice was raised. I'd never seen him like this before. "Where did they go in?"
"Sinister said not to use the same entrance, because he reset the traps," I said quickly, mildly disoriented. Why do things always have to happen so fast, Professor?
"It's probably a trap," came Storm's husky voice.
"Where are they, Phoenix??" Cyclops asked.
"Right under there!!" Phoenix cried, pointing at one side of the pentagon-shaped compound.
"Fuck all ya'll!! Ah'm goin' in *mah own* way!!" Rogue cried and suddenly, a great whoosh of air filled the cabin and the Southern belle flew out the door and straight down towards the compound. Her fists were out in front of her, and she had every intention of just smashing her way through the complex.
"She's fucking crazy!!!" Iceman cried, watching her descent with admiration.
"Ah'm with Rogue. It's the Southern way," Cannonball drawled, and out he flew, following Rogue. A loud *boom* was heard as Rogue began to pound her way through the roof of the compound.
"Hell, I like the Southern way!" Wolverine grinned and jumped out of the Blackbird, heading after the first two.
Cyclops shoved the Blackbird's gears into auto-pilot, and stood up. "Everyone, time to jump ship. Rogue's going to need help pounding through that roof, and I'm just the man to help her. Phoenix, make sure I don't break my neck," Cyclops commanded and jumped out the door before anyone else.
The lot of us followed, Phoenix telekinetically aiding those who couldn't fly. It was the most direct plan of action we'd ever engaged in.
"Everyone out of my way!!" Cyclops ordered, and without question, the X-Men cleared a path as he adjusted the dial of his visor.
The impressive red beam slammed into what was left of the roof like dozens of ten-ton trucks being dropped consecutively every nanosecond. He went through three floors in as many seconds. I was definitely impressed.
We were going through the impressive holes in the building fairly soon. Screw Sinister's traps. The X-Men were taking the express way in.
Angel and Gambit were very deep into the complex, and the material got stronger and stronger as we went down. When we finally reached the floor right above the one above Angel and Gambit, we actually had to stop. Cyclops paused, holding his head in pain. While his power was far from exhausted, the constant eye strain of forcing out the full power of his beams was giving him a Juggernaut-sized headache. I realized just how *hard* Cyclops was trying to get to Angel and Gambit.
"Let me and Cannonball handle the rest. Everyone stand back," Rogue ordered, and a second later she and the blond youth were flying high into the air, far past the roof, and into open sky, meeting the cloud line. And down they came, both at top speed, letting the momentum of their descent add to their impressive powers.
We all cleared out from the space they were aiming for and Phoenix provided the telekinetic shields to prevent the debris from killing us. A deafening *boom* rocked the whole team, and caved in the whole floor as Cannonball and Rogue hit the floor. Hell of a way to work out your emotions.
Storm's winds swept the debris away and out of the building, and we landed clear into the next floor, avoiding killing Angel or Gambit.
The Marauders were mildly shocked to see us.
"Good evenin', Scalphunter! Imagine meetin' ya'll here! Lemme show ya happy Ah am to see all ya'll again!" Rogue said cheerfully, just as she knocked Scalphunter across the room, and away from Remy. You'd almost think she disliked him.
Scalphunter. Vertigo. Prism. Riptide. Sabretooth. Harpoon. Our old friends. How nice it was to see them. I put the pleasure of our reunion right up there with discovering you have genital warts.
"Don't bother holding back, X-Men!! These are just clones!!" Cyclops ordered, his voice regaining strength as his headache fled in the face of the Excedrin Beast had slipped him.
Angel, ever the stubborn asshole, was purposely engaging in battle with Harpoon. So far he had been able to dodge all the harpoons, thank God. Gambit was kneeling over his own vomit, and judging by the rather green look on his face, Vertigo had the best of him.
Prism was already down, and judging by the horrific cracks on his body, I'd say it was a team effort from both Angel and Gambit. Wolverine was already going toe-to-toe with the Sabretooth clone. Gee, what a surprise.
Chaos. How else to describe a battle? Utter and complete chaos. Storm's winds whipped past my body as I tried to seek out Vertigo, who was starting to bring down the whole team with her power. I used every ounce of my training as a ninja and a warrior of the Crimson Dawn not to succumb.
But I really wished the floor would stop moving.
I had the green-haired bitch in my sight. She was grinning like a fool, and focusing her powers on Cyclops and Gambit, who were already not feeling well. I can't say what the others did, because I had to focus on Vertigo, mask my presence from her, and try not to think about the moving floor.
With effort, I produced my psychic blade and managed to get in close to her, and drove my blade through her skull. And to prove my point, I reached around while she writhed in pain, and snapped her neck.
She had to be my least favorite Marauder.
I spun around, pleased to note we were winning. Wolverine was making mincemeat of the Sabretooth clone, and Rogue was having a good old time just beating up on Scalphunter. Riptide and Storm were battling it out, and she had a few of his super-velocity stars sticking out of her body. Phoenix quickly intervened, saving Storm's life. Iceman was icing up a Polaris clone, while Beast dodged Scalphunter's shots. Wait, that's not right.
And then I realized that there were a lot of Marauders. And the same ones, too. I swallowed, discovering that two Vertigos were smiling at me maliciously.
Don't ask me to count how many versions of the same person there were. I focused on the Vertigo clones. I remember distinctly seeing Rogue fight Scalphunter and Riptide at the same time, while another Riptide worked over Storm and Phoenix until Phoenix fried his brain. Wolverine had a few Sabretooths to fight against, and another Scalphunter and a Harpoon were teamed up against Angel, who was fighting mad. Cannonball was fighting yet *another* Riptide and a Prism. Cyclops dealt with a Polaris and another Harpoon, while another Prism leapt to fight Storm and Phoenix. Bishop was fighting two Scalphunters. Gambit was just fighting everyone, or at least that's what it looked like, cards flying here, there, everywhere.
I gave up trying to sort it all out and just fought whatever non-X-Man I saw. The whole room was practically covered in Marauders.
I knew that this was a Bad Thing.
We were definitely outnumbered, if not out-powered. We were tired. And they kept coming. I suddenly realized that Sinister had counted on us being so direct. He *wanted* us to be so direct. He had a whole compound full of Marauder clones, and he could send them in at will. We were trapped, like rats in a cage.
I finished off another Vertigo, starting to feel very queasy now that I had put down five of her already. I aimed a high kick into the back of a Prism's head, letting Storm finish the job, while side-stepping a kinetically-charged card from Gambit that hit a Polaris behind me. I turned and my eyes caught on a very tired Angel.
He had been fighting for a quite a while before we joined in, and I know I was getting tired. His wings were beginning to sag, and his body shone with sweat and blood. One of Riptide's stars was hanging out of his left wing, and another in his left thigh. I began to make my way across the chaos towards him.
And then I realized that two Harpoons had both raised their weapons, each aiming for a wing. No! Not again! Angel couldn't take it again, I had to-
And then suddenly, Scott's body flew in front of Warren's. Scott's optic beams blasted the pair of mutant murderers back to hell.
I relaxed slightly, whipping my psychic blade across a nearby Riptide's head, and breaking the ribs of a Vertigo with a hard kick to the chest. I turned, pleased that Scott had saved Warren.
My eyes widened and I gasped. I felt the blood drain from my body even as I noticed that all the Marauders had stopped fighting us and fell to the ground, struck dead by an unseen force. I felt Scott's psyche fade out, and heard the heart-wrenching sob from Jean in the background.
But what truly made my heart bleed was the sight of Warren Worthington III, Angel of the X-Men, cradling Scott's body, silent tears pouring down his beautiful face.
A harpoon stuck out from Scott's chest, piercing through his heart and out from his back. Blood dripped from his body and onto Warren. I'm so sorry, Professor
Cyclops, leader of the X-Men, undeniably the first and foremost X-Man, was dead.