[83] Plans in Shambles

Chapter 83: Plans in Shambles

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Gwen ducked as a shadowy tendril whipped over her head, slamming into the wall behind her with enough force to crack the plaster. All around her, the mansion had descended into chaos.

The hallway she was fighting through was barely recognizable. The elegant wood paneling had twisted into grotesque shapes, and the floor kept shifting beneath her feet as if it were alive. Worst of all were the creatures – demons, golems, and nightmarish constructs that seemed to be made of pure mana.

"Turbo!" she shouted, casting a wind spell that blew back three attackers at once. But for every one she knocked down, two more appeared.

She wasn't sure exactly what was happening, but she knew Ben was involved somehow. The mental image of him, lying helpless as that Jean-lookalike did something terrible to him, drove her forward despite her exhaustion.

A particularly massive golem made of what looked like solidified shadow blocked her path. Its hand swept toward her, fingers elongating into razor-sharp claws. Gwen threw up a mana shield, but the impact still drove her back several feet.

"Mercuta Verditis!" Green energy shot from her hands, blasting a hole through the golem's chest. It roared but didn't fall.

Just as she prepared to cast again, her entire body froze. Somehow, there was something even more disturbing than zombie Ben. Zombie Four Arms rounded the corner, all grey and wrong. Its red skin was gray and rotting, its eyes hollow, its movements jerky like a puppet with half its strings cut.

"Oh fuck," Gwen muttered. "You're kidding me."

The Four Arms thing charged, all four arms extended to grab her. She sidestepped and blasted it with another spell, but it barely slowed.

"Your magic appears somewhat effective against these constructs," a cool voice observed from behind her.

Gwen whirled to find Emma Frost standing there, her entire body transformed into a living diamond. She grabbed the zombie-Four Arms by two of its wrists and hurled it through a wall with casual strength.

"Ms. Frost!" Gwen exclaimed. "What's happening?"

"Psychic attack," Emma replied tersely. "Impressively powerful, but rather unrefined. I assume you're trying to reach the others?"

"I need to find Ben," Gwen said urgently. "I think he's in trouble."

"Where are you going?! If you are able to move around like this, please go help the others." Emma gestured to the sounds of fighting echoing throughout the mansion. "Some students are trapped in their nightmares."

"That's what I'm trying to do," Gwen insisted. "If I can get to Ben, we can stop this at the source. I think he must be with that clone."

Emma frowned. "Ben Tennyson can handle himself."

"If that was so, he'd have already defeated this clone," Gwen shot back.

Emma studied her for a moment, then nodded. "A fair point. I haven't been able to locate the clone telepathically. Let's check your cousin's room."

Together they fought their way through the chaos, Emma's diamond form providing perfect protection against both physical attacks and psychic influence. While Emma acted as a tank, Gwen threw her magic and destroyed the monsters. The mansion grew more destroyed over the minute.

When they finally reached Ben's room, the door was closed but undamaged. It was suspiciously normal compared to the rest of the mansion.

"This feels like a trap," Emma noted.

"Everything about this place feels like a trap right now," Gwen replied, pushing the door open.

Inside, they found a bizarre tableau. Madelyne stood in the center of the room, perfectly still, eyes open but unseeing. Her hair floated around her head as if underwater, and faint tendrils of psychic energy emanated from her body.

There was no sign of Ben.

“Well, she's zoned out,” Emma said as she curled her diamond fist and then punched straight at Madelyne's face – only to have her knuckles stopped by an invisible barrier inches from impact.

"Psychic shield," Emma muttered. "Strong one."

Gwen studied the scene, noticing a faint, ghostly shimmer around Madelyne's head. "I think… Dammit, I think Ben went inside her mind. He must have transformed into Ghostfreak, one of his aliens. That's why she's just standing here. He's fighting her on the inside."

"And losing, apparently," Emma observed dryly, "given the chaos outside."

Gwen gathered her magic, feeling the mana crackle between her fingertips. "If he's inside her mind, we need to get him out."

"And how do you propose to do that? I can't telepathically reach either of them through her shields."

"The old-fashioned way," Gwen replied, her hands glowing bright pink. "Hit her hard enough that she can't focus on keeping him trapped."

She released a massive burst of mana energy directly at Madelyne. The psychic shield held strong, shimmering like heat over asphalt. Emma frowned and stepped forward, pulling her fist back. With a grunt, she began to hammer the shield like a bulldozer. Gwen kept shooting. The shield could only hold for so long under the two’s assault, as it began to crack like glass.

The energy slammed into Madelyne, sending her flying across the room.

As she hit the wall, something unexpected happened. The ghostly form of Ghostfreak was literally ejected from her body, tumbling through the air before stabilizing.

"Ugh, fuck, everything hurts," Ghostfreak's raspy voice commented, body torn at places, but regenerating. "But that was certainly one way to make an exit."

“Ben! Are you alright?!” Gwen rushed to help him stand back up.

****

The fight in her mental realm was stupid. I have no idea how I survived this long.

Now, it was time to turn the tables around.

While Gwen helped me, Madelyne recovered quickly on the other side of the room, her eyes now blazing with fury. "You," she hissed at Gwen. "How dare you interrupt our conversation."

"Conversation?" Emma scoffed, standing between us. Her diamond form gleamed under the moonlight coming from the windows, making her look quite reliable. "You've turned the entire mansion into a nightmare dimension. I'd hardly call that a friendly chat."

"...You don't understand, Emma," Madelyne replied, her voice shifting between her own and something deeper, more masculine. "What I'm becoming is necessary. The weak must fall for the strong to rise."

"That doesn't even sound like you, Maddy," I said in Ghostfreak's raspy voice, hitting the Omnitrix symbol on my chest. In a flash of green light, I returned to human form, then immediately began to play with my watch again. I didn’t wait to hear her reply and transformed once again.

Thank fuck, the watch didn’t malfunction this time.

"Feedback!" I announced, my tall, black body crackling with electrical energy. My single green eye focused on Madelyne, antenna-like plugs extending from my fingertips and head. My lips widened. “Remember what I said about this guy?”

“You…” Madelyne glared at me, suddenly cautious.

Gwen grinned alongside me. "Do you need some energy?"

"I’d love to," I replied, my smile oddly menacing on my alien face.

Gwen conjured a deep ball of purple mana and hurled it toward me. I caught it with my fingertips, absorbing the energy. My body crackled more intensely, electricity arcing between my plugs.

"Haah… Oh yeah, that's the good stuff!" I said, my voice distorted by power.

Madelyne's eyes widened slightly, but she recovered quickly. "Impressive trick," she sneered. "But ultimately futile. Die!"

She unleashed a telekinetic blast powerful enough to shatter what remained of the windows. I simply extended my plugs, absorbing the energy of her attack and growing stronger.

"See, that's the thing about energy manipulators," I said, stepping closer. "We're really good at turning your strengths against you."

Madelyne switched tactics, levitating furniture and hurling it at me. I dodged with surprising agility, jumping over them as if I were doing parkour tricks, closing the distance between them.

"You annoying insect. Stay back!" she warned, ripping metal pipes from the walls and bending them toward me like snakes.

“You have to try better than this, girl.” I grabbed the pipes, absorbing the kinetic energy of their movement. "Thanks for the boost."

Then I was in front of her, face-to-face. She tried to slam me back with a psychic force, but I absorbed it from the golden parts around my waist. She grumbled. "So what if you're close to me?" Madelyne asked, a hint of desperation creeping into her voice. "What can you do to stop me? Go inside again?"

"Something like that," I replied with a smirk. "But this time, I'll poke you."

I lunged forward, jamming my earplugs directly into her shoulders, while my tail slammed into her abdomen. Madelyne screamed as I began to absorb not just her telekinetic energy, but the very psychic power that fueled her possession.

"No! STOP!" The voice wasn't entirely hers anymore – Sinister's influence was becoming more apparent as I drained away her strength.

"Hey, bastard. Get out of her head," I demanded, continuing to absorb power. “Unless you want to be absorbed too.”

There was a grunt of protest before it vanished. Madelyne's body convulsed, her eyes rolling back as I drained her dry. She swayed and then collapsed to the floor, barely conscious. The psychic storm throughout the mansion began to dissipate, reality slowly reasserting itself.

"Where... where am I?" Madelyne murmured, looking at the wall in confusion. "What happened? Ben… is that you?"

I nodded. “Yep, all me.” I also understood from this question just how much Sinister was controlling her. She didn’t even remember anything.

Before anything more could be said, the door burst open. Now that the mansion had returned to normal, people were rushing in. Professor Xavier wheeled in, followed closely by Scott, Logan, Storm, and Grandpa Max.

"What in God's name happened here?" Xavier demanded, taking in the destruction.

Scott's gaze landed on Madelyne, his face hardening behind his visor. "She's what happened, you already know," he spat. "We should restrain her immediately. Collar her powers before she can attack again."

"No," I said firmly, still holding Madelyne's nearly unconscious form. "Mister Sinister was controlling her up until a minute ago. She didn't do this of her own choice."

"And we're supposed to just take your word for it?" Scott demanded. "After she nearly destroyed the mansion? After she tortured everyone with their worst fears?"

"Yes," I replied simply. "I was in her mind. I saw Sinister pulling the strings."

"You expect us to trust the word of a teenager who's had that watch for what, a month? You’re not even one of us, kid," Scott stepped forward aggressively. "For all we know, you could be compromised too."

“Hey stupid, ask Emma Frost here, she watched everything unfold.” I rose to my full height, electricity crackling ominously around me. I didn’t wait for Emma to help me out, though. I glared at the fool. "What's funny is, in this entire galaxy, I'm likely your worst match, Summers. A man full of a dimension's worth of energy and a man who can absorb it all. Don't provoke me."

Scott's hand moved to his visor. "Should we find out?"

"All… all of you, stop!" a new voice commanded.

Everyone turned to see none other than Jean Grey walking through the doorway, still wearing a hospital gown from the medical bay. The original. She looked pale and unsteady but determined.

"Jean, you shouldn't be up," Xavier said immediately.

"I had to come," Jean replied, moving between Scott and me. "This boy… Ben is right. I can sense it now that I'm awake. She… the clone was being controlled. Sinister's psychic fingerprints are all over her mind."

"How can you be sure?" Storm asked gently.

"Because he tried the same techniques on me before," Jean explained. "Years ago, when we first encountered him. I recognize his methods. Plus… it seems there’s a mental connection between this woman and me."

The tension in the room gradually eased, though Scott still looked unconvinced.

"Everyone, please," Xavier sighed, rubbing his temples. "Let's focus on making sure the students are alright. This has been traumatic for all of them." He turned to Jean. "Jean, would you please stay with your... counterpart? Make sure she's stable."

"My name," the woman on the floor whispered weakly as I helped her sit up. "Call me Madelyne... please."

A heavy silence fell over the room as everyone processed the implications of that simple request. An identity separate from Jean Grey, a person in her own right.

"Alright, Madelyne," Jean said softly, kneeling beside her. "Let's get you somewhere to rest."

As they helped Madelyne to her feet, I caught her eye. "For what it's worth," I said quietly, "I think Madelyne suits you better anyway."

A ghost of a smile touched her lips before exhaustion claimed her once more.

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