The Rise And Fall Of The House Of DeZorga: Part Thirteen: We Squeak With Idiot Fake Surprise

by Suzy DeZorga

Domino

"Where the hell's the boss in all this?"

Being awake again had its perks. Things like how accesible my gun was, for instance.

"Dunno. Think he's still alive in there?"

"Don't be stupid, Arc. That explossion would've killed anyone."

"Even him?"

"Yeah."

"Hey, the blonde chickie's awake."

Meltdown's voice sounded out, then. "Yeah, I'm awake. Get your hands off me, asshole."

"Oh, she's a feisty one."

"I'll show you feisty." There was a popping sound and something splattered against the rubble. "Next?"

"She just... Scrambler! Get over here, we've got--"

Another popping noise and the patter of blood and other materials falling on the ground. "There. Now, where are the rest of you--oh, shit."

"Hey, girlie. Playing? Try it now." The voice was smooth as silk and sounded smug.

Scrambler, one of the Marauders. I cursed under my breath and fought upwards out of the rubble. I wondered how many of the team were uncovered as I struggled. Scrambler. That meant the Marauders were expecting to run into resistance. Which meant Vertigo was around somewhere, too. Arclight and Riptide were the two that Meltdown had totalled. Or I assumed totalled.

The blast had knocked most of us out. Meltdown, I'd knocked her over. Which meant I ought to be free soon. With a curse, I was. The afternoon sunlight poured down on me, making me wince.

The sound was all the distraction Tabitha needed. Scrambler turned to me and she acted, slamming a fist into his stomach. As he doubled over, she yanked her knee up and caught his jaw. He went over with an "oooph." My pistol shot finished the job.

"Good work." I rolled to my feet and began scanning the horizon. My back twinged, I ignored it.

"Thanks." She slipped over to stand at my back. "I think we're the only two still awake."

"Debatable. Seen any other Marauders?"

"Only those three."

I finally glanced down to confirm that the first two were indeed dead. They were, their intestines spread over a large portion of the area. My nose wrinkled as I finally caught a whiff of the stench. Charnal-outhouse. Lovely smell.

"Let's see if we can find the others."

"Right."

We silently searched, finally finding Shaterstar's arm sticking out of a pile. I looked at Meltdown, my back was by now attempting to murder me. I ignored it. "You watch, I'll dig."

"Okay." She mumbled, turning to watch.

Satisfied that someone wouldn't be able to sneak up and kill us, I began picking up and throwing pieces of concrete and rock off of 'Star.

I quickly uncovered his head and neck, then stopped to check his pulse. He moaned as I touched the side of his neck. "'Star?" I whispered. "You in one piece?"

His eyes flickered open. "Ric?"

"Uh, no." I snorted and began pulling the rest of the debris off of him. When he was halfway uncovered, I stopped, "Finish this yourself, I need to find the others."

The other Marauders had to be somewhere. Sabretooth was still down--hell, he'd been in the mansion when we'd blown it. I winced. So had Fatale--who we'd taken prisoner. Scrambler, Arclight, Riptide--down. Which left Vertigo, Prism, Blockbuster and Scalphunter.

Four Marauders. Against me and Meltdown. I glanced back at the struggling sword-boy, and Shatterstar. Wonderful odds. I just hoped Meltdown didn't hurt herself trying to kill them all.

"Hey! Over here!" Scalphunter trundled over the rubble towards us. I'd read some of Nate's files on them ages ago. He'd had a large interest in Sinister. No surprise, really. Which gave me some idea as to their powers and what to expect from them.

I fired, hitting Scalpie in the chest. He fell backwards, wounded. Next to me, I heard Tab curse under her breath. It was the only warning I had as my stomach abruptly turned over. My diaphragm rebelled and attempted to come out through my throat.

"Vertigo." I croaked. "Fuck."

---

Marya

The Mansion's rubble materialised under our feet. Nate staggered as the slab he stood on tilted. I grabbed his arm to steady him. "Don't fall on me, bub."

"So sorry." He pulled away and joined Maddie scanning the area around us. The Mansion was just *gone*. Debris in the form of massive girders, blocks of concrete and wood chips coated the area in a half mile radius.

"Ye gods." I whispered. "Where the fuck is Dom?"

"I don't know." Nate said grimly. His eyes were hard. Worried. I was glad to know he was worried about Dom, since I occasionally worried that he didn't care enough.

I closed my eyes and reached out mentally, feeling for Dom. For an instant there was nothing. And then a deluge of images slammed through me. My knees buckled. Pain, blood, fire, children burning. My nightmares. "Computer," I gasped out, "Body slide one to--" Another wave washed over me and I mumbled the coordinates around the sight of a man slowly burning.

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was a building burning. A Sentinel stood over it, triumphant in its robotic way. 'Kitty's Day Care Center' proclaimed the melting plastic sign. "Shit." I muttered. I could hear the children inside, screaming, begging for help.

First imperative: stop the fire. I reached out, then cursed my not-elemental nature. The only way to stop it would be to douse the flames with something. Smother them, maybe? I blinked. The flames were dying down. I looked around for a reason. There was none. And then it hit me why they'd die down.

The blast caught me and threw me into the plate-glass store front across the street from the day care. The only thing that saved me from being turned into many pieces of human--well, two things, really. The first was being an Immortal Slayer. And the second was the TK shield I still had wrapped around every inch of my body.

So instead of crashing through the window and instantly dying, I crashed through it and fell in a bruised heap on the floor. "Ow."

My head rang with the soundless sound of the blast. A gas line must have ruptured and been caught. It was the only thing that would pull the flames back for an instant. I closed my eyes and fought the tears that threatened. All those kids. And I couldn't save them.

"Target destroyed. Acquire new target."

The Sentinel's mechanical voice shattered the despair that had welled in me. A despair that paralysed and brought a sense of hopelessness with it. We wouldn't win.

"Target acquired. Scanning. Humanity confirmed. Destroy target."

No. Whoever, whatever had been targeted, it wasn't getting them. A sheer act of will had me on my feet and hopping over the lip of the broken window. That *thing* would not have them.

Two kids, badly injured from the blast, lay on the street. The Sentinel stood over them preparing to fire. "HEY!"

It ignored me, of course. "Hey, you, you big ugly piece of fucking metal, ANSWER ME, DAMN YOU!"

You can always tell when I finally snap. I tend to lose any sense of proportion. Anger coursed through me and found expression in a gigantic TK fist which shattered the Sentinel's head. The body swayed there for a moment, then slowly toppled into the crater produced by the explosion.

"Hey, you okay?" I dropped to my knees and felt like crying again. The kids were dead. Their injuries had apparently been too extensive.

Something creaked. I whirled up into a fighting stance, then stopped. It was only the wind shifting the metal body of the Sentinel. My eyes widened. Only wind? There had been--

The second blast was probably louder than the first. I'm not really sure, considering by the time it finished exploding, I was already unconscious.

---

Maddie

I blinked. "Stupid bitch." I muttered under my breath as Marya bugged out faster then a high school boy removed a girl's bra. Not that I remembered high school much. Considering I'd never gone. "Tell me, son, does she normally run off that quickly?"

"She's got a lot on her mind." He replied absently, still scanning the area for his girlfriend.

"Ah. I'm going to take to the air, see what I can from there." I didn't wait for his answer, just hopped into the sky and sighed.

>From the sky, the destruction was even more apparent. I winced slightly at it all. The center, where the Mansion had been, was gone. A deep pit gaped up at you, the contents spewed out and strewn around the surrounding area.

And in the rubble, our quarry. I could see about four of them, surrounding my son's girlfriend. Her and two of his kids. The blonde one--Tabitha, I think. And the kid with all the swords. They were bent over, in pain? I wasn't sure. #Nathan.#

#Yes?#

#I've found them. About,# I checked, gauging, #five hundred yards from you. Or so.#

#I'm on my way.# He sounded somewhat relieved.

#Oh. And someone is surrounding them.# I frowned, slipping lower to look at them. #They look familiar.#

#How?#

#Never mind.# I decided not to wait for him to get there, though I could see him valiantly dashing across the rubble. The three weren't going to last.

The little green-haired girl didn't see me until I hit her in the head. Her loss of concentration freed Domino and the kids. They all crouched, panting.

"Hey!" He looked like a glass sculpture.

"Whatever." I shoved telekinetic fingers through the facets and began pulling them apart. He died sort of horribly.

I heard a popping noise and then a gun began firing. I turned to watch as sword-boy jumped into the air and came down with his sword shoved through the big guy's eye. That had to hurt.

"There." Domino nodded at me. "Madelyne. Thanks."

At that moment, my son came upon us, panting. "I'm... late." He decided, his voice dry.

Domino smirked at him. "We're fine, in case you were wondering." She sobered abruptly. "Nate, I'm sorry, but..." She straightened slightly, as if expecting a blow. "Caliban is dead."

---

Domino

It was the hardest thing I'd had to do in a long while--tell Nate someone had died on my watch. As he absorbed the news, I waited.

"Where's the rest of the team?"

"Buried." I closed my eyes, suddenly, remembering there was worse. "And Onslaught has the kid."

Nate actually swayed for a moment, his face draining. "Oath!"

"Hey, boss-lady, shouldn't we find the rest?"

"Yeah."

"I'll help." I blinked at Madelyne. "Hey, I can at least help unbury them."

"Thanks." I nodded and stepped around the body of Blockbuster. "We've already checked over there. I think they're in this section."

The explosion's center was about where Tabitha and I had been. Moving outwards, we'd found Shatterstar. We had to find the others. And soon, before they ran out of oxygen under the rubble. I fought down a sudden fear. We would find them. We had to.

Every Marauder we'd come into contact with was dead. We'd killed them, after Madelyne had released us from Vertigo's clutches. The wounded Blockbuster--after I'd shot him--had been dealt with by Shatterstar. I was surprised that 'Star had been up to that.

Tabitha had dealt with a few herself. I sighed, she'd killed for the first time. With her powers. I was hoping she wouldn't crack. I didn't need to have one of my kids going nuts on us. Not now.

We found Julio a few minutes later. I felt sick as I looked down at him. His head lay at an odd angle, and I knew without checking that he was dead. 'Star looked down at his friend with a sort of deadness in his expression.

"Let's find the others."

A scream rent the air and we all turned to see Terry pulling herself out of a pile of rubble. James' dark head appeared next, then his arms and shoulders as Siryn's scream cleared the debris from him.

"How is he?"

"I'm nae sure, he's nae responding." The redhaired young woman stopped trying to move the unconscious young man. "Help me get him stable."

I nodded and holstered my gun. The Marauders were dead, there was no need for it at the moment--even if holding it was sort of comforting. Jimmy was barely breathing when I slipped a hand along his neck to check his pulse. It was there, but terribly faint. "Madelyne."

"Yes?"

"Do you think you can pick him up and lay him--" I looked around, trying to find a flat space large enough for him. "Ah. There. Try not to move him at all."

"Honey, I was moving people telekinetically before my son was two." She flashed a smile. "Not that that means much."

Two minutes later, Jimmy lay spread out on the makeshift stretcher. He was still out cold, but the careful testing and straightening of his arms and legs helped him breath better.

I left Terry watching over him and went on. A thought struck me as I stepped over another jumble of bricks. "Madelyne?"

"Do you think you could see where the second blast center is, and circle from the air?"

"You mean look for them from the sky?" She nodded and slipped into the sky. "Got it."

I looked after her, envying a bit the ability to do that. Then I shrugged and went back to the task of finding the rest of my team before they died under the rubble.

---

Marya

I awoke with a splitting headache. Noise assaulted me from all sides, dinning into my brain and causing so much pain. And the lyrics were excruciatingly stupid.

"Great," I mumbled, not moving or opening my eyes. "I've died and gone to teeny-bopper heaven."

At least, I was assuming that's what it was, since their were several young men strutting about below me. How the hell I'd gotten into the rafters of some open-air amphitheatre, I didn't know. I wasn't even sure whether I wanted to know.

Not that it mattered. I needed to get back to the command post, and check in. "Computer, body slide one to Central Park."

"Confirmed."

The rafters dissolved around me, just as I heard the screaming begin.

I staggered as I hit the park turf, and swore. "Computer, body slide one to previous coordinates!"

"Unable to comply."

"What?" I swore in Greek.

"Coordinates no longer exist."

"Gods dammit." I sighed and bent my head, fighting not to scream or cry. They were gone, then. All of those kids I'd seen. And the singers.

The feeling of despair that washed over me then put me on my knees. Kids, kids, and more kids... Dammit, it was always the kids.

"Fuck that, I can't save them, so I try to build a better future." I blinked and winced. "Great, now I'm sounding like a politician."

"Marya!" Someone dropped to their knees next to me. "Are yah okay?"

"No." I replied, voice muffled. I felt old, tired. "But I will be."

"Good, sugah." Rogue slipped an arm around my shoulders as we stood.

"How goes the day?"

As we walked to the Blackbird, Rogue filled me in on as many current events as she could. "And then, Magneto--well, he looks like him, and has his power, but he's calling himself Joseph, and--"

"Hold on, Rogue." I straightened and blinked at her, "Magneto?"

"Yes."

We stopped on the ramp to the Blackbird. I frowned. "What's he doing?"

"Fighting alongside us." Rogue shrugged and looked away. "Ah've got to get back."

"Why were you here, anyway?"

"Lunch." With that prompt comment, she turned and jumped into the air, soaring off to parts unknown. Well, in New York, there really WERE parts unknown. Especially in the sewers.

Scott looked up at me as I stepped into the console room. His eyes were shadowed with exhaustion and grief. I nearly told him to get sleep, but we needed him there, co-ordinating everything. He was the best person we had for that. "Eaten recently?"

"Eaten?" He blinked at me, something flashing in his eyes, then leaving them.

"Yeah. Food. You know, sustenance?" I sighed and went searching through some of the small cupboards. I found a bag of chips and two sodas. "Great. Real nutrition."

"Rogue got the last of the rations." Scott mumbled absently.

"Ah." I snorted and set the cans and the chips down on the console next to his hand. "Here, eat. I'll try to have someone bring you something hot next time." I turned to go, then stopped and looked at him again. "I'm sorry."

He looked at me, startled. "Why?"

"Just..." I sighed and waved a hand. "In a way, I feel responsible for all of this."

"I don't..." He sighed and looked away. "It's not your fault. We should have been more diligent."

I rubbed my hand over my eyes and fought my own fatigue. This was so senseless. Xavier had gone nuts, or something. Either way, it didn't matter. He had to be brought down. Before he destroyed the world. It suddenly crossed my mind to wonder where the fuck Nate and Maddie were. Not to mention Dom. "Shit."

Scott blinked at me.

"Fuck. Scott, have you heard from Nate or Dom?" I swayed as a wave of precog hit me. It slipped through too fast to get a good feel for it. But a sense of dread settled on me, tensing my shoulders. Something very, very bad was going to happen.

"No, what--"

I turned without awaiting an answer and ran to the doorway of the Blackbird. Two people stood below the hatch, one was an unknown, the other was the kid I'd pulled from the coffee bar. Michael. I swore and hopped off the Blackbird, then slid my arm around Michael's waist. "What happened?"

His companion looked at me, disgust in her eyes. "A fire. Duh."

True. She and Michael were covered in soot and other things. I swore again as Michael sagged completely in our grasp. "Let's get him inside." I slipped telekinetic fingers around him, pulling up. In less than two seconds, I'd telekinetically lifted the three of us into the Blackbird. "The infirmary is this way."

Not that is was huge and well-stocked or anything. I scowled. A small bed, a few diagnostic panels, and lots of bandaids. Woohoo. Lots of good equipment. The sarcasm dripping from my thoughts almost distracted me from the task at hand.

Michael woke up at that moment and whimpered. Almost in unison, we set him carefully down on the bed. "Where am I?"

His voice was quite weak and sounded horrid. I winced. "Safe. For now." I rapidly ran a scan over him. Nothing worse than smoke inhalation and a few burns. I winced again. They would hurt when he stopped being in shock. I turned to the girl. "Your turn."

"My turn?" She snorted at me. "No. I'm fine, thanks."

I sighed. "Look, don't argue, just let me scan and check you for injuries."

"No." Her eyes flashed angrily.

Normally, when you offer medical help to someone they, at the least, say 'yes' gratefully. They don't usually get angry and say 'go away' in so many words. I sighed. Great. A burned kid--I'd sent him where I'd THOUGHT he'd be safe--and his friend, who didn't want to be healed.

---

Maddie

>From the air, I could see my son and his girlfriend. She was really quite competent, aside from the almost-panic I'd sensed from her earlier. And she really cared for the kids. And Nathan. My lips twitched into a bitter smile. Too bad his father couldn't have felt the same for me. A wave of wistfulness washed over me, followed by disgust.

Really, dwelling on the past was a waste of my time. Besides, Marya seemed quite attracted to my ex. I grinned at that. The poor woman was almost embarrassingly in love with him. I'd seen it in her wistful glances and the way she tried not to kill Grey. Stupid cow. Grey, not Marya.

I shook my head and started actually looking for the kids. Something about the area made me think we needed to get away from it. Soon.

With that thought, I spotted a splash of colour and swooped lower. Yellow and blue, the ragged end of a sleeve. I slipped to my knees to feel into the rubble, searching. There wasn't a conscious mind, but, I thought there was something there.

Carefully, I pulled the rubble off, telekinesis was a new tool for me (my comments to the contrary aside), but I was getting better with it. I quickly uncovered a dark brown arm, and smiled. Success. The kid was probably still dead to the world. I carefully moved some more rubbble, towards the shoulder and stopped, frowning. Something didn't feel right.

The hand lay there, unmoving, but that wasn't it. I shrugged. It didn't matter. I continued removing the rubble from the upper arm and shoulder, completely uncovering them. I started digging lower, and gasped. "Oh, shit."

Blank revulsion had me scrabbling backwards away from the pit I'd half-dug. Unfortunately, I fell into a dip and found myself face to, well, legs, the rest of the body under the rubble. The white shard at the apex had to be the backbone. It was sheared off quite raggedly, bits of pale pink muscle and darker, almost mauve tissue hanging near it. As for the previous sight of the ragged edge of his rib cage...

I don't think I screamed. I could be wrong, though. I lost a few seconds as I threw myself up into the air to get away from the sight. A stir of some sort was caused, because my son and Domino arrived on the scene, the kids trailing behind them. I hovered above them, for a second uncertain.

And then I slipped back through the air and landed on the lip of the pit. "Nathan, I'm sorry..."

My voice floated away on the breeze as he knelt down to carefully turn the upper half of the kid's body over. I hissed and was suddenly glad I didn't eat. The shrapnel had torn through the kid's shoulder. The arm and shoulder I'd uncovered was just that. An arm and shoulder. His legs were in the pit I'd also unconvered. Given the pattern, I suddenly knew where his head was.

Nathan knew, too. I blinked at the silent ferocity that threw a pile of debris away from us and uncovered the rest of the kid's body. I heard choking noises from the other kids and turned slightly, wishing I could block their view. No one should have to see a friend pulled apart like so much meat.

Which was what the unfortunate brat looked like. Blood lay in congealed and slippery strands, following the line of shattered intestine and bone. Fragments of skin and hair lay near what had been his head. The redhead--Terry--stepped up to me and sighed. "Dammit."

"I'm sorry." The words felt inadequate, and I winced. Where was my devil-may-care anger that was willing to see anyone die? I felt suddenly very small and mortal.

"Nae. It's nae yuir fault." The young woman tried to smile as she slipped an arm around my shoulders. "None o' this is."

"You're right." I said softly. "But I still..." I let my voice trail off and looked away. Domino was standing next to Nathan's kneeling form, now. She was fighting the urge to run, I could tell. I straightened and smiled. "It's not Domino's, either."

"Nae." Terry agreed quietly. But her voice betrayed her. She knew as I did that Nathan would blame her. They were under her watch. She failed.

Someone's radio crackled, suddenly. Terry jumped next to me. Domino pulled the handset from her belt and spoke into it. I stepped closer to hear the conversation.

"Hello?"

"Dom! *crackle* Marya, we need you guys bac--*crackle* NOW!"

"Kitty? Say again, you're breaking up."

"I said *crackle* back here! NOW!"

Domino nodded grimly and flipped off the comunit. "You heard the woman, people. Let's pack it up and get out of here."

"But... Um... how?" Tabitha carefully avoided looking down as she came closer to us. "I mean, we have no..." Her voice trailed off and she shrank away from him as Nathan stood.

"I can fly most of us." I said. The words were regretted as soon as they left my mouth. If I flew everyone, I'd be exhausted--drained--when we got there.

"Ye won' have tae do it alone." Terry stepped up next to me. "I think we can do it t'gether."

"Good." Domino's voice was clipped and quiet. "Any specific way we should stand?"

"Just... Closer in." I sighed and pulled. A telekinetic glow surrounded us all. I nodded to Terry. "If you would?"

She closed her eyes and breathed in, then expelled a high pitched sound. For an instant, nothing happened, then she opened her eyes and directed the sound sort of behind and under the bubble.

We wavered into the air, then steadied, as Siryn caught her stride. And, slowly, between her voice and my TK, we floated towards New York. Faster than walking would have been, but not by much. Until we hit better winds, that was.

The speed we travelled at got considerably faster as soon as we hit them.

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