SINISTER MOTIVES: An Earth 723 Nightcrawler Fic (in progress

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Rowena
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SINISTER MOTIVES: An Earth 723 Nightcrawler Fic (in progress

Post by Rowena »

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men in any of their plethoric incarnations. However, Marti, Suzie, Edmund and Alice are mine. Please don’t sue me or steal my story!

NOTE: This story takes place in a reality several membranes down from the official Marvel universes. It’s something of a combination of the classic Excalibur comic series and the animated TV series X-Men Evolution. The official Marvel X-Men universe is Earth 616. Welcome to Earth 723. :D


NOTE II: I tried starting this murder mystery story a few months ago, but it wasn't going in the direction I wanted so I decided to delete the draft I had up and start again from a new angle. I hope you enjoy it!


SINISTER MOTIVES
By Rowena Zahnrei

Chapter One

Sally Sutherland stretched her arms out behind her and leaned back in her chair, listening to her stiff joints popple and crack. It was shaping up to be another long night, but Sally didn’t really mind. The dim light made the small security office seem warm and cozy, and the sound of moving water outside in the treatment tanks was sort of relaxing…as long as she didn’t let herself remember how much of it was pouring in from the sewers.

The Jardine Water Treatment and Purification Plant was the largest water treatment facility in the UK. It processed just over a billion gallons of water a day, serving more than seven million consumers in the London and Greater London area. Sally was one of only three guards who worked the night shift. Yet, although it could be lonely at times, and more than a little boring, it was reams better than her previous job sorting letters for the Royal Mail. That job had been an endless stream of machine noise and chatter in close quarters with at least a dozen co-workers. She’d come home at night so tired and frazzled she’d barely had the energy to crash on the couch, let alone to cook dinner or to play with her daughter, Janey.

Here, she had an entire office to herself and, as long as Janey’s father Jack was willing to take the night shift at home and drop Janey off at kindergarten in the morning, Sally could sleep all day, then spend the entire afternoon with her daughter. In fact, tomorrow, she was planning to take her to LEGOLAND to see the new Excalibur exhibit in the Hall of Fame. She was pretty curious to see how they'd managed to model Nightcrawler's tail out of LEGO bricks, and she knew Janey would be excited to see Shadowcat--

Sally’s thoughts of Janey and the fun day she had planned were interrupted by a flash of movement on one of the security monitors on the control panel before her. She leaned forward and used the control pad to swivel the camera, zooming out to give herself a wider view of the gate.

No one was there. The chain and lock on the gate seemed intact and untouched and, when she switched views, she could see no sign of any unauthorized vehicle in the car park beyond.

“Probably an owl,â€
"There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, where the sea's asleep and the rivers dream, people made of smoke and cities made of song. Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice and somewhere else the tea is getting cold. Come on, Ace, we've got work to do."
~The Doctor, Survival

"There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes."
~The Doctor, Robot

"If this isn't civilization, why am I standing in a bomb crater?"
~Hawkeye Pierce, M.A.S.H.

Rowena Zahnrei's Stories: http://www.fanfiction.net/u/526713/Rowena_Zahnrei
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SINISTER MOTIVES: An Earth 723 Nightcrawler Fic (in progress...)

Post by Rowena »

Chapter Two

Marta Wagner burst into the sitting room in a BAMF of purplish smoke.

“Suzie!â€
"There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, where the sea's asleep and the rivers dream, people made of smoke and cities made of song. Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice and somewhere else the tea is getting cold. Come on, Ace, we've got work to do."
~The Doctor, Survival

"There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes."
~The Doctor, Robot

"If this isn't civilization, why am I standing in a bomb crater?"
~Hawkeye Pierce, M.A.S.H.

Rowena Zahnrei's Stories: http://www.fanfiction.net/u/526713/Rowena_Zahnrei
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SINISTER MOTIVES: An Earth 723 Nightcrawler Fic (in progress

Post by Dedicatedfollower467 »

:D

Yay! Post with more frequency this time, please? I really love mysteries. Like, really love mysteries. The novels I ever read were Nancy Drews!

I just can't write them. And you have a beautiful style that I love to read!

:D I'm just glad you're still writing it, though!
~Def.
"A dedicated follower of nothing." -- graffitit artist in Brick Lane, London, England.
Right across the lane from the demon and just down the wall from Wolverine.
RIP Kurt Wagner. You were the character who brought in me into comics, who introduced me and inspired me. Now your death has sent me away again. Wherever you are in the Marvel Universe, I hope its someplace pleasant.
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SINISTER MOTIVES: An Earth 723 Nightcrawler Fic (in progress

Post by Rowena »

Thank you very much!!! :D This has been the first time all year I've really had time to write this kind of stuff, and that's because about two weeks ago I got diagnosed with possible Lyme disease and the antibiotics have really knocked me out flat. Working on revising and reorganizing this story has kept me distracted and sane. I've got about one week of the evil antibiotics left, so I'm going to do my best to get as much of this story written this next week as I can before I'm well enough to have to deal with RL stuff again. I'm not sure exactly how long this story's going to be at this point, but it is going to be kind of dark. I just hope you'll like it! :D

And now, here's:

Chapter Three

“Isn’t it great?â€
"There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, where the sea's asleep and the rivers dream, people made of smoke and cities made of song. Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice and somewhere else the tea is getting cold. Come on, Ace, we've got work to do."
~The Doctor, Survival

"There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes."
~The Doctor, Robot

"If this isn't civilization, why am I standing in a bomb crater?"
~Hawkeye Pierce, M.A.S.H.

Rowena Zahnrei's Stories: http://www.fanfiction.net/u/526713/Rowena_Zahnrei
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SINISTER MOTIVES: An Earth 723 Nightcrawler Fic (in progress

Post by Dedicatedfollower467 »

*grins*

Me gusta!

(Sorry studying for my Spanish test!)
~Def.
"A dedicated follower of nothing." -- graffitit artist in Brick Lane, London, England.
Right across the lane from the demon and just down the wall from Wolverine.
RIP Kurt Wagner. You were the character who brought in me into comics, who introduced me and inspired me. Now your death has sent me away again. Wherever you are in the Marvel Universe, I hope its someplace pleasant.
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SINISTER MOTIVES: An Earth 723 Nightcrawler Fic (in progress

Post by Rowena »

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING CHAPTER CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGERY THAT MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR ALL READERS. VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

Chapter Four

The paramedics had the dressing room attendant sitting on a chair by the handbag displays while they monitored her pulse. The plump, brightly dressed woman was still shaking, clearly in shock.

“Sheâ€
"There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, where the sea's asleep and the rivers dream, people made of smoke and cities made of song. Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice and somewhere else the tea is getting cold. Come on, Ace, we've got work to do."
~The Doctor, Survival

"There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes."
~The Doctor, Robot

"If this isn't civilization, why am I standing in a bomb crater?"
~Hawkeye Pierce, M.A.S.H.

Rowena Zahnrei's Stories: http://www.fanfiction.net/u/526713/Rowena_Zahnrei
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SINISTER MOTIVES: An Earth 723 Nightcrawler Fic (in progress

Post by Rowena »

Ladies and Gentlemen, skinny and stout,
I'll tell you a tale I know nothing about;
The Admission is free, so pay at the door,
Now pull up a chair and sit on the floor.

One fine day in the middle of the night,
Two dead boys got up to fight;
Back to back they faced each other,
Drew their swords and shot each other.

A blind man came to watch fair play,
A mute man came to shout "Hooray!"
A deaf policeman heard the noise and
Came to stop those two dead boys.

He lived on the corner in the middle of the block,
In a two-story house on a vacant lot;
A man with no legs came walking by,
and kicked the lawman in his thigh.

He crashed through a wall without making a sound,
into a dry creek bed and suddenly drowned;
The long black hearse came to cart him away,
But he ran for his life and is still gone today.

I watched from the corner of the big round table,
The only eyewitness to facts of my fable;
But if you doubt my lies are true,
Just ask the blind man, he saw it too.
~Anonymous

Just wondering if anyone's reading this. :) 'Cause if you are, I wanted to let you know I won't be here next week because I'm flying to Scotland. I'm going to try to get at least one more chapter up before I go, but I really have been wondering what you think of this story so far. Was the crime scene too gross? There's a reason behind it, but I just wasn't sure if I went too far. The next few chapters won't be so bad, but there might be some nasty stuff later on, so please let me know what you think. Thanks! :)

:bamf
"There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, where the sea's asleep and the rivers dream, people made of smoke and cities made of song. Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice and somewhere else the tea is getting cold. Come on, Ace, we've got work to do."
~The Doctor, Survival

"There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes."
~The Doctor, Robot

"If this isn't civilization, why am I standing in a bomb crater?"
~Hawkeye Pierce, M.A.S.H.

Rowena Zahnrei's Stories: http://www.fanfiction.net/u/526713/Rowena_Zahnrei
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SINISTER MOTIVES: An Earth 723 Nightcrawler Fic (in progress...)

Post by kladyelf »

um.... i'm reading it, and i've been away from this forum for yonks... *puppy eyes* more pls?
meddle not in the affairs of ficcers for you are malleable and easily .... O_o *stares* ooh is that a cookie?

Love your enemies - It will drive them nuts!

Crazy.... but in the nicest possible way....

To Stupidityyyyy - and beyond!

*after reading the latest gory/depressing "mainstream" comic* ....*sigh* that's it, I'm packin' up and moving back to the Eighties...
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SINISTER MOTIVES: An Earth 723 Nightcrawler Fic (in progress...)

Post by Rowena »

Thanks for the response! Sorry for the insecurity, but worrying about that crime scene was starting to give me a serious mental block and your response helped clear it up enough to let me finish the next chapter. I've never been comfortable writing graphic scenes, and that one was pretty tough to get through. So, thanks again, and here's:

Chapter Five

When Meggan had run out of the dressing room, she’d headed toward the back of the store. Shadowcat found her there, sitting on the carpeted floor by a round rack of thick terry cloth bathrobes, her long hair spread out around her like a golden cape.

Meggan Braddock was something of an enigma to the rest of the team. Often flighty and hyperemotional, the unabashedly voluptuous woman sometimes seemed more like a child than an adult. Yet, when it came down to the wire, she could be as tough and solid as her husband, Brian.

Meggan had been a foundling child who had endured a turbulent and abusive childhood. She had never known her real parents, or even received a formal education until she’d had children of her own. Then, she had followed her twins’ classwork, learning as they learned. But although she was bright, and a quick study, Meggan remained more a creature of emotion than intellect. In medieval times, a mutant like her would have been called a wood elf, dryad, or fairy, but the truth was she was a free spirit, able to sense the natural world on a level so primal she could literally lose herself in it, riding her emotions into the sky with the birds, or following them out to sea to frolic and dance with the dolphins. And, more often than not, the emotional insights she provided proved more valuable to the team than the rational explanations of others.

Still, she could be unpredictable and, as a metamorph, her mood could unconsciously alter her shape. For that reason, Shadowcat approached her slowly, unsure if she would see Meggan’s own pale, elfish face under all that hair or be attacked by a ghoulish apparition of fear or depression.

“Meggan?â€
"There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, where the sea's asleep and the rivers dream, people made of smoke and cities made of song. Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice and somewhere else the tea is getting cold. Come on, Ace, we've got work to do."
~The Doctor, Survival

"There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes."
~The Doctor, Robot

"If this isn't civilization, why am I standing in a bomb crater?"
~Hawkeye Pierce, M.A.S.H.

Rowena Zahnrei's Stories: http://www.fanfiction.net/u/526713/Rowena_Zahnrei
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SINISTER MOTIVES: An Earth 723 Nightcrawler Fic (in progress

Post by Dedicatedfollower467 »

sorry! I was on vacation, didn't get a chance to read!

I am LOVING this story. I seriously need to go through and find the rest of your stories with these characters, because they are absolutely brilliant.

I didn't find the crime scene too gory, but I tend to have nightmares that are much, much sicker, and harvesting murder stories are something I read a lot... so...

I like it, please keep writing!
~Def.
"A dedicated follower of nothing." -- graffitit artist in Brick Lane, London, England.
Right across the lane from the demon and just down the wall from Wolverine.
RIP Kurt Wagner. You were the character who brought in me into comics, who introduced me and inspired me. Now your death has sent me away again. Wherever you are in the Marvel Universe, I hope its someplace pleasant.
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SINISTER MOTIVES: An Earth 723 Nightcrawler Fic (in progress

Post by Rowena »

Sorry for the unpardonably long delay between updates! I just hope you like this next bit! :D

Chapter Six

The British frigate sliced through the waves, its sails billowing in the warm Caribbean wind. The ship’s captain lowered his polished brass telescope and grinned, his pointed teeth gleaming white under the shadow of his broad, black hat.

“By God, I think we have her. Ms. Wagner!â€
"There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, where the sea's asleep and the rivers dream, people made of smoke and cities made of song. Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice and somewhere else the tea is getting cold. Come on, Ace, we've got work to do."
~The Doctor, Survival

"There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes."
~The Doctor, Robot

"If this isn't civilization, why am I standing in a bomb crater?"
~Hawkeye Pierce, M.A.S.H.

Rowena Zahnrei's Stories: http://www.fanfiction.net/u/526713/Rowena_Zahnrei
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SINISTER MOTIVES: An Earth 723 Nightcrawler Fic (in progress

Post by Rowena »

Chapter Seven

Braddock Manor's doorbell was an old fashioned mechanical chime system that had only been updated once since the stately old house was built. It was loudest in the kitchen and the upstairs, where the Braddock family's servants would have been likely to hear it back at the turn of the previous century, but echoes could be heard all throughout the house.

Marta heard it in the sitting room, where she'd been curled up in the window seat with a sandwich and a book. Jamming her bookmark between the pages, she teleported outside just in time to catch the brunette delivery lady climbing back into her little red van.

"Thanks!" She waved, then bent down to read the name on the rather large, heavily taped up cardboard box sitting at the top of the steps. "Hey, it came!" she exclaimed and quickly 'ported the box into the Manor.

"Dad!" she called down the corridor. "Hey, Dad! The parcel from Oma and Opa is here! DAAAAD!"

"Your father's busy right now, Marta," her mother said, coming up the stairs at the end of the hall with Kitty and Edmund in tow. She looked harried, like she had no time or patience to deal with a teenager with a heavy box by her feet. "He's in the control room with Brian speaking with some representatives from the Ministry of Health."

"The Ministry of Health? What for?" Marta asked, her curiosity piqued. "And why are you running around looking so anxious? Are you guys going somewhere?"

"We're going to London to pick up Auntie Rahne from the train station," Edmund said.

"Auntie Rahne's coming? But whyâ€
"There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, where the sea's asleep and the rivers dream, people made of smoke and cities made of song. Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice and somewhere else the tea is getting cold. Come on, Ace, we've got work to do."
~The Doctor, Survival

"There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes."
~The Doctor, Robot

"If this isn't civilization, why am I standing in a bomb crater?"
~Hawkeye Pierce, M.A.S.H.

Rowena Zahnrei's Stories: http://www.fanfiction.net/u/526713/Rowena_Zahnrei
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