The Displaced.
Jonothon pulled his guitar strap over his head as the gig ended and the sound guy turned off the mikes.
"That's it then. I'll go round, get our pay."
"We'll pack up here," Sergei said.
"Go, vato," Angelo said.
"The minor benefits of getting a reputation as a good garage band. We get paid."
Octavian snickered slightly.
"And get laid. Redhead, by the bar. Well, I think she wants me. But everyone wants me, even if they can't admit it."
"God, shut up," Sergei said.
"She's a guy."
Jonothon left, jumping off the stage and heading towards the back as Sergei and Angelo laughed at Octavian, who just shrugged. Guy, girl, all good.
Levi and Rebekah
"That was good," Levi commented.
"Indeed," Rebekah replied. She pouted.
"My feet are sore."
"Have a cry."
"I will, shut up. Oh my God... is that... hold me, I'm going to pass out!"
Levi turned to see where she was looking, and spotted Elijah Wood.
"He's not that hot."
"He is, you walk around Middle Earth for ages with a ring around your neck and then turn on your best friend and then throw a ring into Mount Doom and then we'll see who's hot."
"What?"
"I don't know. I'm delirious from Lij."
Elijah, meanwhile, was steadily getting drunk, much in the way that Dom had taught him. He got up from his stool and ran into some guy with black bandages, and for an instant, lost control of his power.
Jonothon.
Jonothon swayed backwards, pushed backwards a little by Elijah's drunken stumble. God, where was he? What...
He turned around, hunching his shoulders slightly. American accents. What did he do, stumble into a backpacker bar? He shook his head slightly and decided to scarper before someone asked him what he was doing. Because he didn't have an answer for that.
Rebekah and Levi
Rebekah headed over to the stage to talk to the rest of The Displaced, Levi following behind her like a cute little puppy dog.
Levi's so hot.
The Displaced.
"Hey," Sergei nodded, helping Angelo pack up the drum kit.
"So, Bek, seen the bitter brooding British Goth bad boy, known as your boyfriend?" Octavian said.
"He went to fetch our pay, and has not yet returned. But he would have taken his guitar if he was going to move to South America. But why would he want to leave the beautiful Bek, with her fantastic, lovely tits?"
Jonothon threaded his way towards the door, keeping his head down and bandages hidden. Pity was sweeping over him as people saw the bandages and he clenched his fist, feeling the bitter rage build up inside him. They could all bloody well sod off.
Rebekah
"One day, Jono is going to punch you. And I'm not going to lift a finger to stop it," Rebekah said.
"Speaking of Jono..."
She closed her eyes and looked confused.
"He just left. I'll go get him. Maybe he forgot we were waiting."
She pushed her way through the crowd and outside, where she ran up behind him.
"Hey, where are you going?"
Jonothon.
Jonothon whirled slightly, eyed her, then set off again. What in the bloody hell was he doing in New York? Oh holy mother Mary and all the f*cking saints. He was so screwed. How could he get home from here? Not that he had a home to go to, but he could cope better in London then here. Oh god, he wanted to go home.
He had to get out of sight and figure out what was going on before someone tagged him as a mutant, rather then a survivor of a horrific burns accident.
Rebekah
"Jono!" Rebekah called.
She considered the confusion coming off him and frowned slightly.
"Jono?"
Jonothon.
"Holy buggering f*ck!"
Jonothon whirled to face her.
"I don't know who the sod you are, and I don't want to. I just want to get `ome! Why the bloody hell am I in New York, when I was in London Hospital being signed out ten minutes ago?! `Ow do yer know who I am? What the f*ck is going on `ere?!"
Rebekah and Levi
"Levi, you may wanna get those guys out here. Jono's gone mad."
"Will do, mama bear."
"Shut up."
Rebekah took a slow step towards Jono.
"Ok, I'm Rebekah and you should know me, well I flatter myself... but um, well, you kinda like me a bit, and I like you. You're in New York because you live here, in Xavier's Institute... or Mutant High. You can't have been in London ten minutes ago because you were just onstage in your band. That pretty much sums it up."
The Displaced.
"How odd," Octavian mused, then picked up Jonothon's guitar.
The other members of the band packed up and headed outside.
"Yer bonkers. Yer insane."
Jonothon got up in her face a bit.
"'Ow can I be in a band, when I can't bleeding sing?! F*ck off, bitch. My parents f*cking disowned me, I live in Lunnon, and I was going to go find a squat for the night, then `ead over to me Nan's place for a kip. Yer barking, I don't know `ow I got `ere, and I'm going to find out what the sod's going on and go bleeding well `OME!"
Jonothon took off down the street, coat flapping slightly around his legs.
The band members blinked slightly as they received the last moments of the diatribe.
"Well, he's finally gone around the bend," Octavian said.
Rebekah and Levi
"And it's probably you that sent him there..." Rebekah looked hurt as she watched him run off.
"Tav, can you please follow him and let us know he's alright?"
Levi put his arm around Rebekah's waist and she sniffed slightly.
"I am going to go back to the mansion and talk to the professor."
Octavian & Jonothon.
"Will do, milady," Octavian said, then took off after Jono.
Angelo shook his head.
"Sound like Jono just after he got here from England, but worse. Someone messing with his mind, Bek."
Jonothon slid into an alley and put his head in his hands.
Wot was going on?
Rebekah and Levi
"It's all fragmented," Rebekah said softly.
"Come on, we'll go back to the mansion," Levi said.
She nodded.
"Hopefully the Professor can tell us what is happening."
The Displaced.
"It'll be alright," Sergei said.
"The professor will know what to do. Let's get the stuff back. Me and Tav packed the van already."
Octavian walked down the street, following Jono as unobtrusively as possible.
Jonothon walked out of the alley and joined the stream of pedestrian traffic. He needed to find someone place to dosh for the night.
Rebekah
They headed back to the mansion and Rebekah half ran to the Professor's office.
"Professor?"
Xavier.
"Yes, Rebekah?" Xavier said.
"How may I help you?"
He steepled his fingers and looked at her.
Rebekah
"Something has happened to Jonothon," Rebekah said, fidgeting slightly.
"He... he does not seem to know who we are, where he is, and why he's not in London signing out of the hospital."
Xavier.
"I see..."
Xavier thought for a few moments.
"Temporary amnesia...or perhaps..."
Xavier looked at her keenly.
"Did you sense any other powerful telepaths at the bar tonight? This could be due to a telepathic meddling..."
Rebekah
Rebekah was silent for a minute.
"Not a telepath. But something else... it was quite unlike anything I had sensed. Oh, I have felt it before... here."
Xavier.
Xavier frowned slightly.
"None of the other students had permission to be outside the mansion. When did you sense this?"
Rebekah
Rebekah's eyes clouded slightly.
"The... sixteenth of January."
Xavier & Logan.
Xavier leant over the desk to his speaker phone.
"Logan, could you overlook the tapes for the sixteenth of January?"
An irritable grumble answered him, then cut off midsnarl.
"He'll be along shortly," Xavier said calmly.
Logan stomped in about ten minutes later, holding a video tape and a few sheets of paper.
"Here."
"Who arrived at the mansion that night?"
Logan checked over the sheets in his hand, placing the tape on the desk with an audible thump.
"Elijah Wood, and a Viggo...Mortensen."
Rebekah
"Je suis désolée, Logan. I did not mean to disturb you from your duties," Rebekah said apologetically.
Logan & Xavier.
Logan looked faintly embarrassed and Xavier chuckled softly.
"It's nuthin' to do with ya, Bek. Ya done, Wheels?" Logan asked Xavier.
"Yes, that will be all, Logan. Thank you," Xavier said calmly.
Logan's mouth twitched slightly and he turned and left. Xavier studied the things Logan had brought, then accessed his computer.
"Since neither of these men were disturbed by the news that Demetria and the others were mutants, let's find out what their connection to the mutant world is," Xavier said, fingers tapping on the computer keys.
He soon found their names and powers.
"Mr Mortensen's power is similar to Mr Edgerton-Smythe's. Mr Wood's..."
He glanced up at Bek, then back at his computer screen.
"Is an extremely rare and focused type of telepathy called Lethe. Named after the waters of forgetfulness in the Greek idea of hell."
Rebekah
"We... we saw Elijah tonight," Rebekah said slowly.
"Do you think he may have accidentally...?"
Xavier.
"Perhaps," Xavier said gently.
"If this is the case, Mr Starsmore must be found as quickly as possible. With his current mental state he may...run afoul of certain elements that have been targeting us recently."
Rebekah
"Should we... go find him?"
Rebekah's eyebrows furrowed slightly.
Xavier, Logan, Spike, Octavian, Jonothon & Rex.
"That may be an idea," Xavier said.
He leant over to talk into the intercom.
"Logan, could you find Spike and prepare for a mission please?"
"Fine."
"Is there anything else I should know?" Xavier asked Rebekah.
Logan went to find Spike.
"C'mon, Fang. Wheels wants to send us out for something."
"What, a beer run?" Spike said, grinning slightly as he got to his feet.
Logan stared at him, then chuckled.
"Yeah, I wish. Let's see what he wants."
The two set off, Spike lighting a cigarette and sliding it into his mouth. Logan's nostrils widened slightly, then he shook off the minor irritation.
"You wanted us?" Logan asked.
~*~*~*~
Octavian caught up to Jonothon and the telepath eyed him off suspiciously.
"At the moment, you're terribly confused about what is going on," Octavian said.
"Please believe me when I say I want to help you, Jono. Come on, let's walk and chat."
Jonothon snorted.
"Fine, cobber. Let's do that."
They walked side by side for a bit, not talking.
"I am aware I'm going to look insane to everyone around us, conducting this one-sided conversation," Octavian said.
"But nevertheless, odd looks are something I'm used to. Being who I am." p>Jonothon listened silently as Octavian babbled on.
~*~*~*~
Rex smiled as he put down the phone.
"Let's move. Two students out walking by themselves, no sign of Wolverine, Cyclops, Storm or Phoenix in sight."
The operatives moved out.
"No one humiliates me like thut and gets away with it, bitch."
Rebekah
Rebekah thought for a second.
"Octavian followed Jonothon to keep an eye on him."
Xavier, Logan, Spike, Jonothon & Octavian.
"I see," Xavier said softly.
"We should take her," Spike said.
"Cover more bases. Me and Wolvie-"
"Don't call me that, bub," Logan snarled.
Spike continued like Logan hadn't interrupted.
"Wolvie over there, can take care of sniffing him out of hiding. But she can calm him down, walk into his mind and make the whole thing a hell of a lot easier. We can knock him out if we have to, but that won't make him very trusting, if you catch my drift."
Spike blew out smoke from between his lips, looking thoughtful.
"Rebekah, would you go with them?" Xavier asked.
"As a student, you don't have to."
~*~*~*~
Jonothon almost chuckled at something Octavian said, then turned his head as he caught a flicker of thought from behind him. Octavian suddenly crumpled and Jonothon's hands flew to his bandages before he fell to the ground as well.
"Return to base, mission complete," the leader of the operation said crisply into his head mike.
Jonothon and Octavian were loaded into a van, which then took off.
Rebekah
Rebekah nodded.
"I'll go, if you need me."
She reasoned with herself that she'd be safe with Logan and Spike.
Xavier, Logan, Spike & Rex.
"Thank you, Bek," Xavier said.
"Enough of that. Let's go," Logan said.
"Tally ho, and all that bloody bullshit," Spike said.
"But of bloody violence! Maybe. If we're lucky."
He grinned at Xavier, who looked mildly perturbed, before he strode towards the door and headed out.
"We'll take Scott's car," Logan said snidely.
"Fine," Xavier said.
Logan grinned slightly, then jerked his head towards the door before he started to leave.
"Come on, kid."
~*~*~*~
Rex looked at Jonothon and Octavian's unconscious bodies, and smiled faintly and maliciously.
"Payback's a bitch. I can't wait till you all decide to join us again."
Rebekah
"Merci, Professor Xavier," Rebekah said, then followed quickly after Logan and Spike.
Logan & Spike.
They arrived at the club, and then set off on foot.
"He's running scared," Logan said softly.
"Yeah, he's reeking with it," Spike said with a grin, inhaling the smell of fear with a certain pleasure.
"Tav's just concerned."
"Hmph."
Logan swung his head from side to side, tacking the scent before he set out again. They walked up the road to where Jonothon and Octavian had been taken. Spike dropped to one knee, and swept his fingers over the pavement.
"Blood. Just a few droplets. It's Blondie's."
Rebekah
Rebekah gasped softly.
Oh God no...
"He was here. The King."
Spike & Logan.
"What, like Elvis?" Spike said.
Logan bared his teeth at Spike.
"No, idiot. King of Spades. Our newest problem. Likes ta kidnap the kids off the streets and take `em. Fear tactic."
"Well, by the scent of her, it's working just fine," Spike drawled.
"Know where he has his lair?"
Rebekah
"No, I... I was always possessed at the time. I know what it looked like from the outside, I'd need a teleporter I could give the mental picture to."
Rebekah twisted her hair around her finger nervously.
God, she didn't want to go back, but she would for Jono and Octavian.
Spike, Logan & Mordred.
"Wolf," Spike said, snapping his fingers after a moment's thought.
He closed his eyes for a second, talking with Vortigern before Mordred appeared.
"Need ya help," Logan said bluntly.
Mordred tilted his head slightly, staring Logan down.
"I'm doing this for Tav, or I'd tell you all to just f*ck off. Where are we going?"
Rebekah
Rebekah winced slightly at the overload of emotions which hit her from Mordred, and took a slow step over to him.
She tossed the mental picture over.
Mordred, Spike & Logan.
"Right."
Mordred closed his eyes, then took them there.
"Don't want to come in and ease your sorrows with a bit of arse kicking?" Spike said.
Mordred considered this for a moment, then nodded. He held his hand up and caught a sword by its hilt as he teleported it from his home.
"Yeah."
"Remember what we're here for," Logan said.
"We go in, get them, get the hell out. I don't want no glory seeking suicidal tactics from you, bub."
Mordred stared at him.
"Oh, bite me. Let's get this moving."
Rebekah
Rebekah shielded herself a little more, reinforcing what Khaos had already done, then nodded.
"Ok," she said, in a voice that she had never heard before.
Spike, Logan, Mordred & Rex.
"Come on, ducks," Spike said softly, gripping her shoulder for a moment.
"It'll be fun."
They headed into the complex. Logan let Mordred move to the front and the teen's sword weaved a beautiful circle of spinning steel as he slaughtered any operatives unlucky enough to get in their way.
Logan helped Rebekah step over a body silently.
They made their way through the complex to a room where Mordred led them. Rex reclined at ease, Shaka at his feet and teeth fastened around Octavian's throat.
"Welcome to ma humble abode. I'm so glad y'all could come."
Rebekah
Rebekah froze suddenly, unwilling to take any step closer to him.
She saw Jono and Octavian and closed her eyes slightly.
God no...
Rex, Spike, Logan & Mordred.
"Don't worry, they haven't been touched," Rex said.
"No antimutant feeling in ma business. Seeing as how I'm an inheritor of the X-gene maself, as are most of ma operatives."
"What do yer want?" Spike asked, looking bored.
Shaks growled, his teeth digging in slightly on Octavian's throat. The teen was still limp in the dog's grip and completely unconscious.
Logan growled softly. The dog snarled in return.
"Animals, always know each other, I find," Rex said.
"Must be why he gets on so well with you then, bub," Logan said.
Rex waved a hand carelessly.
"You're here to make a deal."
"You let him go, or I'll kill you now," Mordred said.
"Let him go, and I'll kill you later. That's about all the deal you're getting."
"No, I think I'm thinking of a swap," Rex said, looking at Bek.
Rebekah
Rebekah bit her lip and looked at Logan, then Spike and Mordred.
"Let them both go and I'll stay," she said softly.
Rex & Mordred.
"Two for one doesn't seem very fair," Rex said mockingly.
"You're not getting her," Mordred said in a low growl.
"You're letting them go or dying. You and your dog."
He snarled at the dog, a bloodcurdling sound and the dog whined slightly.
"Shaka!" Rex snapped.
"I don't think you're in a position to argue. While Shaka can rip his throat out now, he can tear his face to shreds before you can do anything. He'll live, but will he want to, a pretty boy like that?"
Rebekah
"I'll say it," Rebekah said, referring to what she couldn't say to him before.
"Just let them go."
Her eyes widened slightly and she suddenly looked innocent and childlike.
"Please."
Rex & Logan.
"Choose, which one," Rex said.
"Choose which one yo're gonna buy, slut."
"Bek, you don't have to do this," Logan said.
"Xavier will have our *hides*."
Rebekah
"Both. And I'll behave."
Rebekah took a step closer to Rex.
"I have to Logan, there's not another choice."
Logan, Spike & Rex.
"Dammit, Bek, no," Logan hissed.
"Oh, you're playing with fire, mate," Spike said to Rex.
"He's one of my Consort's friends. I'm honour bound to protect the two of them."
"And yo are?" Rex asked.
"Spike," the vampire said.
"Or if we're gonna be formal, William the Bloody, of the Order of Aurelius. Childe of Drusilla, Childe of Angelus, Childe of Darla, Childe of Heinrich Nest, yada, yada, all the way back to Aurelius himself. F*ck with him, you f*ck with me. And I'll take you down to hell itself, mate. You know me history, you'll know I'm not joshing ya around. Let the blond go. Other one, don't care."
Rex studied him for a moment, Spike standing and looking like a Master vampire of his word and extremely menacing.
"Alright. Protection for mah operatives from the Order, and yo can take him. She can buy the other one."
Spike nodded.
"Oh, my word on it, mate."
He was snickering inside. Like the word of a demon meant shit. Rex nodded to the man holding Jonothon who came and dumped the teen at Mordred's feet.
"I'll let him go," Rex said, nodding at Octavian, "when yo're out of the room. Except for mah whore."
Rebekah
Rebekah swallowed the lump in her throat.
Dammit, Logan or Spike or Mordred better have a plan.
And when Jono got his memory back, he better he bloody grateful, or she was going to abstain. Forever.
Logan, Spike, Mordred & Rex.
Logan grabbed her shoulder, and leant into whisper in her ear.
"I'll be back for ya, kid. I don't leave no one behind. Ever."
He patted her shoulder and turned to go, almost blazing with the sheer rage that was filling him at being forced to do this. Spike followed, duster snapping around his ankles. Mordred bent and picked up Jonothon, then walked out of the room.
Rex smiled at Rebekah.
"So. Back again."
He looked down at Shaka as Mordred closed the door behind him.
"Release."
Shake let go and panted happily when Rex rubbed his ears. Octavian's head cracked heavily on the floor, and his scalp spilt open slightly, blood welling to the surface of the wound.
"Get them out, and toss him over at the front door," Rex said to the operative with him.
He nodded and picked up Octavian's feet, before dragging him out another door. Blood trailed along behind them, Octavian's arms hitting the doorframe on the way out.
"Come here," Rex ordered Bek softly.
Rebekah
Rebekah's head lowered automatically and she walked over to him slowly, blinking back tears.
Logan, Spike & Mordred.
Logan cursed and grabbed Octavian out of the air as the teen was literally thrown out another door near them.
Spike's nostrils widened briefly and gold chased through his blue eyes.
"Let's get out of here."
Mordred `ported them back to the car, then back to the mansion. Logan trudged heavily to the medlabs, holding Octavian.
He really wasn't looking forward to explaining this to Xavier.
"Hold on, kid," he murmured to himself.