The Gathering

Chapter 8

A strange sound woke Payton up. It took him a few long minutes to figure out it was some sort of alarm system like they had inside shopping centers when there was a fire or bomb threat. Glancing to his side to find Anna was gone and probably with the others he launched himself from the bed to leave the room and find out what was going on.

The Protectors were running down the hall outside and headed for one room further down. Seeing Paul ahead Payton ran to catch up and asked urgently “what’s going on?”

“Father said Johnathon tripped the alarm” the teenaged boy said “he said he was moving inside Ricks’ mind to help him when he sensed something wrong with his body. He is being attacked. Johnathon had just enough power to pull free of the evil when it noticed him inside and trip the alarm. He said he felt whatever it was doing something to Rick he could not see what.”

“Zimmer or one of his men?” Payton asked curiously “could Zimmer have got inside and grabbed him?”

“Certainly not” Tommas said as he joined them, running but somehow making it look like he wasn’t try in the least at the same time “or C.C. or one of us would sensed him before this. This is something new and evil.”

“How do you know that?” Payton said as he looked at the man carefully. “I know” the man looked away and refused to look back at him. Paul just made a motion to stop Payton’s further questions and suddenly the jungle ruler frowned and stopped “they’re gone.”

“What do you mean Tommas?” Paul asked him. “The one who attacked him has gone.”

“What about Rick?” Paul asked him, noticing the others had stopped and were listening. “Gone from the Med room” he frowned “something is wrong with him.”

“Where father?” Cathrine touched her fathers’ arm urgently “Johnathon is unconscious. We only have you to lead us. Where?” As an answer the man started to run truly and everyone else followed. The jungle ruler suddenly looked back at Paul and said, “get some of the lasers. And hurry.”

Trusting the man the boy made a detour into one room they passed and joined them less than a minute later, handing them out to everyone, even Payton. “Why would we need these father?” Cathrine said to him “why do we need weapons against Rick?” The man’s look shut her up and soon they had rounded a corner to find Rick.

But it looked only slightly like Rick. It had his height, build and shape. It had his blond curly hair and wore what was left of his clothes. It had his face but it was contorted in rage and something else. The eyes were red glowing orbs with Johnathon and Gwins’ cat-eye pupils. The fingers bore long sharp looking curved nails. The back of the shirt was torn open to reveal two huge limp brown things a few of them recognized and there was two hideous wounds on his right side.

One was what looked like five long bloody claw marks from the top of his shoulder and diagonally across his body to just above his pectoral. The second wound was a tear in the side of his neck just over jugular and totally severing the vein, which still oozed blood that covered the front of his shirt and turned it red.


They could also see more claw wounds in the flesh of his right arm and wrist and Payton could see indents in his arms to suggest he had been held down and sharp nails had cut into him. Paul had been right about what Johnathon had felt. The boy had been attacked, held down tightly and forcefully at least.

“Rick!” Lance and Cathrine cried union and they both moved towards the boy but Payton snapped “NO!” grabbing the man’s arm while Tommas seized his daughter. “But...” Cathrine started and Payton spoke to them both “look into his eyes, that’s not Rick.”

“Then who is it?” Lance snapped and Paul suggested “Zealer?” as he frowned at his friend. Veronica shook her head as she said softly “No, it is something else. Something dark.”

And she was right. The eyes were totally insane and full of rage and darkness and something they couldn’t understand. Hunger. As they watched the top lip peeled back as the figure growled loudly at them, showing top teeth to see the top rear incisor teeth on either side had grown longer and were sharply pointed like two little needles.

“I don’t care what he looks like now” Lance said stubbornly “he’s my son and he won’t hurt me if I don’t hurt him.” Lance handed his laser to Payton before he could protest and was walking slowly forward, hands out to show was weapon less. He spoke low and soothingly to the boy who’s body shook in barely suppressed fury and they were suddenly struck with the feeling Lance had done just this before. They were proved right when there was a brief flicker of memory in the boys eyes followed by an even briefer flicker of recognition before it was all overpowered again.

The boy allowed his father to come to his side, remaining still on his spot as his body trembling violently. Lance reached his side without incident and reached out slowly towards him. Before anyone could stop him, tell him that in this state the boy’s fear of touch would be greatly exaggerated the man had reached out a curious finger to touch the wound in his jugular.

The boy gave a loud shriek, his eyes mad with pain and his arms swept out striking Lance across the face and throwing him into the nearby wall. They heard the man grunt in pain as he hit, sitting still on the floor for a few seconds before slowly pulling himself up straight and raising a hand to his lip.

It came away bloody and they realized when he had struck the wall he had bitten it through. They saw the boy move to flee them when suddenly he stopped, frozen to the spot and head raised just slightly and they realized he was sniffing the air. As they watched he moved forward, kneeling in front of his father and reaching out.

They thought he was going to see if he was all right but the boy reached out and grasped his hand. They saw the boy move his fathers limp hand to his mouth and lick the blood off, eyes dark and pleading on his fathers. They were full of need and hunger, the madness muted temporarily.


“What is it Rick?” the man asked his son softly, gently “what do you need? Tell us and we’ll help you.” The madness overpowered for a second but he pushed it down quickly and looked down at his father’s hand. Following his eyes Lance watched him turn his hand around with one hand and reach out to lightly scrap clawed fingers over the surface veins.

“Of course” Payton said softly “it must be some sort of reaction to the blood loss. All the blood he’s lost from the beatings, the surgery and this attack. Or some sort of drastic mutation. Or maybe because of the curse and legend.” They all looked at him and Payton was shocked by the confusion in their faces and eyes. “You don’t know about the legend and curse over their family?”

“No. What are you talking about?” Payton looked down at the two to see the man looking up at them, glaring at him as he asked, “how do you know about that?!”

“Rick told us in the cell” Payton said softly “he was trying to show me just how strong you both are because of it.”
“Rick wouldn’t have told you” Lance sounded angry “you found out some how.”

“How? Only you and he know about it.” Lance couldn’t answer this and only continued to glare at him. Payton returned the look equally and said evenly “tell them or I will.”

When the man didn’t answer the negro sighed and said “all right I’ll tell them then. But it would sound better coming from you.” When the man still refused to speak he sighed again and said softly “right it goes like this. One of their ancestors was a great fighter and skillful artist. He had blond hair and blue eyes and was tall and pale. There was a battle in his land and he fought for his people against the enemy and even reached the leader of the enemies and faced him in a showdown.

But what he didn’t know was the leader of them was a witch. As the enemy leader died his last breath was a curse, a curse that no matter what he did his future children and their children and so on would all be born with the same features. No one outside their line would have the genetic strength to change the features.”

“And this power?” Paul asked, aghast that his friend was one of a line of cursed souls and that his friend wouldn’t confine this in him. “One of his line before this guy was extremely powerful, Rick told me even more powerful than your friend Johnathon.” This stunned them and Steven managed to ask “so?”

“So the legend says that one of their line will inherit all that power and all the power of each generation, so powerful it’s thought that whoever inherits it will be able to brake that curse. However it was also said that part of the curse will be that whoever inherits it will also be unable to control it and it will kill them.”

Tommas suddenly spoke “and because there’s only the two of them left Lance was afraid if we knew that then we wouldn’t want to get close to Rick for fear of a chance of loosing him later on if and when this power shows.” Payton nodded slightly and Paul asked curiously “Has any other than ones like Rick and Lance been born to their line?”

“Rick said it’s been tried a few times. A few of the ones in the past have married and been with Negro’s and American Indians and such but the babies are always born blond with blue eyes, tall and pale and all ways male.”


“Have you any idea how much of the excitement of having children is taken out when you know what they are going to be and what they’ll look like?’ Lance said from his spot on the floor. “Then why have Rick in the first place?” Veronica asked.

“Because I loved Dale and didn’t care about it as long as we had something to share of each other.”

“Even if it meant you’d risk loosing him later on to this power?” Cathrine gasped in horror. “Why do you think we were nearly all ways in contact with Dr Sanderson?” Lance asked “when we found out about Rick being a mutant I made sure we kept a careful and constant eye on his condition and abilities, just in case.

When Chel and Santon and the boys turned up I realized just what it could mean. If Johnathon could have such power and control it utterly then there was a hope that, should Rick inherit the power, some one would be there not just to help him but teach him to control it and use it properly. That it might not end up killing him and we’d loose him. At least that’s what I thought in the start. I didn’t know that, child that he was, Rick saw all four as part of his life and family almost immediately or that so would Dale and I would soon come to feel the same.”

Lance looked up at Steven, eyes pleading for their forgiveness of using them like he had. “I would have done the same” Steven said soothingly “in your position. And in our own way we were using you all in the start as well.”

“So this was Rick’s big secret? Why he does not like to be touched?” Paul asked. “That’s an entirely different matter,” Lance said and Payton nodded “apparently the cause for that is something that happened to Rick when he was nine. Something about a man kidnapping him and doing terrible things to him for days, things we could never imagine before Loel saved him.”

They had all heard the stories of the mysterious man who had saved Peter from the car crash that had killed his teenaged parents and Rick later on before giving the baby to the boy and his mother for safe keeping and any reference to him picked their interest. “Did he tell you what happened exactly? What he saved him from?” they asked. “No. What I just said was all he would tell me and he had needed therapy for it.”

“But what would be so bad in his past that he would not tell us with our close relationship, as such close friends?” Paul was totally confused. “Some traumas surpass friendship,” Payton said softly and they had a feeling he was quoting someone.

“Is that the voice of experience Payton?” Paul asked him stubbornly and the man nodded, but Tommas’ next words shocking them “because you’re a mutant like Rick.” They all looked at the jungle ruler in shock and Payton snapped out “how do you know that!”

The man just looked at him and didn’t answer, his eyes saying sternly “You’re kidding me, I can see it.” Payton glared at the other man angrily as he said “what I am is none of your or anyone else’s business!”

“Isn’t that why Zimmer was keeping such a close eye on you at the lab” Tommas said without a single change of expression “we heard him say through the monitor that the soldiers were to keep a close watch on you for he did want ‘a repeat of what happened before.’ What did you do to make him watch you closely?” Payton looked him dead in the eyes for a few seconds then sighed and blinked “I’m an active mutant, not a passive like Rick is.”

“What do you mean by that?” Lance asked him “What do you mean by active or passive mutant?”

“An passive mutant is one who has abilities or powers only they could use inside themselves, like Rick being able to become immune to a drug once his body has had a chance to experience it. An passive power is when they can only use it for themselves-he can’t make anyone else immune as well.”

“And an active?”

“Can use it to affect things around them-like a telekinetic ability to move objects or a pyrokinetic ability to start fires. My brother Nicholas has a passive power as well, he’s empathic.”

“Empathic?” Lance asked.

“They sense others feeling or pain” Cathrine said “like father and I can. Ours is because we are father and daughter. An empath can feel others. Not necessarily family but complete strangers as well, anyone they see.”

“And we have met your brother before” Tommas said softly “just after we first met each other.”
“When?” they looked at the jungle ruler “when did we meet him?”

“He was Fra, remember” Tommas looked at them “the man possessed by Fra when we released them two years ago. He has two twin children and a wife and claimed he and his brother haven’t really been close for years.”

“How do you know it’s him?” they asked the man who looked angry and crossed his arms over his chest and fixed Payton with a stubborn look “tell us your full name then your brothers.”

“Payton Timothy Holmes and Nicks’ is Nicholas Oroantral Holmes. He and I are orphans and he and Alison haven’t come to visit us for ages. Older brother jealous of our money even though it doesn’t mean we have more than they do. He acts like we do.”

“It is too!” Lance nodded “I remember him going on about how his brother and his wife are always traveling and ignoring their problems.” Payton looked angry “I never ignored his and his families problems. Nick is a proud man and every time I tried to help he’d tell me to get lost and his problems are his own. So I gave up trying to help him.”

They were about to continue when there was a sudden snarl and they realized they had forgotten the problem at hand. “Never mind your ability or any legend or power” Tommas said as he uncrossed his arms and slowly walked towards father and son, a low gentleness coming from him “Rick is more important right now and it seems the cut has stopped bleeding. Which means he no longer has it to sooth him.”

He was right because the boy was trying to rise from where he had crouched beside his father, eyes skittish around him and on the verge of either all out panic or a murderous fit of hunger and they had almost missed it. But he seemed weaker as well, as if the taste of his father’s blood had calmed him and he no longer had his madness or adrenalin rush to power him.


He looked at Tommas as he approached and suddenly made a scared sound, backing away from the approaching man and growling threateningly. They had no doubt that the boy could see every little thing they couldn’t about the man and it terrified him. Tommas stopped walking and frowned at it, turning slightly aside and saying from the corner of his mouth “Lance we have to get him to the lab and find out what happened to him. He won’t let me near him. We need you to do it.”

“Wait a minute, I just realized. Where’s Anna?” Payton suddenly spoke out and Cathrine frowned, speaking softly “She was caring for Rick when I went to bed. She should be there....”

“You mean she was there when who and what ever attacked Richard!” Payton exclaimed, causing Rick to cringe “she could be still there and hurt worse than Rick is!”

“Cathrine go with Payton to Rick’s room” Tommas said softly “check to see if she’s hurt.” The girl nodded but looked to Rick in concern. “Go my blood” he ordered her “we will help Rick but Anna may be hurt.” Reluctantly the girl led the man away to find his fiancée.

When they were gone the jungle ruler looked back to Lance who was slowly rising, leaning on the wall heavily. “Lance you have to get Rick to the lab so we can find out what happened to him and if we can possibly reverse it.” When the man hesitated he looked him dead in the eyes and said softly “Do you want your son to be like this permanently?”

Lance slowly shook his head, winced and so headed towards the boy, waiting until he growled at him before stopping. He then spoke softly, reaching out to him “come on Rick. Come with me.” He started to walk away with his eyes on the boy but he only watched him blankly. Knowing he couldn’t touch him again the man tried other ways they suggested but it wasn’t until Tommas stepped to the man and said in a whisper “give me your arm.”

“What?” he asked him in confusion. “Why?”

“He obviously doesn’t understand you or that we won’t hurt him. It seems like only one thing allows him to calm. Give me your arm.” Not understand but trusting him the blond man reached out an arm to the man who grasped his wrist and turned it around, showing the soft inner-arm to him. He then drew a suddenly sharp nail down the mans arm from between the wrist and elbow and when he gasped in pain and tried to pull away Tommas hissed “don’t struggle.”

“What are you doing then!” the man gasped as he tried to pull free of the loose but iron grip on his arm. “You’re blood soothed him remember” Tommas said softly “we can use it to lure him into the lab.” Understanding the man let him do what he had to and when he let go the jungle ruler spoke again “show it to him.”


The man nodded and brought his arm around so the blood welling in the cut and dripping down his arm was within the boy’s sight but not his reach. The boy’s nose twitched again and his head snapped up, locking to his arm and the eyes and face suffused in hunger and need. He was suddenly on haunches, hands down for balance as he leaned forward slightly, wings drooped on either side and suddenly attentive.

“That’s it” Tommas said softly, evenly “now slowly move back, back away and make sure he keeps sight of it.” Nodding the man backed up a few feet and stopped until the boy rose and started after it, eyes hungry and lost every time he moved away.

In the end they had to move quickly because once the boy’s damaged mind realised the blood was moving away from him not closer he started to get desperate and moved towards them faster. By the time they reached the lab they were almost running, the boy doing that forward run that newly walking toddlers did when they tried to keep themselves from falling over.

They got him into the lab and while Tommas moved to the back Lance moved him closer and said without looking back “what do I do now Tommas?”

“In there” Tommas motioned at the containment cell in the corner. “Go inside, keep to the wall and walk around until he’s inside and you’re back at the door. Then close and lock it before he can move forward.”

“If you say so,” Lance said doubtfully as he backed towards the room. The boy’s eyes flickered to the cell, his father’s arm and back to the cell again and didn’t move. “Tommas he won’t follow. I think he knows what we’re trying to do.”

The man looked up from what he was doing and said gently “you’ll have to try and convince him to follow.”

“How?” The blond man frowned when he noticed the way the boy’s eyes went to the cell and back to his fathers bleeding arm and something flickered in his eyes. He suddenly backed up a step, then another and Lance knew he was about to run, even though he could see the incredible pain and hunger in his son’s eyes his fear overrode his hunger.

What would happen if he got outside in that condition?

“Tommas he’s about to withdraw and run” Lance said, his voice showing his fear of that happening. “He thinks we’re trying to trap him.” When the boy made a moan of fear and backed up a few more steps Lance became desperate “Tommas! If you’re going to do something do it now!”

Before the man could speak Johnathon appeared shaky and pale in the doorway. Taking the situation in a glance and the sorcerer used his staff and froze the boy where he was, then levitated him into the containment cell so they could lock him in.

The instant the freeze spell broke the boy began to shriek and panic, racing around the cell in an effort to find an escape and or a way out. In order to calm him down Lance came forward and put his arm through the bars. The smell of the blood snapped his attention around and this time he did fall over. Lance had to resist the urge to run in and help him, but instead he only held perfectly still.

With a moan of pain the boy managed to struggle to his feet and sway towards him and the bars. With barely any strength in his legs he made it to them and reached out to grab his arm and his grip had only the strength of someone incredibly desperate as his mouth lowered over the cut. Lance could feel his lips and tongue working on the wound, trying to gulp it down but the cut just wasn’t deep or long enough to give him what he wanted.


The weak boy worried at the wound, not understanding why the blood was only trickling out when he needed more than he was getting.

“I choose that place on your arm for a reason” Tommas said without looking up from his work “it would bleed just enough to tempt him but not enough should he realise he could....” Lance yelped loudly as his son suddenly dug into his flesh with the long sharp top incisor teeth. “…Go deeper by extending the wound” he finished when the pain wore down and Tommas nodded.

“Why have you locked him up?” came a voice from the doorway and Payton strode in. “You should be patching up those wounds first or donating blood would be redundant. He’s loosing more then he’s gaining.”

“We can’t do that while he’s conscious” Tommas said “he’d never let us that close.” Payton glared at him and said “but you won’t get anywhere until you do.”

“We can’t though,” Lance said from his spot. The negro looked at Johnathon and asked, “have you ever used a spell to sedate him? Soothe him enough he doesn’t care what you do to him?” The sorcerer looked vaguely startled and repulsed by the idea. “I have never needed to before or even considered it. Richard would rather the pain to being touched.”

“Even after Zimmer almost killed him last year?”

“When pain gets too strong for him Richard goes into a deep trance-like sleep until his body can fix the problem or numb it” Tommas said “he’s always done that previously.” The jungle ruler shrugged “compensation for being unable to take painkillers or sedatives we assumed.”

“On other occasions I have had my hypnotism” the thin man said to him “I merely use it to convince him there is no pain to feel.”

“Why didn’t you do that this time?” Payton frowned at the pale man. “He is too clouded” the Sorcerer said, stating the obvious “he must be clear-headed and he is not. If he can not think straight or understand my words what is the use of me telling him he does not feel pain or to go to sleep?”

He had a point.

“Use your spell to put him to sleep” Payton said, glaring at Tommas as he continued to work and ignore them all “we have to patch up those wounds before we try and figure out what’s wrong with him.”

Johnathon nodded and raised his staff, starting the spell. A few minutes later he suddenly spoke softly, voice even and full of concentration “he is fighting me.” The sorcerer frowned “Richard has never fought me before, especially with such strength of desperation. However it seems pure instinct. His conscious mind is blocked out so only instinct and emotion is left to control him.”


“How do we bring his conscious mind back out?” Tommas had looked up from his work. “His condition must be stabilized. Right now his body is ravaging him for what it needs to heal his mind and flesh but there is not nearly enough strength in him for that. So it is making him look else where outside for what it needs.”

“The hunger in his eyes” Tommas said.
“His need for my blood to soothe him” Lance said.

“Especially since you are father and son. You are his only family left and he is very protective of you. He feels since he failed to protect Dale he must do what ever he must to insure your safety. Even if it means sacrificing his own.” Lance was horrified by this “But that’s my job!”

“He does not see it that way. He is open to me this way, his entire being is laid open to me to see and view. But for some reason the one thing he and you have hidden from us for so long is locked away, buried deep inside him where it would take me hours to get inside.”

“He may not have hours” Payton said impatiently “just put him to sleep already.” Johnathon suddenly frowned again deeper and disturbed “Lance stop it and move away.” And when the man only frowned at him in confusion the sorcerer raised his voice and snapped loudly “Lance move! Now!”

And the blond man pulled his arm back and away just in time to avoid the brunt of the sudden flash of claws on his wrist. He looked at his son in disbelief to find the eyes so lost in hunger in threat that he instinctively backed up a few steps from the containment cell.

“Why did he do that?” Lance asked the sorcerer as Payton rushed forward to tend to the cuts on his arm and wrist, the sorcerer frowning deeply as he spoke “Some thing dark is growing inside him, strengthened by the hunger and weakness to longer he stays this way.”

“Something dark?” the man questioned as he looked at his son in concern. Johnathon looked deeply thoughtful “another personality it seems, rising from all the darkness and pain he has experienced as well as the madness from the device. It is only new, his entire pain and guilt and everything that has been building since he was nine compressed into one side of his soul, becoming something darker than any one of us could ever think him capable off” he looked at them “this side would be entirely capable of murder.”

“What do we do?!” Lance was horrified and fearful of loosing the son he loved to this side of him. Johnathon seemed to be deep in concentration before he slowly spoke, even with every word forced out as he tried to express what he was feeling inside the boy. “His current state is lending more and more strength to this side, we have to aid him so he can try and control it. But I can also feel another element to all that is going on inside him.”

“What do you mean?” they asked him and the sorcerer spoke again “an outside force is influencing him, some one we do not know.”

“The one who attacked him?” Tommas was frowning at the other man “could when he have attacked Rick and did this to him he somehow infected him with a virus or disease that caused such a dramatic change to the boy’s mutant cells and system, making him hunger his loss? And when he left he some how retained a connection to the virus and now actually the boy’s own body. Now he’s making this happen to the boy.”


“Possible” Johnathon said thoughtfully “it would explain why I sense another different soul looking out of the boys eyes at this moment.” Lance spun at this and looked deep into his son’s clouded eyes. What did they mean someone was seeing through Rick’s eyes? He looked the same, a little clouded and hungry but he didn’t see anything else there.

Just as he was thinking this he saw the flicker of something totally malevolent looking at him contemptuously. “How do we break the link?” Lance asked them “how do we free Rick?”

“Destroy the virus you destroy the link” Tommas said firmly “and free Rick.”

“How do we do that?” Lance asked impatiently. Johnathon said honestly to the man “We do not know, but if you feed him you will feed the virus and allow it to get a stronger hold on him, as the attacker.”

“But if you don’t it’ll kill him” Payton pointed out and Johnathon nodded “I know that and can only say he must be freed before he gets too weak.”

“How do we free him from this guy?” Lance asked, back straightening in determination “how do we make him let go of his control over him?”

“Only one way to do that” Johnathon said seriously, “he must be destroyed.”

Lance and Tommas looked at the sorcerer in shock and horror at these words. Johnathon NEVER condoned murder, no matter the reason. Why now?

“This is a different case than all those others. This evil is the most powerful and deprived I have ever encountered in my existence. Those others-such as Zimmer and Bengal or even Youman were all trying to further their own power. However some trace of humanity still existed in them, some trace of god. This one has no trace left and he has completely removed himself from god and humanity. He does what he wants when he wants no matter what it costs the lives or souls of others. He must be destroyed before he can destroy the lives of any one else. Richard must be his last victim.”

“I agree” Tommas said “I can smell him on Rick and it smells of true evil.”

“What do you mean?” Lance asked the jungle ruler and he said blankly “Death. He smells of the blood and death of innocents.” Johnathon nodded “I sense it as well and see it in his eyes when he looks through Richard.” And when Lance remembered the contempt and malevolence in his sons’ eyes he shuddered.

“I’ll help you then” Payton said as he moved to Tommas’ side “together we may be able to find a way to cure him.”

“How is Anna?” Tommas looked at the man funnily and he replied, “Her throat was punctured but not deep enough to cause any damage. She’s sleeping now.” Tommas nodded and allowed the man to join him.


Two hours later Johnathon returned to find the two with their heads half buried in print outs and talking in low tones. Richard was curled up in a corner of the containment cell, on some blankets that had been put inside to make him more comfortable, chest heaving as whatever was wrong attacked his lungs and throat. He had lain on his side, wings wrapped around himself, head and legs drawn up to make him seem as small as possible. Either he was still terrified of them or trying to hide, or he was getting too weak to move around anymore.

“We know” Payton said to him when he mentioned it “but if we do anything to try and help he either snarls at us or tries to escape. When we feed him he starts to accelerate in his change and get even hungrier. We’ve had to deprive him which makes him weaker.”

“We’re attempting to find a way to neutralize the virus” Tommas said “but so far it seems incredibly resilient.”

“We think it’s using Rick’s own immune system to resist our attempts” Payton said “in which case we must destroy it before it permanently bonds to him.” Johnathon asked with a frown of concern at his younger friend “How long do we have until then?”

“If it’s rate remains constant we estimate 24 hours” Payton said with a sigh “until he’s fully infected and under his attackers control.” The sorcerer looked at them in shock “That does not give us long to find the creature who did this to him, and destroy him.”

“Especially since the only ones who saw this guy was Rick and you” Payton replied looking at Johnathon “Anna said he came up behind her.” Johnathon was about to speak when another voice did, rasping weakly and dryly. “It was male.”

They turned to find the hurt boy watching them, eyes clear if weak. They moved towards the cell, but not too close just in case. The sorcerer was the first to speak to him, voice soft and hypnotic “what did he look like Richard? You must tell us if we are to help you, do you understand?”

He managed to nod and speak weakly “young, about twenty-five. Was American Indian. Strong, so strong….” He started to waver away from them as his body sought escape from the pain and the others control started to strengthen with the hunger.

“How strong was he Richard? Hold on to it a bit longer! How strong was he?”

“Stronger than Steven…can not control. Can not control.” And then his last words before he closed his eyes they barely heard “will come for me, his slave now.”

“Rick hold on, don’t give up on us, on Cathrine!” Payton said this “if you give up you’ll never have a chance to be together!” But his eyes closed and he was out again. With a curse Payton turned to look at the sorcerer “looks like you’re our only way to find this guy.”

But Johnathon shook his head “my link to Richard is not that strong. We occasionally have a kind of empathy with each other, but it only feelings and emotions-an understanding of each other’s soul and spirit, not actual pictures or words as thoughts.”

“Then how did you know…”

“I was in Richard’s mind at the time. I was deep inside and trying to soothe and repair the damage by the device when I felt the pain in his neck and the arms holding him down. The attack however was provoked.”

“What do you mean by that? Richard attacked him first? Why would he do that?”

“Anna” Payton suddenly said softly “he attacked Anna first didn’t he. Mad as he was Rick was defending her.” Johnathon nodded and asked quietly “how did you know?”

“Obviously. If he had of attacked Rick first Anna would have tripped your alarm system, wouldn’t she. He must have attacked Anna first and tried to do the same to Rick, Rick came too saw it and tried to force him off. Anna blacked out and the attacker hurt Rick so badly as retaliation for stopping him. His distraction saved Anna’s life.” They understood and agreed.

Just then Steven and the boy’s father turned up, Lance going straight to the bars to try and talk to Richard and get him to react and wake up to him while Steven joined his best friend and the two other men. Eventually Lance joined them almost reluctantly in the conversation and group.


An hour later they became aware of a low constant sound of fear, as they were turning to look at the mutant teenager the sound became a loud shriek of terror and Richard started to dash around the containment cell, in a full blown panic attack. “What’s wrong with him?” Lance cried in horror “why’s he so frightened?”

“I sense his attacker again” Johnathon said urgently “he is...”

Before the sorcerer could finish there was a flash of power and the group except Lance were thrown back violently against the back wall to slide down unconscious, leaving Lance standing confused and shaken beside the cell.

Realizing there was only he left to protect his son from the male figure who had suddenly popped up in the opposite corner, Lance walked on trembling legs to the door of the cell. He drew himself up proudly and took on Steven’s warrior stance, but knowing if he went for the alarm button the attacker would probably catch and kill him before he even got close.

His only option was to delay him until the others either came in to check or they sensed something was wrong, or until Tommas and the others came to. He had only to distract the attacker until Gwin noticed Johnathon was unconscious again.

The problem was the guy had easily overpowered Richard who even in a mad state was a more experienced fighter and faster than Lance because of the boy’s constant exposure to Zimmer and his forces.

How would he last even five minutes with him? But he had to try.

The attacker stepped towards him and the cell, strolling purposely forward. Lance saw he was an American Indian in origin, perhaps mid-twenties
or very early thirties. He had Ricks red glowing cat-eyes, long fingers and sharp nails and incisors.

Lance stepped purposely between the figure and the cell door. The figure frowned in annoyance as if just finding a fly floating in his soup and said “get out of my way human. Move and I may just let you live the night.”

The evil coming from the other made Lance tremble in fear and understanding of Rick’s terror, the eyes showing three times the malice Rick’s had-as if his mind had dubbed it down. However he didn’t move from his spot and only said in a hard voice “no.”

“You have no power, mortal. You cannot face me and survive. You are either very stupid or stupidly heroic.”

“Neither” Lance said firmly “I’m a father protecting his child. Rick’s all I have left after loosing his mother last year. Sometimes you do stupid things you normally wouldn’t do to keep those you love. Sometimes it’s pure instinct as well. A real father would rather die then allow their child to be harmed in any way let alone threatened like you’re doing. I know I can’t beat you but I’ll make sure to make it hard for you.”

“Oh really” the figure drooled in mockery “we’ll see about that.” Before Lance could even move the figure had raised one hand level with his side and slowly clenched his fist.

Suddenly Lance couldn’t breathe, something was tightening around his throat and cutting off his airway. He tried fumbling at his neck, feeling hands there but the was nothing even though he could feel each finger. He was unable to interrupt the invisible force choking his life from him.

As it got harder and harder to breathe Lance was overcome with terror, knowing he was going to die if he didn’t get free but not knowing how, going down on one knee and then the other as his strength started to give out. It was starting to get too hard to think as things went cloudy then dark and he knew he was close to loosing consciousness, knowing fearfully once he did the figure would finish him off. And who would protect Rick from him?

He was on the very threshold of blacking out when he heard it. There was a scream of absolute unbridled rage, a dull explosion and the force that was choking Lance was suddenly gone as a flash from behind him went past.

Lance fell to his side, trying to curl up as he used the trademark Simpson iron-will to control his overwhelming emotions and concentrated on pulling in one deep breath after another. Meanwhile he slowly looked up at what had happened to make him let go. And his breathe caught suddenly.

That instinct that Lance had mentioned had caused Rick to fight his fear and somehow blow the door to his cell. Now he faced his attacker, blocking the figure’s sight of Lance and body quivering in violent rage at his attempted murder. Lance coughed a few times and then managed to croak out his sons name weakly but the boy didn’t turn, only continued to face the figure that had tried to kill his only blood relation left.


“Stop slave and obey me. Do as I desire.” The boy only continued to face him angrily, now starting to growl throatily at him.” Stop slave” the figure growled at him “You exist only to serve me” but still no reaction.

“Do my will” but again no change.

“Obey me.” But Richard started to step towards him, growling louder. The figure stepped back a step for every one of Rick’s forward and he seemed unnerved by the boy’s defiance. “OBEY ME!” the figure snarled and Lance saw Rick stagger a few steps back from the force of the command, teeth gritted in an effort to disobey.

That was when Lance realized it. Rick also was only stalling for time. He knew he was no match for the creature and was trying to distract him from Lance so he could recover and go for help. Only Lance couldn’t leave his son alone to face this guy. Then Lance realized this knowledge was NOT his. But how could Rick’s instinctive thoughts get into his own mind?

Any other thought was cut off as the figure snarled loudly “so be it! If you will not obey me you can not live.” He raised one hand and cupped it with the palm upwards. The air shimmered and Lance could feel the sudden heat of an invisible fireball. As the figure drew back his arm like a pro-pitcher Lance tried to rise, to push his son out of the path. But he was still too weak and unsteady and could only cry out “no! Rick!”

The creature let loose.

Lance’s scream of horror and fear for his son’s life cut off as he saw the boy catch the force neatly and like a pro-shot putter he spun around and threw it back at him. Even the figure was so stunned he almost let the force hit him. At the last minute he snarled and knocked it away, letting it explode into the far wall.

“No one has ever dared try and harm me before, let alone hit me with my own power. You are a slave and belong to me” he snarled furiously “you shall pay for your act.” Before the blond man could react the figure had grabbed Rick and dragged him kicking and struggling to a few feet from Lance. Before he could even try and act the long sharp incisors had torn into his son’s throat after the claws had torn away the dressing patch.

Rick cried out in agony and fear, trying desperately to get free of the iron-grip on him but he was getting rapidly weaker as the figure drained his blood. When Lance tried to rise again and help his only child and family left someone beat him too it, or at least tried.

There was a flash of black and Tommas was there, trying to pull them apart. The figure just struck his hard across the face and snapping his head back, throwing him into Lance and sending them all back into a wall. As he flew back with Tommas on top of him Lance saw Rick’s arms loosing strength and soon they flopped to his sides. “NOOOO!” Lance screamed helplessly, cutting off as he hit the wall.

When he could finally look up he saw the figure suddenly release his lock and say thickly “No. I have another use for rebellious slaves. You will be a good example to the others of what happens to those who try to defy me.” Lance managed to untangle himself from Tommas and rose, rushing headlong at the figure and his son. Only to fall through empty space as Rick and the figure were gone.

For a few seconds Lance stood on the spot they had faded from, emotions in turmoil and about to burst into an all-out panic attack when he suddenly became aware of a familiar pained voice calling his name over and over again, trying to calm him and catch his attention.


He spun around to find Tommas attempting to sit up and when Lance saw red he realised the Jungle Ruler was truly hurt. Rushing to his side he tried to convince him to lay still while he examined him.

There was a wound on the man’s forehead from the blow and contact with the attackers clawed fingers. Lance knew by the way he cradled his arm close to his body either his ribs were broken or his arm was from the contact with the wall. Lance had softened the blow for him with his own body but the force of the strike must have been incredible. “Call my daughter” The injured man moaned “call her too me. She can heal me so we can rescue Rick.”

“But how will we find him?” Lance worried. Tommas gasped in pain after touching his forehead with his other hand “Homing device. I planted it in his jeans pocket when I was trying to separate them before.”

That’s when Lance realized the man had been hurt too badly before to rescue Rick from the creature, he hadn’t intended to and only made it LOOK that way so he could plant the device without suspicion. Which meant he had purposely endangered himself even more than before so after everyone was awake and able they could find Rick and truly rescue him. Which meant he owed the man.

Lance rose and went to the intercom, first calling Cathy and then the others. While they busied themselves with checking each over, waking them up and Johnathon healing them and himself, Lance told them all that had happened.

After-wards Cathy and Tommas returned from the privacy of his room, having as usual allowed no one to witness their ways of healing and physical repair that they-all but Payton and Anna that was-had learnt to accept in them and even respect. To them the act of healing each other was a seriously private thing which they now understood-at least part of.

Although how she could heal such serious injuries in mere seconds or minutes Lance didn’t know, nor why she never healed anyone else. Tommas himself had once told them that they were father and daughter and mutants so they could only heal each other.

The last time Tommas had been seriously injured was not long after Dale’s murder and Richard’s torture. He had been heading home to the village when Zimmer’s forces had surprised him and knocked him out before he knew what was happening. When Lance asked him how he hadn’t sensed the attack coming when his senses were so high he had glared at the man and told him that not only he was affected by their loss and that he hadn’t expected it, he had allowed himself to relax too much-which was why he was going home for a while in the first place.

The soldiers had taken him to Zimmer’s Ice Palace and tried torturing him for information, the man not saying a single word or making a single noise, all the time blocking his pain from his link with his daughters mind to spare her feeling it.


The man’s silence and Bull-headed expression all the way through had unnerved Zimmer and when Tommas finally alerted Cathy as to where he was the alien had had him thrown into a cell for later use. They had found him there, bleeding; bruised; burnt and swollen in places and at first feared it was as bad as it had been with Rick. But Tommas walked out with Steven’s help and they took him back with them.

They were about to patch him up when Cathy stopped them and told them to leave her alone with him for a while. They had reluctantly agreed and an hour later the two had left his room and returned to them, Tommas mark less and Cathrine a little pale but fine.

Being the first time this had happened they were understandably surprised and shocked, full of questions but only Tommas would say was because they were of the same blood, because Cathy was made of his flesh and blood they could help each other-ONLY each other. Every one else was foreign.

Rick had frowned and said that he think he meant because every one else had different DNA codes and such-since they two were a different sort of mutant they could somehow transfer an energy boost into each others systems to force the healing to increase rapidly, which was why Cathy was pale. She had used a lot of energy forcing her fathers’ healing to speed up. That would usually burn a person’s own body up, but they would be right as long as they didn’t do it to often.

And they hadn’t, only now since then.

After Lance had explained this to Payton at his confused look at the man the group gathered around the monitor where the message from the homing device was coming through.

After releasing it was close by they gathered their weapons together. They were about to go when Lance suddenly thought of something and called “wait.” He left them for a few minutes and returned with a heavy-looking trunk. “Rick and I have been working on these for a while. They haven’t been tested yet but now is a good a time as any. If we’re going to fight others like that guy we need all the protection we can get.”

“What is it?” Paul asked curiously as always. He was always curious as to anything new Rick had created and if this was going to help them in battle he was intensely curious. “Another enhancement?” Payton sounded disgusted.

“No it’s not” Lance glared at the man as he almost lost the trunk, Steven catching it for him. The warrior carried it as if it was nothing over to the group and everyone crowded around to see as the man slowly opened the lid.

All they saw at first was folded up material, a little disappointed. That was until Lance pulled one out and unfolded it to show them. “Rick made one for each of us and a few spares, just in case” he looked at Payton “he once joked to me that we’d make a good super-hero group like those you see on cartoons and in comics so he made sure they would enhance our current abilities and skills.”

“They’d make us look like super-heroes too” Payton ignored Lance’s glower “why wear them then?”

“Because if these guys are anything like the one who took Rick they’ll be a lot stronger and faster than any of us and if they bite you like they did Rick....” This spurred the group to dig inside and look for ones with their name on the label. While they did Payton watched and asked Lance “what about Anna and the boys?”

“Anna will be safe here” Tommas said “I programmed Central Command to monitor her condition and only allow those with the right code word in to


her. If anyone else attempts it not only will CC alert me but it will set off the defense systems in the room. If Anna wakes up and wonders off CC will follow her actions and where she goes and still protect her.”

“You have defense systems in the rooms?” Payton asked him curiously. “They are all over the place” Paul said softly “Rick insisted they be put everywhere.”

“What about the boys then?” Payton asked and Lance spoke out “they come with us, they usually do. Both boys have been trained by Steven, Rick and Tommas to fight. Andrew has spells his father taught him to boot. Rick even made them suits as well” he handed the boys theirs, whose eyes lit up in innocent excitement and joy at the sight.

“But don’t you want to protect and preserve their innocence?” Payton asked in confusion as Gwin lead them off with the others to change. “Isn’t that the whole idea of giving a child their childhood to enjoy?”

“And you don’t think that Dale’s murder or those things they’ve been through in the past did just that?” Lance asked, Tommas continuing for him “that because of Zimmer they still have that? They’ve held their innocence despite all they’ve been through. They know how bad things can get, that any one of us could die at any time and the only thing they want from us is love and not to be treated as babies. That we don’t try and shelter them as you obviously want us to do to them.”

“They have good memories though” Lance said “memories of Dale and us all, and they love Rick as the big-brother figure he is too them. Do you think they’d willingly sit at home and wait while he’s in danger? That they wouldn’t do all they could to protect and help him.”

Paul spoke out “remember what happened in the cell? Andrew and Peter would do anything to help or save Rick. If I would not of gone with them to find Rick in the dungeons they would have gone alone. I just coped them sneaking away and promised to help if they let me go with them.”

“You mean it was the boys who sneaked off first and you just followed them out?” Veronica asked, arms deep inside the trunk to find her own. “Yes mother” the warrior boy nodded “Andrew really. Peter just followed him as usual and I followed them.”

When they returned the boys confirmed it. “Andy said he could help Rick and I wanted to help him too,” Peter said “and when Paul wanted to come Andy said he could.” Veronica suddenly froze halfway through the trunk and frowned. “What is it?” they asked her.

“This” she pulled out one suit and handed it to Payton “look at the name on the label.” The man took it and they crowded around him, straining to see. At first they expected to see Dale’s name but were shocked with what they DID see. Payton jerked in shock and asked “MY name? How did Rick know I would....”


“And another” Veronica passed over another one. “Anna?” Payton frowned again as he took this one “but we only met Rick half a day ago. How would he know we were going to met, let alone stay with you guys?”

“What’s this?” Veronica touched a device on the sleeve of the wrist. Suddenly music blared out loud and strong, pop. “Damn it!” Payton threw it against the nearby wall, hard “how could he know! Only I know that!”

“What is it Payton?” Paul asked him curiously.

“None of your damned business!!” the man stormed off with his own suit to get changed. On the way out Payton was quiet and sullen, refusing to speak to them or answer questions, the one question playing over and over again in his eyes ‘how did he know?’