Part two of Dark Tide

By Mystique

Notes: I have drawings of almost everyone in this fic and they will soon be posted, if possible. If anyone has any questions, I would be glad to hear them. mystique_42@hotmail.com

Jean spun on Lee's bed and hummed a melody. Lee glanced up momentarily but continued to work on her computer, ignoring the room's other occupants. Monet laughed at Jean and joined her and they broke into song.

That Thing, that thing,

thaaaat thiingg.

They sang off key and giggled as they shouted. Lee put a pair of headphones on and cranked up the volume. Finally, Jean and Monet fell into a laughing heap on the bed. Lee looked at them and removed the headphones, still using the computer.

The room had a single bed and a bunk bed. The bunk was used by Monet and Jean, who kept it fairly neat. Jean would mess it up and Monet would clean it. Lee's bed was always a mess, but she claimed to be able to find anything. Sometimes she would ask someone to time her as she looked for something. The only neat part of Lee's side of the room was a desk next to her bed. The desk was full to overflowing, and on top sat a small, chic computer. It was a large desk, so Lee had put a scanner, a digital camera and video camera, a fax machine, and about three cell phones plus beepers. There were a whole bunch of other equipment that I could never claim to be able to name. Next to Jean and Monet's bed was a bookcase, full of all sorts of books. There were four layers. The first two were Monet's, she also occupied to top bunk, and she could easily reach a book from her bed. She had sci-fi, fantasy, and a few educational books. She would often spend her nights with a large Anne McCaffrey book and stay up till who knows when, waiting for what would happen to T'lion and Robose. Jean's, on the other hand, was almost totally educational books, like Trig and Physics. She liked to be able to know any answer and to be ahead of everyone else. What wasn't a text book, was a book written by any mutant Jean could find. She was fascinated by the types of writing her race did.

"So," Jean said with a grin, "Who's up for a game of Truth or Dare?" Monet grinned and propped her head up. They both looked over at Lee, who seemed to not have heard.

"Come ON, Lee," Monet said with mock indignance, "Is that soooooo important that you can't take a half hour off to socialize?" Lee gave them a Scully look and switched the computer off.

"I can give the poor Mrs. Brown half a million dollars belonging to Citicorp later. She can wait, " Lee said gaily. She fell onto the bed and rolled over to look at them. "Hacking, though, is one of the best parts of life. It can only wait a little while."

"Okay, whatever. Who goes first?" Monet asked sitting up and crossing her legs.

"You went first last time. It's my turn," Jean said and turned fully towards Monet, "Truth or Dare?" Monet, as expected, took Truth.

"I want to know exactly how you feel about Scott," Jean ordered. She had a surge of some malicious feeling, but it quickly subsided and she felt immediately guilty about the question. "I'm sorry, you don't have to answer that. . ." she started but Monet interrupted her.

"No, it's alright. I do have feelings for him. You have every right to know about them," Monet said, with a half-hearted smile. Lee snorted.

"What is this, Dawson's Creek? Come on, guys, its no big deal. Jean you got a guy. M doesn't. What's the big thing?" Lee said, making jabs in the air, pointing at the appropriate person. M and Jean exchanged glances.

"They used to have a thing," M said quietly.

"What sort of 'thing?'" Lee asked, interested.

"A big thing," M answered, showing the size with her arms. "Very big." Jean blushed and turned around.

"So. . . Who's next?" Lee asked, noticing the tension in the room could basically be cut with a cleaver it was so thick.

*** This is taking place the same day that Gen X went to the party.

Rahne rolled over in bed and stared up at the man who had just stood.

"What's th' matter, a cuisle?" she asked, tugging at his sleeve. He looked back at her and smoothed her hair a little.

"Nothing, sweet," he answered. Rahne had grown to love the metallic hint his voice always had. She sat up, wrapping the sheet around her, and gave him a kiss.

"So, then whay are ye up and aboot so early, luv?" she asked again and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"Ah, sweet. There's nothing I would rather do than stay in bed with you all day. But you and the rest of the Marauders need your training. Go and assemble your team," Sinister said, kissing her again. She grinned.

"We goin' tae kill anybody today? Ye know how I loooooove a good kill in the mornin'," she said kissing him again. He gladly kissed her back.

"No, I'm sorry to say," he smiled as he said this, loving her vicious nature.

"Ah, well, perhaps tomorrow." He gave her a look. "Alright, I'm a goin'!"

She had her team assembled in minutes. Sinister looked over the ranks. First there was Rahne, his lady love and the only wonderful part in his workaholic life. Then there was 1013, the hybrid clone of mutants Jonathan Starsmore and Angelo Espinosa, a clone so powerful that even Sinister feared it. He then saw Paige Guthrie, Ripper, and was reminded of how he had gotten her to join. She was such a sweet, goody-goody sort of girl, the only way was to kidnap the men of her life, Jono and Angelo, and make a hybrid clone of them. He told her, of course, that it was the originals put together and she never suspected otherwise. Next there was the ninety year old computer genius Shadowcat stuck in a seven year old body with her robots and her computer twin. It really was lucky for her that he had stolen the Nanny model to rejuvenate her before she completely died of the Legacy. Nanny was also part of his team. Then there was his attempt at art, the Rogue/Gambit dilemma. He had given them the means to get past Rogue's little problem. The only consequence was that they had become undeniably tied forever. Their faces resembled each other, they never need to talk since they always knew what the other was thinking. Even their accents were merged. The part he got out of it was Rogue's incredible telepathic prowess. She had absorbed a girl from Britain, the sister of the infamous Captain Britain, and had gained a vaunted gift. He was as proud of his team, as Frost was of hers.

Later that day, he brought Rahne around his lab. They usually checked all his specimens in the late afternoon. Rahne came with him because she liked to play with Prometheus. Some called him Prometheus, others called him the Puppy. He was both. He was once called Logan as well, but that name was long gone. His healing factor was very useful. They could pump every inch of adamantium out of him and he'd regrow it in a few days. Sinister had made costumes for most of his team, especially Rahne, out of the metal they had taken from Prometheus. Rahne made a purring noise as they passed his cage. He smiled at her and opened the cage.

"Lock it when you come out," he said before continuing. He soon heard the howls and screams. Rahne worked so well at everything she loved.

"So, how are you doing, little one?" he asked no one in particular as he picked up a test tube filled with a gray substance. The label on the side read, "Espinosa, Angelo." If Sinister had been any other man, he would have felt sadness for a predicament like Angelo's. The poor boy had lost all control of his powers in one of the experiments performed on him. He put the sample back and walked over to a sealed door. The door had a sign. "Starsmore, Jonathon." Inside was the few remains of the man once called Jono by his lady love, Paige. The fire had been spreading for years, inching forward little by little. He no longer had arms and his legs were mostly gone. All that was left of his face were the tips of his hairs. They too would soon be gone. It could have been sad.

Prometheus stopped screaming then, and he heard the lock click shut. Rahne soon was back at his side. There were a few spots of blood on her fur, but she licked most away.

"Let's go see about Rogue's project, shall we?" Sinister asked and Rahne gave him a huge grin and a kiss.

"Good idea. We could use a really good telepath on this team. Phoenix will do nicely."

***

Angel hovered up to the top bunk on his and Charles' bunk bed. He flexed his wings and lay down on his stomach. Sleep would be welcome. He'd spent the whole party trying to scratch his back. His wings always itched so terribly when they were kept up. He opened his eyes a last time to check if Drake had rigged some sort of trick for when he was fast asleep, but he didn't see any.

"Sleep tight, Warren," Drake said and Warren sat up quickly. If Drake was being polite, something had to be wrong. He still didn't see anything so he laid his head on his pillow. Only to find ice.

"DRAKE!!" he screamed as he threw it at the nearest moving creature. Which happened to be Charles.

"Owww!" Charles said, rubbing his injured legs. "Come on, have pity, please?" he pleaded. Scott snorted.

"Yeah, you're real tired, probably. You had to use all your energy practicing your tongue hockey with Jean, right? I'm shoooor," he said sarcastically.

"Yeah, just like you did with Monet," Charles said, glaring.

"I did not! You little. . ." Scott started but Drake cut him off.

"Hold up . . ." Drake started but never got to finish.

"And you! What' up with you and Lee, huh? You gonna get anywhere on the baseball diamond this year?!" Scott said angrily and Drake blushed.

"I think I represent single males everywhere when I say you should all just shut up. You're all very lucky," Warren said, throwing the ice pillow at Scott this time, but hitting Drake instead.

"Ouch!"

***

Jean motioned Lee and M forward behind her back as she stood in front of Professor Cassidy's desk. The Prof wasn't sociable like Miss Frost, and he was pretty scary. Monet and Lee inched forward a bit.

"Um, Sir?" Jean asked meekly. Cassidy looked up from his papers over his glasses.

"Aye?" he asked, sounding annoyed.

"I was wondering. . ." Jean started but trailed off.

"If we could go into Boston today?" Lee piped up from the back. Cassidy stared at her instead of Jean, a relief for Jean.

"Why?" he asked.

"For fun!" Monet said indignantly. He smiled a little when she said that.

"Alright, if Miss Frost says yes, so do I," he said. "Now let me do my work, ye hoodlum's."

"We're goin' to Boston! And Malls!" Lee screeched outside his office once the door was closed.

"Really? Says who?" came Miss Frost's voice from behind them. She had her hands on her hips and was trying to look scary, inwardly laughing. They looked so frightened coming out of Sean's office. They began to stammer. "Stop your jabbering! It's fine that you go!" Emma eventually said with resignation.

"Yes!!!!!" was the unanimous response.

***

"I have to have the Lisa Loeb album with 'How' on it! They were playing that song when Willow and Xander kissed on Buffy: the Vampire Slayer!" Lee crowed over the Firecracker album. She turned to Monet behind her.

"You remember when that happened?" she asked, her voice misting over with remembrance. Monet sighed.

"And then they had to go and break it up! They are the primal love that keeps humanity going! What the hell do they mean, how?!" Monet said, her voice going from lovey-dovey to harsh.

"Ooookay, I know of two people who watch entirely too much Buffy," Drake said with a laugh as he approached the girls.

"Aw, crap! I don't have enough money on me for Firecracker and the soundtrack for the Faculty!" Lee said, rummaging through her pockets.

"Not to worry, fair lady. I will be your knight in shining armor and supply you with enough cold cash to get you through this crisis!" Drake said, making an exaggerated bow while handing over a ten dollar bill. Lee smiled bashfully.

"That's real sweet, Drake, but didn't you really want to buy a few classic comics with that money?" Lee asked.

"Nah, there not as important as music from Buffy," he said with a sly grin. "Of course, I will refuse to give you the money if you insist that Xander is more attractive than yours truly." Lee snatched the money and placed a slight kiss on his forehead.

"Yer a prince, but he's cuter. You're a close second, though," she said and departed to make her purchases. Drake attempted to rub her lipstick off his forehead, wearing a goofy grin.

Lee looked over to where Jean was standing. Jean had her face pressed up to a poster of the movie The Crucible. It was one of a collection of old movie posters that were on sale. Lee called to Jean but Jean never budged. Lee shrugged and returned her attention to the cashier.

****

"Why are you doing this?" Jean asked as she sipped at the chicken broth the girl Rogue had made for her.

"Because those monsters have come after me and mine too many times. All I wanted was to be able to live in peace, but they condemned me for something I was born with," Rogue said, wiping her forehead. "They call me a witch and are frightened of me."

Jean looked around the meager house that this poor girl lived in. They were the same age but they were so apart. Jean felt like she were in a play, looking through an actor's eyes. The door of the house opened and a man walked in. It had begun to rain outside, and he was soaked. Rogue looked up when the door opened and her eyes lit up when she saw the man. She rushed over to him and he swept her off her feet and kissed her passionately. Jean couldn't help being disgusted.

"You could be fined for that! Do you want to end up in prison?!" she exclaimed, grabbing Rogue by the wrists. Only then did she notice Rogue had gloves on, as well as a man's clothes that covered her from her neck to her toes.

"They've turned their backs on us, so we've turned our backs on them. Their laws mean nothing to us. They shouldn't to you either," the man said, putting his hand on Jean's shoulder. Jean quickly and quietly scanned both of their minds, and to her amazement, found that they were both real people. In a usual telepathic communiqué, the characters had no psi signature. That could only mean one thing. That Jean was shifting physically into the past and reliving the life of an ancestor.

"Jean? Jean?!" Charles said, shaking her. She turned to him and smiled.

"Yes?" she asked, like nothing had happened.

"We're ready to leave. Are you alright?" His concern showed on his face but Jean brushed it off like nonsense. For some reason, she didn't want to reveal that she could be living someone else's life just yet. It seemed like such a betrayal of whoever's life it was.

"Yeah, let's roll," she said with a smile. The smile was as real-looking as she could muster and he seemed fooled. He smiled back and they walked out of the store. The rest of the group was waiting out side and they all sat down beneath a fake tree. It was sort of suclusive, which is probably why no one else noticed when the group disappeared in a flash of light.

***

"Where are we?!?!" Lee exclaimed as they suddenly found themselves standing on a platform, surrounded by people who looked, well, alien. A purple guy with a Mohawk and no fashion sense stepped forward.

"I am Gladiator, of the Imperial Guard. The Majestrix Empress of the Shi'ar Imperium has brought you here to speak with you of things most dire," the guy said. Drake snorted.

"I'm sure the Majesty Empress of the She-Are Emporium is really a great person, even if she didn't get the role of the alien in Close Encounters of a Third Kind, but thanks anyway. We'd like to go back where we came from now, please," he said.

"Excuse me? Are those feathers on your head?" Monet asked, touching a man's head as he stood, stalk still, like he was afraid she would infect him or something. A woman's hand reached out from the crowd of feather-haired. . .um. . .people and grabbed Monet's hand.

"Yes, M. Those are feathers," the woman said, stepping forward. She was dressed in purple armor and had a cape on with some weird emblem holding it up on one side. In her hand, she had some sort of wicked looking spear.

"Show some respect for the Majestrix Empress!" Gladiator said angrily as he bowed his head. Generation X all followed suit.

"When in Rome, or an alien spacecraft, do as the Romans do," Lee muttered. She was trying to keep her mind focused on the task at hand, but all she kept thinking was if only she could get her hands on some of this technology!

"Stop that, Gladiator. We have to make our guests feel welcome, we do need them," the Majestrix Empress said. "I am called Deathbird by my enemies. If you would be my allies, I would you called me Oiseux." Oiseux came to stand in front of them. Only then did they see the strange markings on her face and that her hair sprayed out in all directions, unlike the other Shi'ar.

"How did you know my name?" Monet asked, a little worried. Perhaps this Oiseux knew a bit too much about them. . .

"I have been watching you for some time now. More particularly, I have been watching this one," Oiseux said, pointing to Jean.

"Me?! Why?" Jean asked

"I think you would understand better if I showed you. Tomorrow I will explain everything. I realize you humans need more rest than my people, and the materializing effect is quite tiring. We rarely use it, but this was very important," Oiseux said and turned to leave. She stopped and turned again. "The Imperial Guard will show you to quarters." Then she was gone.

"Come with me," a girl with purple-colored skin said. She smiled at their wariness. "Do not worry. I am called Oracle and I am one of the 'good guys' as you Earthers put it." They followed her as she walked out of the room, through a metal door.

Charles heard a voice from a corridor as he followed Oracle with the others and stopped. Their was an alien girl, no older than himself, half hidden in the ceiling. She had on armor like Oiseux, only silver and more. . .evil looking. She silently dropped beside him and the they continued walking together.

"I am called Lilandra, former sister of the Majestrix Empress of the Shi'ar empire," the girl explained. Charles sent her a questioning look. "I have been renounced from the house of Nermani for betraying my sister's trust in me."

"What did you . . ." Charles began but Lilandra cut him off.

"I should have been the empress. Oiseux is evil and must be stopped. I need to know if you will help me." They had stopped walking. He looked at her sternly.

"Why me?" he asked. She stared into his eyes and answered slowly.

"I think you already know," she answered, her voice soft and a little husky. He shook his head.

"I felt. . .something the moment I saw you. We are connected, you and I. Do you not feel it?" Her hand had somehow gotten in his and he dropped it suddenly. She glanced down at the hand momentarily before returning her gaze to his eyes. Just then, Charles heard Jean coming down the corridor.

"Charles?" she asked. "What are you doing?" He turned to her.

"I was talking to. . ." his voice trailed off as he realized Lilandra was no longer at his side. "Nothing," he whispered. "I was doing nothing." Jean cocked her head but said nothing more. As they continued walking, Charles could swear that he saw eyes looking at him from the shadows and a voice saying, "Your answer?"

***

Meanwhile, with the people who actually kept up with Oracle.

"I'm sorry if I trouble you," Monet began and Oracle made a soft whistling sound that Monet took as a sign that she wasn't a trouble and continued. "But, how can we help you without our teachers here?" Oracle made another whistling sound.

"Your teachers are being found and taken even as we speak," Oracle said with a grin. They had almost reached the end of the corridor. There were about five doors left before the hall just ended. Oracle pointed to the nearest door, noticing that Jean and Charles had just caught up with them.

"From this door on is your area. You may do whatever you wish here, provided it does no harm to you or the ship. Your teachers will need rooms, since they are coming, so leave them a room or two," Oracle said and rose in the air. With a wave, she floated off sown the corridor. They stared at each other for about ten seconds before the arguing began.

"I want this one!"

"Girls get this. . . "

"No Way! Get out. . ."

"Hey, I'll always be willing to share a room with a girl. . . "