barrel. “Who,” said the monstrous leader, “are you talking to?”
The masked man turned to the leader. The mask had large eyeholes cut out and a wide space for his mouth, so it was obvious he was looking at the leader with an air of incredulity.
The masked man turned, looked at the shattered window, and then back to the leader. The demented fervor was dissipating from his face, like someone awakening from a walking dream. Even as he made the reply, it was clear he was realizing it made no sense whatsoever. “My, uh…my swim coach. I swore if I ever saw him…and I did…and he went flying right back through the window, just like I always imagined.”
The answer was completely nonsensical. It was ridiculous. A figure from—what? High school? Had returned to torment him out of the blue? It was insane.
Yet the leader didn’t seem the slightest bit disturbed about it. Instead he actually gave a little nod, as if this were the most natural thing in the world. “Miss Frost is here,” he announced, a name that meant nothing to Hillary. “Turn up your scramblers and keep her out of your heads. Go hot on weapons. This will happen fast.”
96
What? What’s going to happen fast…?
Suddenly a yellow-gloved hand clamped over Hillary’s mouth. She gasped in surprise but the hand muffled the sound, and suddenly she felt a bizarre tingling. The floor was starting to rise around her…
No. No, she was sinking. Sinking
into
the floor. Then she was surrounded by blackness for maybe half a second.
And then she was back out, out into the light, and she fell lightly into a room. It was an office by the looks of it, a big fancy office like the senior partner in a law firm might use. She thudded to the floor, landing on her rump.
A young woman who couldn’t have been more than twenty stood there, clad in blue and yellow. She was pointing with urgency toward the door at the far end. “Get going. Use the stairs; the electrical systems may get knocked out. The others I rescued are already on their way out. Move it.”
“Are…are
you
a
mutant
?”
“Yes. Now go.” The young woman was actually starting to float up toward the ceiling again, as if walking on the very molecules of the air.
And having no idea why, Hillary blurted out, “I’m pregnant.”
The mutant girl stopped for a moment and stared.
“I’m sorry,” said Hillary, “I…just wanted to tell someone.”
With great gravity, the mutant girl said “
Mazel tov
.” Then she disappeared into the ceiling.
Hunh. I wonder if all mutants are Jewish
, she thought as she sprinted out of the room. It occurred to her that, if mutants could look like that, it was entirely possible that some of her neighbors
were
in fact mutants.
97 Which was no longer such a threatening concept to her.
Then she heard all hell break loose on the floor above. But she didn’t hang around to see it.
THE soldier—the one who was positive that somehow he had just managed to shred his swimming coach—was still staring out the window when the Beast swung through feet first, gripping firmly on to the edge of the roof overhead. The Beast’s blue-furred feet took the soldier solidly in the gut, driving him upward. He crashed into the tiled ceiling, knocking the air out of him, his head slamming hard into its surface. The Beast then swung back in the other direction, allowing the soldier to tumble to the floor.
Another soldier turned and brought his gun around, ready to open fire on the fast-moving, animalistic mutant. He never got the opportunity. The wall next to him suddenly exploded, blown open by a powerful red force beam that nothing could have resisted. He was unconscious before he hit the ground.
Cyclops stepped through. A third soldier, standing off to the right beyond the mutant leader’s peripheral vision, had a clear shot and took aim immediately. He was so focused on Cyclops that he didn’t see Emma Frost stride forward. On the outside, she was no longer mere flesh
The masked man turned to the leader. The mask had large eyeholes cut out and a wide space for his mouth, so it was obvious he was looking at the leader with an air of incredulity.
The masked man turned, looked at the shattered window, and then back to the leader. The demented fervor was dissipating from his face, like someone awakening from a walking dream. Even as he made the reply, it was clear he was realizing it made no sense whatsoever. “My, uh…my swim coach. I swore if I ever saw him…and I did…and he went flying right back through the window, just like I always imagined.”
The answer was completely nonsensical. It was ridiculous. A figure from—what? High school? Had returned to torment him out of the blue? It was insane.
Yet the leader didn’t seem the slightest bit disturbed about it. Instead he actually gave a little nod, as if this were the most natural thing in the world. “Miss Frost is here,” he announced, a name that meant nothing to Hillary. “Turn up your scramblers and keep her out of your heads. Go hot on weapons. This will happen fast.”
96
What? What’s going to happen fast…?
Suddenly a yellow-gloved hand clamped over Hillary’s mouth. She gasped in surprise but the hand muffled the sound, and suddenly she felt a bizarre tingling. The floor was starting to rise around her…
No. No, she was sinking. Sinking
into
the floor. Then she was surrounded by blackness for maybe half a second.
And then she was back out, out into the light, and she fell lightly into a room. It was an office by the looks of it, a big fancy office like the senior partner in a law firm might use. She thudded to the floor, landing on her rump.
A young woman who couldn’t have been more than twenty stood there, clad in blue and yellow. She was pointing with urgency toward the door at the far end. “Get going. Use the stairs; the electrical systems may get knocked out. The others I rescued are already on their way out. Move it.”
“Are…are
you
a
mutant
?”
“Yes. Now go.” The young woman was actually starting to float up toward the ceiling again, as if walking on the very molecules of the air.
And having no idea why, Hillary blurted out, “I’m pregnant.”
The mutant girl stopped for a moment and stared.
“I’m sorry,” said Hillary, “I…just wanted to tell someone.”
With great gravity, the mutant girl said “
Mazel tov
.” Then she disappeared into the ceiling.
Hunh. I wonder if all mutants are Jewish
, she thought as she sprinted out of the room. It occurred to her that, if mutants could look like that, it was entirely possible that some of her neighbors
were
in fact mutants.
97 Which was no longer such a threatening concept to her.
Then she heard all hell break loose on the floor above. But she didn’t hang around to see it.
THE soldier—the one who was positive that somehow he had just managed to shred his swimming coach—was still staring out the window when the Beast swung through feet first, gripping firmly on to the edge of the roof overhead. The Beast’s blue-furred feet took the soldier solidly in the gut, driving him upward. He crashed into the tiled ceiling, knocking the air out of him, his head slamming hard into its surface. The Beast then swung back in the other direction, allowing the soldier to tumble to the floor.
Another soldier turned and brought his gun around, ready to open fire on the fast-moving, animalistic mutant. He never got the opportunity. The wall next to him suddenly exploded, blown open by a powerful red force beam that nothing could have resisted. He was unconscious before he hit the ground.
Cyclops stepped through. A third soldier, standing off to the right beyond the mutant leader’s peripheral vision, had a clear shot and took aim immediately. He was so focused on Cyclops that he didn’t see Emma Frost stride forward. On the outside, she was no longer mere flesh
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