The Great En Saba Nur pulled his massive hand from his forehead. On this great hand that had brought death to so many, this hand that belonged to a god among mutants, on THIS hand was... sweat. "I-I'm sweating?!", the being called Apocalypse whispered to himself. Not only was this great figure sweating, he was trembling, his mouth was dry and he was on the verge of soiling himself.
"That - - girl. That GIRL!" , En Saba Nur roared (Well, roared inwardly actually, He didn't want her to hear.)
Suddenly, the large metal doors to his chamber burst open and there she stood. A fearsome warrior, the only one to ever stand before Apocalypse and see him retreat. She wore the "X" on her belt to show her *allegiance to the dream of *Xavier. In her hand, a powerful sword was poised and ready.
Apocalypse's breath caught in his throat as he spoke her name. "Sikudahni."
"This ends now, Apocalypse!" , a young voice screamed and the broom stick handle (a.k.a. sword) came down upon a very frightened overturned bucket with a childishly drawn visage on one side ( a.k.a. the head of En Saba Nur).
Siku McCoy spun around sharply and brought the broom handle up with a quick upward thrust and the bucket went sailing through the air and landed on a nearby woodpile.
The victorious six-year-old raised her "sword" and proclaimed dramatically, "And now the world is once again safe for people everywhere thanks to ..."
"Siku?" a voice interrupted.
Siku jumped with a start and startled "yeep!" turned and saw her Uncle Sam who had been working around the mansion doing some yard work . Sam was just returning to the toolshed (a.k.a. Apocalypse's HQ) to refill on gas for the weedeater when he heard the victorious screams eminating from behind.
"Oh, Hi Unca' Sam" Siku said with a huge smile.
Sam had to surpress a smile himself for before him was little Siku McCoy looking as though she was going trick or treating. She wore one of Logan's old masks which was little more than a bandanna with two eye holes. The gloves and boots she wore Sam remembered from the original New Mutants costume (all way to big for Siku's frame). And an old belt that had the customary "X" on it that looked like it could have been wrapped twice around Siku's waist but instead drug the ground. Sam suppressed the smile as best he could, he didn't want to make it seem like he was laughing at his adoptive niece.
"I just defeated Apok'lips" Siku beamed, pointing the broom handle at the fallen bucket.
"Oh, Ah see," said Sam, "yer an X-man now, huh?"
"Yep, The best X-man EVER!" Siku struck a heroic pose.
"In that case" Sam began. "would ya like for me to give ya a mission?"
Siku almost literally jumped out of her oversized shoes with delight.
"Okay? Siku," Sam continued "Ah need ya ta use yer mutant powers ta go ta the kitchen and get me a glass of lemonade, Ah'm 'bout ta die of thirst out here."
Siku's enthusiasm noticeably changed. "Is that all? I want to go on a dangerous mission. not just go for some stupid lemonade."
Sam stroked the stubble on his chin. He had dealt with the budding imaginations of his brothers and sisters before.
"Ok, Siku" Sam kneeled and looked at Siku in the eye. " Yer fellow teammate Cannonball is dying of a virus, and only Magneto in Asteroid M has the cure hidden safely away."
"What's the cure?" Siku whispered in anticipation.
"Lemon-5" Sam said as seriously as he could. "This is a very dangerous mission that only an X-man can accomplish. Yer mission, should ya choose to accept it is to infiltrate Asteroid M..."
"IN-full - what?" Siku interrupted.
"Sorry, ...Break into Asteroid M and get the cure. Siku, do you accept?" Sam concluded.
Siku struck a military pose with her hand in a salute. "Yes, sir. You can count on me." And and with that Siku made her way to the mansion quickly and cautiously using the trees as cover. going from one to the next until she reached...
...Asteroid M. The Lair of the Master of Magnetism himself Magneto. Siku pressed herself against the wall of a corridor and listened.
Nothing.
"So far, so good" Siku whispered to herself and made her way down the long ,dim hallway.
Voices.
Siku froze and dove to a nearby hall and hid in the shadows, her blue fur aiding in the camouflage. The two Acolytes walked on past without noticing, and Siku let out a long drawn out breath as she allowed herself to breath again.
Siku took a look at her wrist monitor and studied the schematic of the Asteroid again. The Med lab was two floors down so she quickly searched for a lift.
Minutes later the doors to the med lab opened with a small metallic ring. Switching on her pen light, Siku began to search the racks of chemicals and vials. On the third rack, twelve over, she found 'Lemon -5'.
Siku checked her watch , it read 18:20. That meant Cannonball had two hours to live. The trip out of the asteroid and the return trip would take approximately one and a half hours.
"That's really cutting it close" Siku said out loud.
"What would you be cutting close? a voice suddenly said from behind her.
Siku spun and was face to face with Magneto himself. Drawing her sword Siku closed the distance between them in two strides of the room and attacked Magneto before he knew what was happening.
A blow to the knee put him on the floor followed by a thrust to the solar plexus. "Take that, You evil foe! And That!" Siku yelled in triumph. She was winning!
That is until a large blue hand grabbed the blade of her sword and Siku felt herself pulled into the air.
"Sikudahni McCoy!" Beast screamed in shock as he tore the broom stick from his daughters hand with his left and pulled his daughter off of Joseph with his right.
Joseph was on the floor in the fetal position moaning slightly and coughing, trying to regain his lost breath. He had entered the kitchen with hopes for a snack, perhaps a club sandwich; when he, without warning, got more than he bargained for.
"'Siku! what in heaven's name are you doing!" Beast asked of his daughter.
The young mutant looked blankly at her father for a moment, then suddenly as if snapping out of a trance she looked around and saw the heap that is Joseph on the floor in pain. She then looked at her father with sudden realization and stuttered " Daddy? J-Joseph? Did I...? I mean ... Oh I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ..."
Beast interrupted his daughter. "Young lady, go to your room. I'll be up as soon as I look over your Uncle to make sure he is ok."
Siku instantly obeyed and ran up the stairs to her room. Beast heard the slamming of a door that followed.
"Joseph, I am so sorry." Beast began as he helped the fallen comrade to his feet. "I have no idea what got into her but I assure you that it will never happen again."
Joseph stood with much effort. "It's ok Hank. I've taken worse in the past. But Hank.." Joseph looked at the Beast " this definitely ranks in the top 10".
Later.
"Is Uncle Joseph OK?" Siku timidly asked as her father entered the room.
"Yes, Siku. He has some bruises that won't go away for a month or so but he'll live."
Hank looked at his now unmasked daughter. The fur on her face was damp.
"Why on earth die you attack him that way, Siku?" Hank asked, his voice a mix of concern and parental anger. "I didn't think we had ever raised you to be violent."
But as soon as Hank got the words out of his mouth he knew he was wrong. Siku saw violence in the family all the time. The Danger Room sessions, the wounded coming home from whatever danger was thrown at them. And how many times had Logan lost control...?
Siku interrupted his train of thought. " I was pretending to be an X-man like you daddy. I was on Asteroid M and Magneto showed up and so I fought him like any X-man would." She said this not triumphantly or defensively, but sheepishly. Hank could see that this had scared her.
"Suddenly you were holding meandcallingmynameandUnca Josephwasonthefloorand...and.." Siku broke down into sobs, flinging herself into her fathers arms. "I promise daddy I'll never pretend again. I'm sorry . I'm s-sorry. "
Hank could only hold his weeping daughter for a moment. "Shh...Shh. Siku? Siku, look at me." Siku raised her damp face from her fathers now damp chest and looked him in the eye. "Siku I am pleased that you are using your imagination. You should never stop using it, I've always encouraged you to do just that. But.." Hank took a heavy sigh. "It would seem I've forgotten to tell you something very important about imaginations."
"What's that ?" Siku inquired.
"If you aren't careful your imagination will run away with you. It is so easy to get caught up in your dreamworld sometimes that you can forget to come out . Occasionally bad things can happen as a result. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Sir." Siku responded looking down and nodding.
"I know you are sorry for what you've done, but as a parent I feel you need to take some time to think about what you did to Joseph. Sunshine, I know that you see us fight a lot, and if you want to be an X-man someday ,well I might have some reservations because of the danger you would put yourself in, but at the same time I know the positive effects the X-men have been in my life." He paused and then continued.
"But fighting is not something we want to do, Siku. It's something we have to do. Now, I want you to stay up here and think about Joseph , then when you come down for dinner - and not before then - I want you to apologize and tell everyone why what you did is wrong, Ok?"
Siku looked up and smiled slightly, "Ok."
"And Siku" Hank reached down and swooped his daughter into his arms. "Sunshine, I want you to know that I love you very, very much."
"I love you too, Daddy" and with that she hugged her father. Beast sat Siku on her bed and left her to do some serious thinking.
As he left, Siku reached down, picked up the mask and looked at it thoughtfully.
As the door on the cell closed and locked with a metallic clank, Sikudahni pondered her situation. The place smelled of mildew, and the shackles on her arms were beginning to chaf.
"I will escape," she thought silently to herself. "When the guard comes to serve the obligatory bread and water. That's when I'll make my move...."
End ?