AN UNEXPECTED GUEST
PART TWO
By Davide Briganti
DISCLAIMER: All the X-Men, and their likenesses, depicted in this story are
property of Marvel. No profits are made by posting this story, which is writ-
ten only for entertainment purposes. Sid "Renegade" Mayer, Seyla of Arborea
and Songmaster Thax are copyrights of me, so if you wanna use them, please
ask me first.
* * *
Storm sat on the grass, weeping as the rain poured down, summoned by her sorrow
through her mutant power of controlling the weather.
Her face hidden by her hands, she tried with all her strength to obliterate
the burning pain that was tearing her heart apart, while the image of the man
she loved with all herself kissing another woman was mockingly dancing before
her tear-filled eyes.
"Why?" she thinked "Why did he do this to me? Why must I always be betrayed...
abandoned? I loved him. I trusted him. I gave him my heart and soul, and he
throwed them away without even thinking a mere moment!"
Opening her arms wide under the fury of the incoming storm, Ororo looked up
in a mix of anger and pain. As bolts of lightning teared the clouds apart with
savage fury, she yelled in the wind: "Merciful Lady, why do your child deserves
such a treatment?! I was trying only to be happy, happy as any woman could be..."
She stood silent, waiting for an answer, a sign....but in her innermost self,
she knew that there was no answer. She lowered her head and leaned against
a tree, too sad even to cry.
The sound of footsteps coming from the mansion made its way to her over the
wind's howl; she quickly assumed her usual cold, distant expression and turned
towards her home, but as she distinguished Sid's silhouette in the dark of that
accursed night, she looked away with an irate expression.
"May we speak?" his voice called from behind her back.
"I definitely _don't_ want you to speak to me...and please don't come any clo
ser."
His voice was filled with sorrow. "Listen...I know, evidences are against me.
But I swear you, it was her who took me off guard! She literally stole that
kiss....how could I foresee the moment she'd wake up?!"
With these words, he made a half-step towards her, hesitating, then continued
in a more soft voice: "Remember the first time we met? I told you about Seyla,
about her pride and stubbornness. She never accepted the idea I wasn't in love
with her, and I didn't have any affections for her just because of that spoiled
behavior! She was born a princess, accustomed to have everything she wanted,
and the first and only 'thing' she couldn't have was I."
She shook her head, still looking the opposite way. "Pretty speech. But it
does not cancel the fact that you were not doing your best to escape her embra
ce when I saw you."
"Actually, I was tryin' to regain my balance, if you wanna know."
Storm was starting to reply, when she felt Sid's hand gently stroke her chin:
in a sudden burst of rage, she grabbed it, fully intentioned to throw it as
far from her as possible....but something buried deep inside of her rushed to
the surface, something both sweet and desperately melancholic, similar to what
she felt when he first declared her his love. She remained still, holding Sid's
hand and pressing it against her cheek, eyes closed.
Slowly, Sid put the other arm around his lover's waist, and kissed her hair.
"Ororo...you're the only one. Please, you've got to believe me. I don't want
to lose you because of a stupid accident like this. And besides, don't you
think that if I loved that girl, I could have remained in Arborea and married
her instead of running away in the middle of the night, hunted by half of the
king's elite guards?"
She finally turned to face him, and looked right into his eyes with a deadly
serious expression.
"Now, look right into my eyes and tell me that you are telling the truth." she
said anxiously.
"I _am_ telling the truth. And if you don't believe me, all the ones present
in my room would be more than happy to tell you how things went."
She smiled and let out a sigh of relief, then rested her head on his chest.
"I was so afraid I had lost you." she whispered after a while.
He smiled and kissed her forehead. "You're a jealous little girl. But I love
you that way."
"Yes, I'm jealous, and you should keep it in mind for the future." she replied
in an almost playful tone.
He catched the joke. "Yes, Mistress. I won't do that again, I promise. Please
forgive me!" he replied in a fake "poor slave" voice.
She leaned forward and whispered "Twenty lashes." before kissing him with passion.
* Ahem! * Jean's telepathic call interrupted them.
* Jeez! What's happening now? Can't we have a minute of privacy down here?! *
Sid replied with a huff.
* I'm sorry to intrude in such a delicate moment, but as Betsy said a short
while ago, there are questions that still need answers....and that girl doesn't
let anyone get near her. Maybe you can make her understand that she's among
friends, and make us understand what's happening. *
* Okay, I'm comin'. *
Ororo gave him a freezing glance. "It's better that you talk to her at a conve
nient distance: if she tries again to make a move on you, this time I will not
simply walk away."
The young fighter rolled his eyes and smiled wryly as they begun walking back
to the mansion, hand in hand.
"As you wish, honey. As you wish."
Quickly as it appeared, the storm vanished showing the majestic beauty of a
moonless, star-filled night sky.
***
Sinister watched the three creatures in the large glass cylinders with growing
satisfaction: six men he deployed to capture these savage children of a faraway
place, and only two returned with their prey.
"Good" he said to himself, then started examining a holographic image of their
DNA, looking for 'weak spots' to replace.
A high-pitched, shrieking voice resounded from behind his back: "What do you
hope to accomplish, sorcerer?"
Sinister turned his head in shock and anger. Right in front of him, the mad dan
cer who was summoning the insectoid monsters the night before was standing,
constantly shifting his weight from one leg to the other and grinning evilly.
"BY WHAT RIGHT DO YOU INTRUDE MY DOMAINS?!" he roared raising his clenched fist
"I COULD HAVE YOUR LIFE ENDED WITH A MERE WINK!"
The grin disappeared, and the man slipped forward in one of his nonsensical
dancelike moves: in a blink of an eye, he disappeared from sight. The disturbing
voice again came out from a point of the lab behind the mutant genetist.
"I'm here because I can be here if I wish, and neither you nor anyone on the
face of this mudball can stop me from doing what I please. So, it's better for
you if you show me some courtesy and respect, sorcerer."
"Awesome" Sinister whispered, still not moving. Much calmer, he turned again
to face the man.
"What do you want, then, and who are you?" he asked.
The stranger bowed mockingly. "Please, let me introduce myself. I am named Song
master Thax, bishop of the Chaos Dance. I used to be the leader of a order of
monks far, very far away from here, and I'm here to....well, let's say, retrieve
a lost lamb. I have watched many subjects, and you proved to be the most suitable
to assist me in accomplishing my mission."
Sinister smiled wickedly. "What makes you think I'm willing to aid you?"
Thax made a quick sign with his left hand, and a shimmering, multicolored bubble
of energy appeared right in front of the mutant genetist. Slowly, the flickering
colors became shapes, more and more definite as seconds passed. A quiet, almost
musical humming sound was filling the air in the laboratory.
As the sound faded away, the image of the Xavier Institute clearly appeared into
the floating sphere. "The one I am looking for is in this manor. I know that
the people who live there are your enemies, so I am proposing you a pact."
"Give me more informations and then we can arrange the deal."
"What 'informations' do you wan me to give you?"
"First, who is the man that you're seeking?"
Thax's expression suddenly darkened, and he spat on the ground before gesturing
again in the energy sphere's direction: the image inside wavered and blurred,
returning to its previous state, and then reformed showing the figure of a young
man dressed with an old Iron Maiden T-shirt and jeans, with a white headband,
intent on punching and kicking a sandbag with all the speed he could.
"This man's name is Renegade. He betrayed me and my order long ago; I spent
years trying to know where this damned dog was hiding...and now that I have
found him, I will make him pay!"
Sinister nodded. "Ah, yes. Ororo Munroe's lover. I'm still wondering why Xavier
lets him live at the mansion, considering the fact that he's not a mutant.
Very well, I think we surely can....help each other."
The sphere disappeared, and Thax walked quietly towards his newfound ally.
"Well, sorcerer....what's the plan?"
"First, we have to improve those creatures you brought in this reality. And
I'm not a sorcerer!"
***
END OF PART TWO
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