xp_logs | Worlds on Fire: Epilogue

Dr. Alraune, the head of the cultists, flees from the ritual, only to find the X-Men at the temple ahead of him.

Dr. Peter Alraune watched the X-Men from his hiding place at the edge of the clearing near the temple. His rage was incandescent, but he held it tightly, aware how important it was to get free. They had destroyed his carefully planned ritual, stolen Selene's sacrifices and even now were looting the temple of it's artifacts for her. The black leather clad fools had ruined months of work, and set their quest to return Selene to her rightful place back years.

The last of them, the white-haired black bitch finally left, cradling one of his stones under her arm as they heading for the jet sitting off in the village. The other inhabitants had done nothing to resist them, in fact, even aided the mutants against the cult. Outrage after outrage. He didn't know how he'd escaped the attack during the ritual, simply fleeing pall mal out of the caves and into the dense jungle to wait.

Once the X-Men were out of sight, he dashed out of his hiding spot and into the temple. Alraune barely suppressed a moan as he saw the empty slots which had held the stones; one of the most powerful artifacts attached to Selene that they had found. He could tell his backers who had the stones, but without one, they couldn't be sure where the X-Men might keep them. He turned to leave and stopped, spotting the gleam in the corner. It was a piece of the artifact. He rushed over and scooped up the undamaged stone. It must have be knocked loose during the fighting, and the ignorant mutants never recognized its power.

Alraune carefully wrapped the stone in his coat, and with a final look around, dashed from the temple. Outside of the ruins, there was a small cache he could reach in a few hours. With those supplies, he could walk the three days to the nearest town, and arrange transport into a city and then back to New York. His credentials would allow him to travel with the stone, a helpful side benefit of his professional. Alraune had no intention of letting the stone out of his sight until he was safely home.

Unknown to him, red on black eyes watched him make his start into the jungle. The stone wasn't the only thing that wasn't going to be let out of sight.

Gambit and Storm touch base following the mission, out of sight of the other X-Men. They discuss their mutual goals, and touch on one of the reasons that they both seem to be a bad influence on the other.

The sticky heat of the jungle made the X-Men leathers into personal saunas - perhaps something that would've been popular in the States, but here were merely annoying nuisances that made moving through the thick foliage even more difficult. Ororo didn't mind the heat, though the humidity was a bit much, in her opinion. Still, she found herself wishing for something a bit lighter and better-ventilated as she pushed her way into a clearing, careful not to snap any branches in her path. It was nearly time to leave, and she hoped Remy had not gotten too far - they needed to talk.

Remy was sitting in a tree, with his legs crossed and his back against the trunk. He hadn't bothered to clean the blood out of his hair, and the rivulets of sweat that ran down his face was threaded with red. "How did it go, Stormy? You get de petite out?"

"Yes, we did. Amara is safe, and shall be accompanying us back to the mansion for protection and instruction." Ororo tilted her head back, her short hair tickling the back of her neck under the collar of her leathers. "And your goals?"

"Alcune collected de stone 'bout ten minutes after you rounded up de cultists at de temple. He's already on his way out of de jungle. I've got people ready to link up wit' him at de airport and set up a survaillance once he's back in New York. It won't take him long to tell his backers dat de X-Men broke up de cult and took de artifact wit' dem." Remy actually grinned at her. "For an X-Men, you doing a lot of thievin' chere."

"And all due to your excellent influence," 'Ro said dryly. "I can only imagine what the reaction will be back at the mansion... Actually, I do not want to think of that quite yet." She shook her head, almost more worried by that eventuality than she had been by the angry cultists and spewing magma. "At least it ended well. That much is good."

Remy pushed himself off of the branch with unnatural grace, dropping to the ground in front of him. "Dat's kind of de point, you know. Once we find out who is behind dis cult, we going to be able to take dem down in one sweep. Dere's no better bait den dose stones. Make sure you don't end up putting dem out in de garden wit' your flowers."

"I am flattered you need to caution me against that, really. I will try my hardest, though it is just so hard to keep track of such a pretty stone..." Ororo smirked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Stormy, you'd plant a ballastic missile between de roses if you thought dat it would make dem grow better. Don't think I don't know dat 'bout you." Remy came face to face with her. In her leathers, Storm wasn't more than an inch or two shorter than the Cajun. "Besides, how bored would you have been today without de chance to steal something and kick someone in de head, neh?"

"I think you are thinking of yourself, mpenzi," she retorted, raising an eyebrow. Despite her apparent hostility, 'Ro couldn't help but feel the same small thrill that went through her at the thought of stealing anything. She was beginning to think she would never outgrow it, though she really didn't need Remy's encouragement. "I enjoy the boredom." The glint in her eyes belied her words. "I yearn for it."

"Sure you do." Remy smirked. Ororo was good at hiding her reactions; one of the best he'd met at the mansion. But there were some things that you couldn't hide from a like person, and as much as she might not want to admit it to herself, Remy was sure she was a lot more like him than she wanted to be. "Have to find us a real challenge some day, you think? Something epic."

"And somewhere less humid," Ororo said as a lock of hair drooped into her eyes. She brushed it aside with the back of one hand, her smile growing more genuine as she looked at Remy. "Let us see how this ends before we plan our next adventure, shall we? I am glad we were able to accomplish this much, and that Amara is safe. And the next time you need help, I think I will pass the call to Scott."

"He's much less interesting and attractive company den you, chere." Remy stepped back and pulled a blood red vine flower from his coat cuff with a florish. He bowed and handed it over to her. "Besides, he's got a tendency to say no, and we both know dat you can't resist when Remy calls."

Laughing, Ororo tucked the flower into her hair, knowing it probably looked absurd in contrast with her worn, slightly scorched leathers. "Only because you are so charming. Still, do not feel as if you have to call too often... unless it is a particularly interesting job." She winked at him and turned to head back towards the Blackbird, which was probably primed and ready to depart by now.