What's Past is Promise

[Chance]

Okay this is the backstory of my character Mindwarp's entire family. As of now it is a story of how Professor Xavier showed Caity Currie and Michael Brosley a grave past in order to prevent a terrible future. This thread IS NOT open to others because it's more like a fanfic then an actual thread. Feel free to read and find out what happened to Mindwarp's family, or completely ignore it, lol it's your choice.

Wait...before you begin here is a quick rundown of the characters...you know, so it's not so confusing.

Characters:

name: Raymond Smidt Sr.
codename: Everseer
power: telepathy, with a specialty in human possession
relation to Mindwarp: Great Grandfather

name: Raymond Smidt Jr.
codename: Mindseye
powers: telepathy
relation to Mindwarp: Grandfather

name: Bernice Smidt
codename: n/a she is human
relation to Mindwarp: Grandmother

name: Ellen Smidt
codename: Cerebella
powers: telekinesis and telepathy
relation to Mindwarp: Mother

name: Laura Smidt
codename: 1. Mindlocke 2. Eve
powers: 1.telepathy with a specialty in human possession
2. Now she has lost her above abilities and instead can teleport and generate small explosives thanks to the genetic absorbtion of the powers of her past lover, the mutant known as Atom.
relation to Mindwarp: His aunt. His mother's twin sister

name: Joseph Smidt
codename: Death
powers:1. telepathy with a specialty in human possession
2. "Death" powers: control over life and death, increase in powers, healing abilities, ability to travel freely across the astral plane
relation to Mindwarp: uncle

name: Judy Smidt-Lopinski
codename: Mirror
powers: ability to generate powerful force fields
relation to Mindwarp: Aunt, uncle's wife

name: Joseph Smidt Jr.
codename: Leo (Gemini)
powers: when in contact with his twin sister, Joanne, he can generate powerful force fields, weild powerful telekinesis and gains telepathic abilities.
relation to Mindwarp: cousin

name: Joanne Smidt
codename: Libra (Gemini)
powers: same as her brothers
relation to Mindwarp: cousin

name: Michael Brosley Sr.
codename: Scar
powers: ability to heal any physical wound, however the wound leaves a giant scar. He doesn not yet know he is a mutant, even though his powers saved him from being burned to death
relation to Mindwarp: Father

name: Michael Brosley Jr.
codename: Mindwarp
powers: telekinesis and telepathy. Ability to astral project and manipulate reality on a small scale
relation to Mindwarp: He is Mindwarp!!

name: Steven Brosley
codename: Mindpulse, M-Pulse
powers: ability to unlease a psychic pulse of energy that can have catastrophic effects
relation to Mindwarp: Brother

name: Dana Brosley
codename: Dream
powers: ability to manifest life out of thoughts.
relation to Mindwarp: Sister


So, there are all the characters. The following is an account of how an evil entity, known only as "the Death," infected the Smidt family and caused the infected to commit horrible acts of violence. In the efforts to spare Mindwarp from such a fate his aunt, Eve, has wondered into Xavier's office one year ago to warn him. Now the events unfold....

[Chance]

On a snowy day one year ago the man known to the world as Professor Charles Xavier sat in his study before a roaring fire. He looked out at his school from the window in front of his desk and smiled. He had managed to save over 100 mutant children from persecution and the numbers were still growing. Just yesterday he had helped a girl with control over the elements to stop lighting her homework on fire, and the day before that he helped a new telepath adjust to an expansion in her powers. Feeling very proud he stroked his cat and she purred happily. Nothing could possibly go wrong...

Suddenly a loud popping filled the room and Xavier let out a cry of surprise as his wheel chair spilled over and he floundered on the ground. His cat screeched loudly and Xavier gave a small yelp when he noticed that his desk was in flames.

“What in the blazes!” He struggled to stand, but he was unable to. Quickly, accessing his telepathic powers, he searched the room for sentient life. Then he found it,

“Eve.”

“And hello to you too Professor!” A tall woman with long dirty blonde hair dressed in a leather halter top and leather pants stood in the center of the room with a sly smile across her beautiful face. “Sorry, these knew atomic powers I developed have been giving me some problems lately, especially when I teleport.”

She made her way over to him and with a strong pull she lifted Xavier off the floor and placed him in his chair.

“Thank you Laura,” he said addressing the woman by her real name, “but to what do I owe this glorious occasion?” His words were cold and sarcastic, but he was able to hide it under the guise of his sophisticated speech. His calm demeanor had always left Eve on edge, and it was in fact one of the many reasons why she had turned down his school so many years ago…

“Oh what’s the matter Charlie? Can’t a girl drop in from time to time for a little fun?” She smiled a toothy grin and took a seat on the tip of Xavier’s desk. With a wave of her hand the flames disappeared.

“Yes, but I think knocking will suffice next time,” Xavier said coolly.

“Oh you’ve always been so boring Professor. Why not take a leaf out of my book and spice things up every once in a while?”

“Because my dear if I took a leaf out of your book I would be blowing up buildings and bridges trying to get my way.” He was growing tired of the meaningless conversation and was fighting every nerve in his body to simply read her mind and learn her true intentions.

“Please. Don’t even bother poking around up there.” Eve said, as if she had been reading his thoughts. “You know I’m immune to telepaths.” She smiled the same toothy grin and Xavier couldn’t help feeling as if he was being mocked.

“Actually,” she continued, “I’m here for a reason.” She began to look more serious and her voice dropped down to a whisper. “You know very well about my family history.” And the Professor nodded. The Smidt family had gone through some pretty tough times, and the Professor had had to step in on more than one occasion.

“Well, just a few days ago Joseph was killed,” Eve said as a gasp escaped the Professor.

“Killed? By whom?” He demanded.

“His wife, Judy. She and Ellen claim that it was the only way, that he was too deeply infected, but I think it’s all a lode of B.S. Joseph was a strong telepath, he could have fought it.”

“Oh really?” Xavier interjected. “He was infected by the Death for over sixteen years! He tried to kill his infant children! It’s not surprising to me that Judy didn’t do something sooner!”

“So you condone the killing of innocent men?” Eve asked with a hint of hypocrisy in her voice.

“You know very well that I don’t!” Now he was getting off track. Angry, he pressed on,

“Did you come all this way to tell me that your brother was killed?”

“No,” Eve said returning to her calm state-of-mind. “I came here to tell you that the same day my brother died my nephew blew up his mall’s food court with sheer force of will.”

“You mean Michael? Oh God, is everything okay?” The Professor seemed worried now and his face didn’t hide it.

“Yes, yes he’s fine. But I’m afraid you know what this means…” the light dawned on the Professor’s face and he nodded. “With my brother gone and Michael developing even more power…it’s only a matter of time before the Death finds him.”

“We can’t allow that!” The Professor knew very well that Michael was already a promising telepath. He gasped. A prime target for the Death.

“Which is why my sister and I agreed that your school is the best place for him. Here you can keep an eye on him, making sure that he is behaving. Making sure that he isn’t exhibiting any symptoms.” She was leaning closer to Xavier now and their stoic faces were almost touching.

“Yes…but I have thousands of students to watch over. I can’t be responsible for only one.”

“Listen Professor, either you find a way to save my nephew or I come back here and blast you into millions of atoms! Call my sister. She’s been waiting next to the phone since Michael came back from the hospital.” With that Eve raised her arms and a blue light filled the room leaving a small creator and a flaming carpet behind.

“Oh great…” Xavier wheeled around to put out the fire when he heard a knock on his door.

“Ummm…is this a bad time?” It was one of his newest students, 16 year-old Caitlyn Currie. She stood with her long brown hair tucked behind her ear and gaped at the flaming rug.

Suddenly the Professor had an idea. “No, of course not…actually I have something very important to talk to you about…”

[Chance]

The voice of seventeen-year old Caitlyn Currie suddenly interrupted the mental projection that was playing in her head.

“So this is it? Mindwarp was in some kind of danger and you needed to have some sort of spy on him?” She asked with a sharp edge to her voice. “And so you choose me?”

“Yeah,” Mindwarp snapped. “What’s going on? What’s this Death thing? And why is it attacking my family? Why is my aunt burning down the school and why is my other aunt a murderer?” Mike was getting very heated and it was obvious to the Professor that things were elevating very quickly.

“Listen, there is a lot of information that the two of you need to learn before you start to make judgements. I admit, I couldn’t look after Mindwarp all by myself, but I knew that Caity’s power would allow her to be in constant telepathic contact with you. I thought, if she found something, she would come to me about it. You see, I did all of this for the greater good. Besides…didn’t you two grow closer?”

“If closer means hating each other’s guts!” Caity screamed.

“Or cheating on someone with their best friends!” Mike interjected.

“It seems that I underestimated the teenage factor when I pulled together this little pairing.” The Professor lamented. “But if you learn more, maybe then you can see why it was necessary.” He turned to face Mindwarp, “The Death is a very serious issue. What I’m going to show you two next could disturb you, but it is something you need to know. Something you need to be prepared for.” He repositioned himself so that Caity could see his face as well.

“If everyone is quite done, I’d like to continue.”

“I guess so,” Mike said with a worried look on his face.

“I guess so,” she said with crossed arms.

“Okay, then we will go back now, further in time. What I’m going to play is a memory of Linton McKellen, a personal friend of your Great Grandfather’s,” he said to Mindwarp. “We’re going back to the year 1941……

[Chance]

In a dusty old pyramid a tall distinguished man of 21 years stood reading an ancient tablet. I had met him in college and we had become close friends. He was always very focused, and always very attracitive to our female classmates. Although he was still young, his hair was bleach white and his eyes were a sharp, crystal blue, unusual physical features which added to his mystique. Now, as we stood packed into the old ruin, he was surrounded by slaves who worked diligently, using picks and axes to break away rock. As they worked the man smiled. He had found what he was looking for.

<Stop> He mentally commanded. All the slaves immedietly ceased working and fell into a stupor on the floor. We had picked up the slaves during our stay in Cairo and, thanks to my empathic abilities, we realized that their weak minds would be easy to control. Although I was against making them into mind slaves, Raymond seemed to have no quarry with the issue.

"Raymond," I said calmly from my spot on the floor. "Have you found the tablet?"

"Yes my friend," He said with a smiled. "This is it, this is what we have spent four years looking for." He held the tablet up to the weak light that the torches were creating and another grin crept across his face.

<READ THIS!> He ordered one of the men.

Raymond you see, was a very powerful psychic, a telepath to be exact. He, like me, was a mutant. We met at Harvard University when I heard him mentally commanding a girl to go out with him. As it turns out, I have the uncanny ability to hear the telepathic messages of others. But, my true mutant ability is empathy, meaning that I can sense the emotions, or other important aspects, of others. Through powerful concentration I can even alter emotions.

Anyway, it was at Harvard where we met. Being the only other mutant I ever met, we hit it off amazingly. But, something even more powerful helped to forge our friendship. It so happened that each of us had become obsessed with a certain tablet, a tablet known in
English as "The Death." It was said in legends of old that on the tablet was written an ancient formula that gave the finder amazing power beyond all belief. It was even mentioned that it gave the finder control over life and death. Both of us, in our warped frames of mind, had always felt like outcasts. We felt weak, even though our minds were stong. It was as if finding the tablet and gaining the power would mend the gap we both felt we had. We were young and foolish, and our nievety would come with a price.

We had spent the better part of five years prior searching for the blasted thing. But, our fruitless efforts yielded nothing. However, once we began to pool our efforts, things began to string together quite exquisitly.

It took four years to get to this pyramid, and four years to discover the tablet. After years of finding tiny clues, tiny hints, tiny inclinations as to where our treasure was, all our hard work was about to pay off...

[Chance]

"The gap of death opens wide its mouth
To swallow the lost soul whole
The energy is raw, unleashed
To the one that seals the deal

Blood by blood, through the line
The Death claims its prize

In exchange for unholy gifts
It leaves its host tangled in unholy lies

With the death of one
Comes the rebirth of another
With the destruction of life
Comes the power to control it

May the finder think long before the deed is done
For the pact is final with the rising of the sun"

So read the ancient tablet we had searched so long to find. I remember the feeling I had after the slave had finished. I felt shivers running down my spine and the words felt like a poison to my ears. What we were doing was wrong.

"Please Raymond, don't do this. Something doesn't feel right, and I must trust my powers. Put the tablet down...we need to go."

"What?!" He couldn't take his cold blue eyes from the block of stone. "We can't leave. We have found our treasure!" He lifted his head to smile a beaming white grin. I remember feeling as if I could trust him...

"Listen, it's almost sunrise. We must make haste to do this quickly!" He stepped down from the tiny pedestal from which he was previously standing on and walked over to me. With the stone craddled like a baby to his breast he starred into me.

"What do you say? We do it now? Right here."

"But Ray...the tablet...I think we have to kill someone!" I remember that he was taller and skinnier than I was. To him I must have looked like a scared hampster, but still I remember at least trying to stand up to him.

"Where does it say that?" He asked taking a look at the dusty rock.

"There!" I said pointing to one of the lines. "The gap of death opens wide its mouth, To swallow the lost soul whole." I moved my finger down and pointed to another inference. "And again here, With the death of one Comes the rebirth of another With the destruction of life Comes the power to control it."

"I see. Well it makes no difference. I've waited too long for this moment, I'm not going to let a silly thing like moral conscience stand in my way now!" He placed his finger to his temple and beckoned one of the slaves to approach him.

"You shall be the sacrifice." He said flattly. "I've read your mind through and through, and quite frankly, I think I'll be doing the world a favor by killing you. You are a pedefial and a rappist who gets drunk everyday." He turned to smile at me, "See. This is simple. Now," he looked down at the tablet, "Does it say here how exactly we are supposed to do it?"

"What are you talking about!" I yelled. "You can't justify killing this man! Death is wrong unless it occurs naturally. We can't do this!"

"You have better mind what you say Linton. I have little time for your foolishness and I'm beginning to think that you would make the perfect sacrifice." He said with a menacing glare.

"You wouldn't dare!" I shot back. "I can make you feel like commiting suicide with just a flex of my empathic abilities!"

"Please Linton, you couldn't make a puppy feel sad if your life depended on it. You were never very stong anyway, I just needed you to help me find this!" He pointed at the stone. "And now that I have it, I don't need you anymore!"

"Fine!" I stormed out of that tomb faster than I've ever moved before in my entire life, and I wanted so badly to just return back to New York and sit by the fire. But, something compelled me to stay, hidden in the shadows. After all I had spent almost half of my life searching for the stone, I at least wanted to see how it ended.

"I'll do it myself then!" Raymond yelled. He returned the tablet to the pedestal on which it was found and then walked over to his brown backpack. He drew out a short metal dagger and then walked back to the pedestal, commanding the chosen slave to follow him.

"Here we go!" Raymound smiled and looked to the east. A small hole had been created, like a window, that allowed Ray to see a glimpse of the sky outside. But, for a powerful telepath, nothng is impossible. He used his mind to dissemble the stones until the window was the size of a small car. I stared in mavel from the side-lines as the sun began to peak over the horizon.

"Now!" He took the slave and made him kneel at his feet. Then, he began to read the words from the tablet as he slowly ran the dagger across the slaves throat. My empathic powers picked up on no pain, no fear. Raymond truely was a powerful telepath...

But then, as the last drop of blood ran down the pedestal and the reading was done, something strange and incredible happened. A gigantic black void appeared int he room. It was swirling with purple and black smoke, with faces that appeared and disappeared. It was screaming and whirling violently as it grew larger and larger, encompassing the room.

"It is done!" Raymond yelled. "I am Everseer! Hear me Death! Grant me your promise! With this blood, I seal the deal!" And with that I watched as the soul of the slave was ripped from his body, as it was caught up in the spirling void and as all the strange dark energies began to shape and reform. Soon the body of a man stood in front of Raymond, and in another second, it stood inside of him.

[shadow=red,left,300]"YES!"[/shadow]He cried with ectasy. His hair that had once been stark white was now flushed with black highlites and his deep blue eyes were poisoned with flecks of black. His clothes seemed to change too, but maybe it was just my imagination. Either way, I watched as he raised his hand and I watched as all the slaves fell at his feet. As they died he inhaled their life essence, their soul, and then moved on. Each time he seemed to grow darker, more powerful.

It didn't take long for me to get the hell out of there.

[Chance]

For years and years after the incident in the pyramid I kept close tabs on Raymond. It appeared that the scripture he read on the tablet had indeed granted him power beyond imagination, and as it came to be, he dropped his old identity and took on a new persona. Doning a cape and black costume he re-named himself Everseer.

And as Everseer he spent his days searching for more power. I don't quite know what Raymond was looking for. What could one man possibly want?

As for me, I spent the consecutive years studying at Harvard, eventually gaining the position of Professor. I stayed at the University for many years, until I was an old man. I married a fellow collegue, her name was Miranda, and we had a wonderful life together. It wasn't anything special, but it was enough to keep me happy. I even had two children, and five grandchildren. Eventually, Everseer phased out of my life. Raymond seemed to disappear, and since I never heard of anything involving him, I figured it was all over. I guess amybe I thought that Raymond had just fell off the face of the Earth. But...one day, in mid March, while I sat in my office by the fire grading some papers, there was a knock at my door, and in walked Raymond...

A first I must admit, I was a little surprised. I half expected to see the same man I had seen in the Pyramid, so many years ago, walk through my door. Instead, an old man with a stern stare and piercing pair of eyes, stood in the doorway.

"Raymond? Is that you?" I remember immedietly recognizing him. The two of us had always had a sort of psychic connection, and even after all these years my mind still jumped in his presence.

"Hello Linton," he said in his same dagger sharp tone. Only, this time there was a hint of something else. It was a hint of desperation, of hopelessness. My emotion powers allowed me to sense that Raymond was afraid. But of what?

"Dear friend, come in come in. You look cold, come sit by the fire." I don't know what compelled me to be so friendly. The last time I had spoken to Raymond he had tried to kill me. But, even so, I was always very fond of him.

"I don't have time to sit by the fire! Don't you see, I' running out!" The desperation in her aura increased and his blue-black eyes looked crazied in the soft light of the fire.

"I was supposed to be immortal to live forever as the ruler of Life and Death!" He shook his fist and screamed a little, his voice growing hoarse from yelling so loudly.

"But look at me now, Linton! I'm old. This is utterly ridiculous, for the past twenty years I have ruled over the Astral Plane! I have gained powers tat you could only dream of! Everything on that tablet was correct, except for now. Except for this..." he motioned to his wrinkled face and bald head.

"What's become of me?"

"Well, did you seriously believe that old stone would grant you eternal life?" I spat at him. "I warned you against that stone, against the binding contract that you cealed!" I remeber getting angry, so angry that I was shaking.

"How can you leave me for so many years, only to come back and ask for my help! Figure it out yourself, old man! You are nothing to me, not a friend, not anything!" I stood up from my chair and pushed my small desk at him. It didn't go far, but it did topple and spill ink onto Raymond.

"Ingrate!" He screamed. "I can kill you now if I wished! I could inhale your life force and live another year!" He moved closer to me, menacing, with a threatening look in his beady eyes.

"Get out! GET OUT!" I roared. "Take your problems to someone else!" I moved out of my office and slammed the door, locking it firmly behind me. I know that to a telekinetic at his level of power a locked door is about as threatening as a cotton ball, but still, it made me feel safe. I remember picking up my car keys and leaving the university, driving home to be with my wife.

After that night, I never saw Raymond again...

[Chance]

"and so there is the first chapter. The story of how the Death infultrated your family, about how your great-grandfather cealed an ancient contract which allowed an astral entity to enter into your blood line. After that day, the Death has been passed through your family, from generation to generation." Professor Xavier said with in a soft tone. He gave Mindwarp a consoling look and then glanced at Syphon.

"Wow..." Mike didn't know what to say. It was so much. His great-grandfather had unleashed an ancient carnal force that had infected his entire family...all to gain unstoppable power. It made him sick, it was everything that Mike had been against his entire life. Yet, his family seemed to have no problem with accepting evil into their lives.

Caity, having heard his thoughts, shot him a reassuring glance. "It's not your fault Mike, you can't control your past, no one can. What matters is that you are better than that, that you always have chosen good over evil."

"But have I?" Mike shot back. "Just before, today, I chose to control the mind's and body's of two people. Is that considered good?"

"It was what had to be done...to save lives. If that's not considered good...then I don't know what is." Syphon said, with sincerity ringing in her voice.

But Professor Xavier interjected. "Possessing their minds may have been for good reason, and I believe that you were not openly trying to commit and evil act Michael, but the fact remains that the Death...this curse on your family, manifests itself in those who practice in the art of Human Possession."

"I'm afraid that our worst nightmare has finally come true. Michael, you are vulnerable to the Death."

Michael, you are vulnerable to the Death those words stung like acid in Mindwarp's head.

"What does that mean? Am I going to go crazy...am I going to be evil?"

"Of course not! This is insane!" Caity yelled throwing up her arms. "Mike is the most noble guy I know. He's not evil."

"But still, evil or not, the Death does not differentiate. However, there may be ways to stop the Death from taking hold of you. But the only way to learn about the Present, is to look to the past. So, let us go into yet another memory. The memories of your Grandmother, Bernice Smidt..."

[Chance]

"Well Professor Xavier," I said as I sat uncomfortably in his leather chair. Everything seemed to be happening so fast...I didn't want to be there, I felt like I was being put on the spot, having to testify against the man I loved.

"Where do you want me to start?" The morning light was making its way through the shades and my eyes were stinging. What did this man want anyway?

"Just start by telling me about yourself Mrs. Smidt," Xavier had said, his handicapped body giving off an aire of superiority. "I'm going to just retaqin this information in my telepathic loggs, just talk, and I'll work. You are familiar with telepathy, correct?"

I laughed. "Oh yes, telepathy. Everyone in my family can't get enough of it." This all was so strange. Me, of all people to talk about what my husband had done. But why me? Sure, I loved him, I cared for him, and he still is my everything. But the events that happened last summer...I barely knew what was going on. For most of the year I was trapped inside of my own mind, a prisoner to my husband's power.

"Why not ask Ellen?" I said with a hint of annoyance in my overall peaceful demeanor. "She knows more than I do."

"Because," Professor Xavier said sternly. "Ellen is being rehabilitated. If she strays from her program she risks being infected."

Being infected. That word made me shiver. A telepathic degenerate disease that overtook the body and possessed the mind. That's how the good Professor had explained it to me.

"Well," I said. "I guess I"ll start at the beginning. My name is Bernice Smidt. I am forty three and I have deep blue eyes and dirty blonde hair. I have tried, with some success, to raise three children, two daughters and a son. My family is my prize, my blue ribbon at the county fair. But, my family is also my deepest darkest secret. Everyone, save for myself, are mutants."

As I spoke I felt myself torn from the small ornate office and thrust back through time. Later I would learn that I was "day dreaming," a telepathic technique that allowed me to travel through my memories, and experience them from an outsiders point of view.

And so, I stood, as my forty three year-old self, staring out at my 19 year-old self. I was young and attractive, and my man was young too. He was a year older than me. His name was Raymond Jr. and he was beautiful. We had met at a deli. He was stealing a loaf of bread. When the store owner yelled at him to return it, I saved him by handing the clerk a few coins. After that, it was history.

Professor Xavier continued to show me my memories. I watched as Ray explained to me that he was an orphan. That he never knew his father and that his mother had died three years ago. My family decided to take him in, and I stood watching an arguement I had with my father.

Suddenly, time fast-fowarded and I watched my first child being born, then my second and my third. Me and Raymond lived a happy life, in my parent's house in Brooklyn until we made enough money to move out to the country. I watched as our house on Long Island was errected. As the wood was cleared and the doormat was placed on the stoop. So many good memories...so many good times.

But nothing gold can stay, and when my oldest daughter, Ellen, turned twelve strange things began to happen. Things would fly around the room, and Ellen would have terrible headaches. I thought she was possessed, and I took her to church everyday. But Raymond thought differently. He told me that it was normal.

That was when my whole world spiraled downhill. Raymond showed me that he too was different. He could use his mind to talk to people, to read their thoughts!

I must admitt, at first I was terrified, and I ran away, on a train back to Brooklyn. But Raymond came after me. He found me and he called me home. Ellen seemed to grow into her abilities, or her telekinesis as Raymond had called it. I don't know, I learned to love them. Soon, in my eyes, they weren't different, they were extraordinary.

Two years later my second daughter, Laura, developed abilities like her father. She could speak in our heads. It appeared that Ellen could as well, but she was never as powerful as Laura or Raymond.

And so, we lived together. Often I felt myself an outcast, being the only one (except for my young son Joseph) to have no powers. But, I got used to it. And I was their mothe,r I had to love them. Nothing would change that.

But one year, my husband got a call from a man who claimed to be his father. He said that he was dying, and that Raymond needed to go and see him right away.

I remember that I told Raymond that he should go, that this might be his last chance. I wish to God I had never told him so.

After a week he returned, if you can even say it was the same man. He came home with ghost white hair, and deep piercing blue eyes. He looked as if he had been changed, altered. His eyes looked crazy...

And after that the rest is a haze. I remember that those eyes haunted my every dream, my every waking moment. I was caught under their spell, and I was doing things that I never thought imaginable. I threw my children out of the house. I set fire to Ellen's lover's apartment. I robbed a bank! And I think I may have even killed a man named Linton...

It wasn't until five years later when my daughter Ellen returned. She attacked Raymond, and I remember that Laura was there too. She used her powers to free me, to allow me to regain control of my own body. Then, while Raymond lost my life force to feed upon Ellen took her chance. She used her telepathy to trap the evil inside of a mental cage, freeing my husband.

After that, Raymond returned to normal, and me moved to upstate New York, away from Long Island. As a side effect, both my husband and Ellen could never access their powers again, for fear the the entity would return to them. But, as i have said before, nothing gold can stay.

Laura was infected next.

[Chance]

Outside the sun was setting as Professor Xavier kindled a fire in his hearth. Mindwarp opened and closed his eyes, trying to stay awake. It was all too much, so much information in one sitting. He eyes caity who was rubbing her temples.

"So," Mindwarp spoke, his voice tired from not being used. "My Grandpa was infected with this death. How?"

Professor Xavier poked into the fire with a metal rod and then used his manual controls to turn his wheel chair around.

"Your Greatgrandfather infected him. You see, there is alot of missing pieces to this puzzle. I have tried to reconstruct everything, but all I have to work with are fragments of memory from people that were close to your family. What I have come to gather thus far is that your Great Grandfather did not receive the eternal life that he believed he was promised."

Professor Xavier turned to Syphon. She knew something, and she was never shy to voice her opinion.

"So what you're saying," Caity began, "is that Raymond Senior thought that he would live forever, but he misinterpretted the stone. The stone said that the Death would live forever, through the blood line."

"Precisely." Professor Xavier said, the soft glow from the fire warming his rigid face. "The Death did not give him eternal life, but it did grant his entire family eternal power. I think that Raymond senior believed that by stealing the life force of his son he could live forever, but his son thawrted him. Your grandfather used his telepathy to possess his father and kill him. This possession catalyzed the latent Death that was dwelling deep within his being. With the death of your greatgrandfather the power was transfered to your Grandfather."

"This is all just too much." Michael said slidding down into his armchair. "I never thought that my family had such a deep dark secret...I never even knew that my mother was a mutant!" He leaned against the warming leather and sighed.

"Well, your mother needed to give up her powers in order to protect you. We've all been trying, your mother and your aunt and me, to keep the Death away from you. But, after you possessed both of those boys in the School Gym...well, I'm afraid that the Death is only being prevented from entering you because it is already living in the bodies of your two cousins."

"You mean Joey and Joanne?!" Mike asked, his mind suddenly snapping to attention. "What's the matter with them? How were they infected?!"

"I'm afraid it happened only a short while ago. One month ago they were attacked and the twins used their powers to possess their attackers and chase them away. The Death took control soon after. your aunt has gone to stay with your mother, and the three of us have been trying to find the right time to tell you, but with the Institute being destroyed, and the Dance...there just wasn't any time." Professor Xavier sounded very concerned, and Mindwarp knew it.

"Well, now what?" He asked as he moved to the edge of his seat.

"Well, I want to send you and Caity to Canada, to take on your cousins and to stop them. There is only one way to get rid of the Death, and that is to trap it in the body of another. But, I've been talking to your Aunt Eve and she believes that she has located the Tablet that originally incited the curse. If we can access the Astral Plane, we may be able to trap the entity back inside of it."

"When do we leave?" Caity asked, getting up from her chair and picking up her silver X-Com. "I'll alert Alpha of my absence. I just need to get my uniform."

"The two of you will leave as soon as possible. Caity, I believe you have been trained to fly the X-Copter. I want you on this mission, not only because you can fly, but becaise you need to tie up some loose ends just as much as Mindwarp does. Do you too agree?"

"If I can stop this Death thing...I'll do anything." Mike said, his mind heavy with emotions and pain. He was ready to do whatever was necessary to save his family.

"Good, then you leave at once." The red light on his face from the fire made him look stern, but his soft features made him look fatherly. As he turned to say goodbye, he silently prayed that everything turned out all right...


**exit Mindwarp, Syphon, and Professor Xavier**