Categories > Cartoons > X-Men: Evolution > Revolution
Revolution
Chapter 18: Mind Control
The commotion had been big and worrisome. All those present at the institute gathered in the strategy room as they waited for Xavier to return from consulting Cerebro and the secure information network. They were shocked by the revelation that came: the missiles were from shield. They were meant for the satellite, armed with special technology to penetrate its defenses, or at least that's what they thought. The missiles had been deflected and thrown back at the planet, but rather than returning to the place from whence they came, they were given random targets, some more serious than others. Shield assured that they would take care of their miscalculation, but it seemed very likely that they would work with the X-Men now.
After the atmosphere calmed down, Pietro continued his search for codes with more attentiveness regardless of what kind of TV show was playing. He managed to write down enough to get Forge started on deciphering them. Other than that there was little else that could be done by most, except Lance. The tremor of the missiles was enough to alarm anyone, but the distant echo of an explosion and the slight difference in the shaking that someone with Avalanche's power could clearly perceive, were enough to tell him that it wasn't an earthquake. Even of it was a sign of danger, other than a sense of alertness there was no fear, no irrational panic, nothing beyond what was normal.
After feeling a slight earthquake most were on edge thinking it was a sign of a coming retaliation from Revolution, but they realized after taking a look outside that it was actually Lance. His reaction to the shaking that he knew was not due to an earthquake further assured him that the fear he felt was in no way his own. The certainty of that and the way the situation had continued to develop made him want to master his powers again. Xavier couldn't free him; he had been told that, Lance had to free himself.
The earthquakes had only been slight so far, as Lance took things step by step. Tabitha went out, even if she had been told to stay indoors and rest. "Yeah, Lance! Shake it up!" She cheered.
Lance lost his focus and stopped. "Shouldn't you be inside?"
"Shouldn't the ground still be shaking?" She countered with a grin. Lance responded with a small earthquake, but Tabitha was not impressed. "You can do better than that!" Lance tried a slightly bigger earthquake. It filled him with discomfort, but Tabitha's challenging gaze was steady on him and made him want to go on. Finally, he cut loose and focused on Tabitha's confident and amused look, letting his power flow until she couldn't help it but to cheer.
A few more moments passed until finally, Ororo interjected. "I'm glad for your progress, but I think this area has released enough pressure."
The event was enough to cheer up Lance, who was glad to be back in control of his abilities. He glanced towards the institute where he knew Kitty was with Kurt, but he minded a lot less than he thought he would. Suddenly, Tabitha was in front of him, grinning with a plot in her eyes. "Party time?"
It wasn't the proper time for a party really, but it's not like they could do much anyway. Revolution was in orbit, unreachable and unpredictable, no matter what they did, so why not? "Sounds fun," he smiled back.
xoxox xox xoxox
That night, music played all over the institution and by the time the instructors put a stop to Lance and Tabitha's mischief, the other students were already joining in. A chorus of disappointed "aww..." and pouting faces invaded the room.
Logan let out a sound quite similar to a wolf growl and waited a few seconds. Kitty's eyes gave off the illusion of being larger as she made an effort to convince Logan. "Fine..." Logan turned the music back on and cheers followed.
There were snacks and dancing in an atmosphere of carefree cheer that Xavier decided to allow to calm the feeling of impending doom that hung in the air with the knowledge about the truth of Revolution. Predictably, Todd spent the whole time after Wanda. Though she wasn't up for dancing, she was glad that he was well enough to get around and hung out with him during the little improvised party. Kitty spent the whole time with Kurt, and Rogue with Remy.
Tabitha was supposed to be resting and more so was Todd, but at least he was sitting still near Wanda, unlike Tabitha, who was moving to the beat of the music while she scanned the room for a potential dance partner. "Who wants to dance?" She cheerfully called out.
Evan pointed to Pietro, who actually had the nerve to point to Logan, needless to say, he was feeling brave. Tabitha grinned in a challenging way, but Logan was quick to remedy his situation, not with a look of intimidation that he could have easily done, or by retreating, but rather by surprisingly offering Ororo a dance. During the pause that followed the unexpected action, which was accepted and well received because everyone needs to relax every now and then, Pietro and Evan pushed Lance forward. Tabitha waited for his reaction until he decided to rise to the challenge.
"Thanks for the dance," Tabitha said with a wink after the song was over. She gave Lance a quick kiss on the cheek, as if inviting him to chase after her if he wanted more, and he thought he just might. Unfortunately, the party was suddenly interrupted when the alarms went off.
The music was shut off and everyone stood still. The alarm didn't last long, but it was enough to catch everyone's attention. Xavier soon addressed the crowd, going straight to the point, as there was no time to waste. "There is a group of people heading this way and they appear to be forming a riot." It was thanks to an alert from the Morlocks that Xavier had heard about it before they got there. "I wanted you all to be aware of the situation. I will try to calm them." After his announcement, Xavier exited the institute's main building and headed to the front gate with Logan, Ororo and Hank.
Several of the students tried to follow them outside, but Logan's stern "stay inside," made them remain behind.
xoxox xox xoxox
The angry mob met Xavier, Ororo, Logan and Hank in front of the closed gates of the institute. "Death to the X-Men and death to Shield!" They raged in detached voices like zombies.
"It doesn't look like they'll listen to reason," Logan stated.
"I must try..." Xavier focused and tried to reach their minds, but he got a strong headache in return. He pulled away from the mental link with a pained expression that made his companions look at him with concern. "This is strange... I think they're being controlled."
"That explains why Lance and the others could break free from the brainwashing with relative ease," Ororo realized. "Revolution took a new target."
The humans were trying to climb over the gates and attack, but they were not to blame for their forced unconscious actions, they were hostages. "We can't hurt them," Hank considered their options, which weren't many.
"And we can't let them hurt themselves," Xavier added.
The sound of helicopter blades was heard overhead as a chopper from Shield approached. Forge was riding on it along with a Shield agent who was piloting the vessel. Forge aimed a peculiar device shaped like a projector at the crowd of humans. The light shone over them and they fell over pained and dazed, but they didn't stay down for too long. Filled with confusion, they wondered where they were, and after some regained their senses enough to recognize their surroundings, they started questioning why they were there.
Xavier took that as his cue. If people were left in their current state, they could blame the institute for this unexplained event. That would definitely have a negative effect on the X-Men's reputation and perhaps it would also reflect on the reputation of mutants in general. Using his psychic abilities now that the minds of the human group were released, he calmed them, placed logical excuses into their heads and sent them on their way home with memories of a walk around the city after a party with friends.
The helicopter landed and the students remaining inside the institute couldn't hold back their curiosity any longer. Scott, Jean, Rogue, Remy, Kitty, Kurt, Lance, Tabitha, Wanda, Todd, Pietro, Evan and the others rushed out and surrounded the helicopter with curiosity and excitement. Forge exited the vessel with the odd machine he had used on the humans on hand. "Looks like I made it just in time."
"What was that?" Xavier asked, tired, but very eager to hear the explanation as they all were.
"I've been working with Shield's scientists to help them complete this project. The codes Quicksilver wrote down were very helpful in making things move a lot faster," Forge explained. "This," he lifted the machine, "is only a temporary measure however. This machine can free the brain from Revolution's control, but if Revolution keeps insisting, eventually, the brain will become immune to this remedy. These people and many others could become mindless puppets forever if that happens. They won't have any thoughts of will of their own, so it'll be basically the same as dying. Shield is working on a more permanent immunity serum, but your assistance will be needed..."
xoxox xox xoxox
After Forge's surprise arrival and the early end of the institute's party, the group returned inside to listen to what Forge had to say concerning the development of a serum to protect people's brains from being overtaken by Revolution. Humans, he explained, were much easier to target than mutants, so they wouldn't be able to present the resistance that mutants in different stages of the brainwashing had put up. There was a peculiar mutant known to be a potion maker, who could modify chemical elements down to the molecular level as long as they were mixed with water.
That particular mutant also had a vast knowledge of medicine and the brain and was said to be able to create psychic powers in a bottle, such as truth serums, memory erasing potions and even medicine that could grant temporary psychic powers or immunity to them. However, the mutant who was believed could create a defense for the minds of innocent people had a falling out with Shield years ago and was not likely to cooperate with them. Nonetheless, if they X-Men were to explain the perils of the situation, perhaps cooperation could be achieved. Interestingly, the mutant's current place of residence was Germany, quite close to the area where Kurt used to live...
xoxox xox xoxox
The trip from the United States to Germany was a blur for Kurt. He was very excited about the possibility of seeing his parents and so was Kitty. She had tried to study up on some German during the trip, though she was not very fluent and sometimes said some pretty funny things due to a mix up of words. After the pair finally arrived, they were greeted at the airport by Kurt's adoptive parents and a long trip to their peaceful countryside home began. They talked a lot on the way, mostly in German, Kitty had tried to say that she and Kurt were dating, which was taken with shocked, happy yet hurtful looks by Kurt's parents. Kitty didn't really understand the mixed emotions.
Kurt was hastily explaining something, but his father cut him off, placing a hand on his shoulder and saying something that rung of acceptance. His mother soon followed with tears of apparent joy, or excitement or some strong emotion, while she spoke words that sounded like she was explaining how she would make everything alright as only a mother could. The whole time Kurt was stuttering and stumbling over his words, with his face turning red under his blue fur, tinting his face purple.
Whatever that was about, it couldn't be too bad, because Kurt's mother soon pulled Kitty into a bear hug while his father his father spoke kindly as if welcoming her into their family. Perhaps, Kitty assumed, Kurt's parents had been initially upset because he had not told them he had a girlfriend and might have felt left out, but they seemed to be genuinely happy for him in the end. Needless to say, Kitty was completely oblivious to the misunderstanding she had caused.
To be Continued
Kitty, Kitty... what have you done?
Chapter 18: Mind Control
The commotion had been big and worrisome. All those present at the institute gathered in the strategy room as they waited for Xavier to return from consulting Cerebro and the secure information network. They were shocked by the revelation that came: the missiles were from shield. They were meant for the satellite, armed with special technology to penetrate its defenses, or at least that's what they thought. The missiles had been deflected and thrown back at the planet, but rather than returning to the place from whence they came, they were given random targets, some more serious than others. Shield assured that they would take care of their miscalculation, but it seemed very likely that they would work with the X-Men now.
After the atmosphere calmed down, Pietro continued his search for codes with more attentiveness regardless of what kind of TV show was playing. He managed to write down enough to get Forge started on deciphering them. Other than that there was little else that could be done by most, except Lance. The tremor of the missiles was enough to alarm anyone, but the distant echo of an explosion and the slight difference in the shaking that someone with Avalanche's power could clearly perceive, were enough to tell him that it wasn't an earthquake. Even of it was a sign of danger, other than a sense of alertness there was no fear, no irrational panic, nothing beyond what was normal.
After feeling a slight earthquake most were on edge thinking it was a sign of a coming retaliation from Revolution, but they realized after taking a look outside that it was actually Lance. His reaction to the shaking that he knew was not due to an earthquake further assured him that the fear he felt was in no way his own. The certainty of that and the way the situation had continued to develop made him want to master his powers again. Xavier couldn't free him; he had been told that, Lance had to free himself.
The earthquakes had only been slight so far, as Lance took things step by step. Tabitha went out, even if she had been told to stay indoors and rest. "Yeah, Lance! Shake it up!" She cheered.
Lance lost his focus and stopped. "Shouldn't you be inside?"
"Shouldn't the ground still be shaking?" She countered with a grin. Lance responded with a small earthquake, but Tabitha was not impressed. "You can do better than that!" Lance tried a slightly bigger earthquake. It filled him with discomfort, but Tabitha's challenging gaze was steady on him and made him want to go on. Finally, he cut loose and focused on Tabitha's confident and amused look, letting his power flow until she couldn't help it but to cheer.
A few more moments passed until finally, Ororo interjected. "I'm glad for your progress, but I think this area has released enough pressure."
The event was enough to cheer up Lance, who was glad to be back in control of his abilities. He glanced towards the institute where he knew Kitty was with Kurt, but he minded a lot less than he thought he would. Suddenly, Tabitha was in front of him, grinning with a plot in her eyes. "Party time?"
It wasn't the proper time for a party really, but it's not like they could do much anyway. Revolution was in orbit, unreachable and unpredictable, no matter what they did, so why not? "Sounds fun," he smiled back.
xoxox xox xoxox
That night, music played all over the institution and by the time the instructors put a stop to Lance and Tabitha's mischief, the other students were already joining in. A chorus of disappointed "aww..." and pouting faces invaded the room.
Logan let out a sound quite similar to a wolf growl and waited a few seconds. Kitty's eyes gave off the illusion of being larger as she made an effort to convince Logan. "Fine..." Logan turned the music back on and cheers followed.
There were snacks and dancing in an atmosphere of carefree cheer that Xavier decided to allow to calm the feeling of impending doom that hung in the air with the knowledge about the truth of Revolution. Predictably, Todd spent the whole time after Wanda. Though she wasn't up for dancing, she was glad that he was well enough to get around and hung out with him during the little improvised party. Kitty spent the whole time with Kurt, and Rogue with Remy.
Tabitha was supposed to be resting and more so was Todd, but at least he was sitting still near Wanda, unlike Tabitha, who was moving to the beat of the music while she scanned the room for a potential dance partner. "Who wants to dance?" She cheerfully called out.
Evan pointed to Pietro, who actually had the nerve to point to Logan, needless to say, he was feeling brave. Tabitha grinned in a challenging way, but Logan was quick to remedy his situation, not with a look of intimidation that he could have easily done, or by retreating, but rather by surprisingly offering Ororo a dance. During the pause that followed the unexpected action, which was accepted and well received because everyone needs to relax every now and then, Pietro and Evan pushed Lance forward. Tabitha waited for his reaction until he decided to rise to the challenge.
"Thanks for the dance," Tabitha said with a wink after the song was over. She gave Lance a quick kiss on the cheek, as if inviting him to chase after her if he wanted more, and he thought he just might. Unfortunately, the party was suddenly interrupted when the alarms went off.
The music was shut off and everyone stood still. The alarm didn't last long, but it was enough to catch everyone's attention. Xavier soon addressed the crowd, going straight to the point, as there was no time to waste. "There is a group of people heading this way and they appear to be forming a riot." It was thanks to an alert from the Morlocks that Xavier had heard about it before they got there. "I wanted you all to be aware of the situation. I will try to calm them." After his announcement, Xavier exited the institute's main building and headed to the front gate with Logan, Ororo and Hank.
Several of the students tried to follow them outside, but Logan's stern "stay inside," made them remain behind.
xoxox xox xoxox
The angry mob met Xavier, Ororo, Logan and Hank in front of the closed gates of the institute. "Death to the X-Men and death to Shield!" They raged in detached voices like zombies.
"It doesn't look like they'll listen to reason," Logan stated.
"I must try..." Xavier focused and tried to reach their minds, but he got a strong headache in return. He pulled away from the mental link with a pained expression that made his companions look at him with concern. "This is strange... I think they're being controlled."
"That explains why Lance and the others could break free from the brainwashing with relative ease," Ororo realized. "Revolution took a new target."
The humans were trying to climb over the gates and attack, but they were not to blame for their forced unconscious actions, they were hostages. "We can't hurt them," Hank considered their options, which weren't many.
"And we can't let them hurt themselves," Xavier added.
The sound of helicopter blades was heard overhead as a chopper from Shield approached. Forge was riding on it along with a Shield agent who was piloting the vessel. Forge aimed a peculiar device shaped like a projector at the crowd of humans. The light shone over them and they fell over pained and dazed, but they didn't stay down for too long. Filled with confusion, they wondered where they were, and after some regained their senses enough to recognize their surroundings, they started questioning why they were there.
Xavier took that as his cue. If people were left in their current state, they could blame the institute for this unexplained event. That would definitely have a negative effect on the X-Men's reputation and perhaps it would also reflect on the reputation of mutants in general. Using his psychic abilities now that the minds of the human group were released, he calmed them, placed logical excuses into their heads and sent them on their way home with memories of a walk around the city after a party with friends.
The helicopter landed and the students remaining inside the institute couldn't hold back their curiosity any longer. Scott, Jean, Rogue, Remy, Kitty, Kurt, Lance, Tabitha, Wanda, Todd, Pietro, Evan and the others rushed out and surrounded the helicopter with curiosity and excitement. Forge exited the vessel with the odd machine he had used on the humans on hand. "Looks like I made it just in time."
"What was that?" Xavier asked, tired, but very eager to hear the explanation as they all were.
"I've been working with Shield's scientists to help them complete this project. The codes Quicksilver wrote down were very helpful in making things move a lot faster," Forge explained. "This," he lifted the machine, "is only a temporary measure however. This machine can free the brain from Revolution's control, but if Revolution keeps insisting, eventually, the brain will become immune to this remedy. These people and many others could become mindless puppets forever if that happens. They won't have any thoughts of will of their own, so it'll be basically the same as dying. Shield is working on a more permanent immunity serum, but your assistance will be needed..."
xoxox xox xoxox
After Forge's surprise arrival and the early end of the institute's party, the group returned inside to listen to what Forge had to say concerning the development of a serum to protect people's brains from being overtaken by Revolution. Humans, he explained, were much easier to target than mutants, so they wouldn't be able to present the resistance that mutants in different stages of the brainwashing had put up. There was a peculiar mutant known to be a potion maker, who could modify chemical elements down to the molecular level as long as they were mixed with water.
That particular mutant also had a vast knowledge of medicine and the brain and was said to be able to create psychic powers in a bottle, such as truth serums, memory erasing potions and even medicine that could grant temporary psychic powers or immunity to them. However, the mutant who was believed could create a defense for the minds of innocent people had a falling out with Shield years ago and was not likely to cooperate with them. Nonetheless, if they X-Men were to explain the perils of the situation, perhaps cooperation could be achieved. Interestingly, the mutant's current place of residence was Germany, quite close to the area where Kurt used to live...
xoxox xox xoxox
The trip from the United States to Germany was a blur for Kurt. He was very excited about the possibility of seeing his parents and so was Kitty. She had tried to study up on some German during the trip, though she was not very fluent and sometimes said some pretty funny things due to a mix up of words. After the pair finally arrived, they were greeted at the airport by Kurt's adoptive parents and a long trip to their peaceful countryside home began. They talked a lot on the way, mostly in German, Kitty had tried to say that she and Kurt were dating, which was taken with shocked, happy yet hurtful looks by Kurt's parents. Kitty didn't really understand the mixed emotions.
Kurt was hastily explaining something, but his father cut him off, placing a hand on his shoulder and saying something that rung of acceptance. His mother soon followed with tears of apparent joy, or excitement or some strong emotion, while she spoke words that sounded like she was explaining how she would make everything alright as only a mother could. The whole time Kurt was stuttering and stumbling over his words, with his face turning red under his blue fur, tinting his face purple.
Whatever that was about, it couldn't be too bad, because Kurt's mother soon pulled Kitty into a bear hug while his father his father spoke kindly as if welcoming her into their family. Perhaps, Kitty assumed, Kurt's parents had been initially upset because he had not told them he had a girlfriend and might have felt left out, but they seemed to be genuinely happy for him in the end. Needless to say, Kitty was completely oblivious to the misunderstanding she had caused.
To be Continued
Kitty, Kitty... what have you done?
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