The Ultimate X-Men by Unknown Author Read Free Book Online Page A

Hayward stood behind a row of white lab coats sitting in front of computer screens. On the one directly in front of Hayward, Remy could see Cornelia’s body in the street.
    Other screens showed the road and the surrounding buildings. It was clearly a very sophisticated surveillance system, one Remy bet even Wolverine would have been interested in studying.
    Remy was about to ask Hayward what in the hell was going on when a white-faced man in a white lab coat at the end of the row said, “I have contact from the east.”
    “Good,” Hayward said.
    Remy leaned forward as out of the corner of the screen a shadow moved. And then another and another.
    “There are nine of them,” another white-faced man in front of a screen said.
    Suddenly, figures appeared out of the shadows around Cornelia, almost as mysteriously as Hayward had appeared. Remy had been raised in the thieves’ guild, trained in not being seen. And he was impressed.
    “Who are dey?” he asked.
    Then he saw. They were children. The oldest didn’t look more than sixteen; the youngest he guessed around ten. They were all dressed in black and moved smoothly, almost
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    as if they were floating. But he knew they weren’t. They just knew how to move silently and quickly.
    They surrounded Cornelia’s body and one of them picked her up, her stained white dress a stark contrast to their black bodysuits.
    One of the older children motioned that they should go and almost as quickly as they had appeared, the children and Cornelia’s body disappeared into the shadows.
    Beside Remy, Hayward let out a deep breath, as if relieved. “They took her. Good.”
    “You wanted dis?” Remy asked.
    Hayward nodded, glancing away from the screen and looking directly at Remy. “You look as if you could use a drink. And I know I do.” He put a heavy hand on Remy’s shoulder and turned him away from the monitor toward a door on the far side of the room. “I will explain. But only after a drink.”
    Hayward’s private office looked nothing like his lab. Oak shelves filled with leather books covered two walls. Expensive paintings under spotlights dominated the other two. A large desk filled one corner, but Hayward directed Remy to the overstuffed couch and then asked him for his choice.
    “Nothin’ ’til I get a few answers.”
    Hayward nodded and punched a small button. A panel and picture slid back and a well-stocked bar slid forward. In silence he poured himself a Scotch and took a good portion of it straight away. Then he refilled his glass and turned to Remy.
    “You almost destroyed my plan tonight, son.”
    “I was t’inkin’ I was helpin’, me.”
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    Hayward laughed, then dropped down into a large chair that faced the couch. He took another sip of his Scotch and then sighed. “Remy, you remember the last time Cornelia and I saw you?”
    ‘Airport. ’ ’
    Hayward nodded. “We were returning from the best specialists in the country. Cornelia had only two months to live at that point.”
    “What?” Remy almost stood, but instead moved to the edge of the couch.
    ‘Nothing anyone could do. Hereditary illness, the same that killed her mother. I had always feared it would take my daughter, too, and it did.”
    Remy didn’t know what to say, so he said nothing as Hayward again sipped his Scotch.
    “I spent most of Cornelia’s life working on a way to save her. When you last saw us, I had determined that I had failed. There was no cure. So I went the next step. I figured out a way to bring her back after she was dead. ’ ’
    “De Elixir o’ Life?” Remy asked. For generations both the thieves’ guild and the assassins’ guild had fought over the Elixir of Life. It was the very reason Remy had been banned from his hometown.
    Hayward laughed, dismissing Remy’s question with a wave of his hand. “Not hardly. You and your family