Part Twenty One
written by Soar and most expertly edited by Jeanne Kalvar
email ksg3@le.ac.uk
The Nanny's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets in shock. Jean froze, clutching the children close against her. She lifted her head slowly and turned her body round to face Sinister. When she saw the triumph written on his face, defeat threatened to consume her and her head sank in resignation.
Nanny, however, was not so willing to admit defeat.
"You double-crossed me Sinister. That was a mistake," she said to him.
Sinister looked at her in mild inquiry, "Oh! And why is that?"
A sudden blast of power was released in the room which knocked everyone to the floor. Smoke filled the air.
One minute Ororo had been holding tightly to Jean, the next she was on the floor. There was a lot of smoke in the room, and she was having difficulty in breathing, she coughed and tried to feel her way back to Jeans side. All of a sudden, extreme pain coursed through her body. She screamed.
Remy had been confused. Jean had told him that Oncle Nat'an'el was waiting on the outside for them, and that she was taking him away from an evil man. But then his Oncle had come into the room, and Jean had seemed upset. Then the Nanny had done something. It had pushed him away from Jean and now smoke filled his lungs as he fought to get back to Jean and his Oncle. He only got so far across the room when, all at once, pain seemed to strike him on all sides, inside and out. He cried out in agony.
Jean had thought it all over when Sinister had caught them, but then the Nanny had done something. Now she had to concentrate on getting the children and getting out of here. She tried to search them out with her mind but...something was wrong. They were not registering properly on the astral plain. Not that Remy ever did. Then she heard the two screams coming from the children. Her heart began to pound in fear. What had happened?
Sinister was furious. Both at himself for not noticing that his prisoners collars had been removed, and at the Nanny for daring to oppose him. But his vile heart had begun to pound in fear too. He did not know what she had done, but she hadn't done it to him. Then he heard the screams.
"Remy!" he called out desperately.
The smoke began to clear.
As the room became more visible two desperate pairs of eyes scanned the room looking for two small forms. That was not what they found however.
Laying on the floor were the restored forms of both Remy and Ororo. They were both unconscious, their bodies twitching still in pain. Sinister roared in disappointment. He moved swiftly over to where Remy was lying and began to stroke his hair.
"Remy, Remy, wake up my child."
Remy stirred faintly, and then again more strongly. His eyes opened wide in shock and then he whimpered in pain as his sensitive eyes let in pools of bright light that his body had become unused to. He closed his eyes again.
"Remy, come on, you have to open your eyes," Sinister said, coaxing.
Remy once again opened his eyes, this time shading them carefully. He looked up at the person hovering over him.
"Oncle Nat'an'el," he mumbled. Then he seemed to become aware of his situation, and who was hovering over him.
"Sinister," he hissed, and tried to pull back desperately into the furthest corner.
Sinister felt his anger boil to the surface. He turned round to find the one who had ruined his dreams. The Nanny was beginning to stir and she dragged herself to her feet. Sinister moved over to where she was standing.
"You!" His voice was filled with venom.
The Nanny lifted wary eyes to face Sinister.
Jean had gotten to her own feet and was rousing Ororo. When Ororo had come around enough to stand, she moved over to Remy and made him get up.
"Come on," she hissed quietly. We have to get out of here quickly while he's distracted."
The three X-Men moved quickly past the furious Sinister just as he directed a blast at the Nanny. The Nanny dodged and Sinister blasted at her again.
They moved out into the corridor. Jean used her power to try and locate the Marauders. They were headed here, attracted by the sound of blasting. Jean pulled her two dazed teammates in the other direction.
"We have got to get out of here fast, before Sinister comes looking for us."
Both Ororo and Remy nodded silently and followed Jean quickly. She used her senses to guide them through the maze of corridors, until they finally reached an exit. Jean still had the armband device from Vertigo and activated it in order to escape. Bright daylight poured into the entrance and all three winced at its unexpected glare.
Back inside, Sinister smiled in satisfaction as the dead corpse of what once had been the Nanny slumped to the ground. His satisfaction faded however when he realized that the only other occupants of the room were the Marauders.
"Find them," he hissed.
end of part 20
Part Twenty One