The Wanting Comes in Waves

Nyx adjusted a plate on one hand as she knocked on Remy's door. "Remy, you in there?"

"S'en aller," she heard him respond, his voice garbled by the wood between them.

"I don't speak French, so I'm just coming in!" she replied as she entered the room.

"It means 'go away'," Remy told her as she entered. He then took a drink out of a bottle swaddled in a paper bag. He was slung along his bed, half-propped against the headboard and he stared absentmindedly at the dresser across from him.

Nyx shrugged. "Well, I'm in here now. And look! I brought food," she said as she seated herself on the edge of the bed. "You gotta eat, Remy."

"Is dat so, chère? Remy wasn't aware dat you were his keeper now."

She shot a scowl at him. "I'm just making sure that you don't drink yourself to death. You know alcohol's not allowed in the mansion."

Remy smirked at her. "I won' give any of the filles booze, I promise."

She sighed and repositioned herself next him, placing the plate on his lap. Taking the bottle from his grip, she took a sip and frowned.

"What is this?"

"Bourbon," Remy answered as he took a bite out of a roll.

"It tastes like shit."

Remy chuckled. "You don' have to drink it, chère."

"Naw," Nyx replied as she folded her arm behind her head and leaned against the headboard. "Don't wanna miss out on the party," she added as she took another swig.

Remy cast her a sideways glance as he stabbed some green beans with his fork. "Why you doin' this?"

Nyx looked at him curiously. "Isn't it obvious? You haven't eaten, I thought you'd be hungry."

Remy shook his head. "No, I mean all of dis. Why're you wastin' your time on me?"

Nyx's mouth drooped into a momentary frown. "You were the first to welcome me here, Remy. I consider you and friend, and I don't know what's eating you, but that's not gonna stop me from trying to cheer you up."

Remy smiled slightly and speared some more beans. "Can I ask y' a question?" he asked after he swallowed a mouthful of food.

Nyx nodded and took another snort from the bottle. "You have the right to ask, I have the right to decline answering."

Remy nodded. "Fair enough," he paused, "Why don' y' like your real name?"

Nyx visibly stiffened and Remy momentarily regretted his decision to ask her the question that had sporadically popped into his mind ever since Nyx had arrived at the mansion. "Y' exercisin' your right to decline?"

She turned to look at him and her icy-colored eyes bore into his own. "Do you know where the name comes from?"

Remy shook his head.

"Didn't think so," she sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair. "Eris is the Greek goddess of strife," Nyx said with a bitter smile. "My mother was simply enthralled with Greek mythology, so of course she would name her daughters after goddesses."

"Y' have a sister?"

Nyx nodded. "Her name is Thalia... I'm guessing you don't know who that is either?" she continued after seeing the vague expression on Remy's face. "Thalia is the goddess of good cheer."

"Ouch," Remy said, wincing. "So y' are strife an' your sister is good cheer?"

"Yup," Nyx replied simply. "It's like my mother knew all along."

"Knew what?"

But Nyx merely shook her head and took another long swig from the bottle. She wiped her mouth on her sleeve and coughed as she handed the bottle back to Remy. "Enough about my history, it's not interesting enough to waste time on. You know, I really don't see how you can stand that stuff," she said and pointed to the bottle.

"If it's so bad, then why are y' drinkin' it?"

Nyx shrugged. "Liquor is liquor," she said as she took the bottle back from Remy.



Murdock was surprised at how fast the strange informant had made his way to his penthouse apartment on the Upper East Side. He had only spoken with the man on the phone a half-hour ago, and now the man was being buzzed in by Murdock's faithful doorman.

Murdock received the phone call during dinner and he had excused himself from the table despite the pointed looks he had received from his wife and two children. "Business, honey," he had muttered sheepishly as he took the receiver from his butler and made his way into his office.

"Murdock, here," he said as he collapsed into his leather desk chair, propping his heels on his mahogany desk.

"Good evening, Mr. Murdock. My sincerest apologies for interrupting your dining," the strange, deep voice replied to him.

Murdock sat up a little straighter in his chair. "Who is this?" he demanded.

"A friend," replied the voice. "A friend who can help."

"Help with what? Listen, I don't know how you got this number, but-," he was cut off.

"Mr. Murdock, please listen. My name is Nathaniel Essex and I sincerely believe that you and I can be of assistance to one another."

"And how's that?" Murdock asked impatiently as he fiddled with a paperweight atop his desk.

"It is simple, Mr. Murdock. You and I desire the same prize."

"And that would be...?"

"Nyx," Essex answered curtly.

At the mention of her name, Murdock nearly dropped the phone. He had been searching for Nyx for over a month and still he had no leads. After his men had trashed her apartment and found nothing, and the landlady repeatedly told him she had not returned when he repeatedly called and questioned her on Nyx's whereabouts, he had begun to lose hope. But now, it seemed as if fate had dropped a present in his lap, and that present was the stranger who called himself Nathaniel Essex.

Murdock had thrown some bills at his wife and told her to take the kids out, she had not questioned his demand after seeing the firmness in his gaze. Now, Murdock was waiting in his office as his butler showed the man in.

The man was clad in a black trench coat with a black hat atop his head, its bill covering his eyes. Murdock could still see the ghastly white of Essex's cheeks, though, as the stranger seated himself in the leather coach opposite of Murdock's desk.

"Good evening," Essex spoke first. His voice, if at all possible, was even more foreboding in person than it was on the phone.

Murdock leaned over his desk and began speaking. "Let's get down to business, Essex, was it? How do you know where Nyx is?"

"Have you ever heard of the X-Men, Mr. Murdock?" Essex finally inquired after a short lapse of silent.

Murdock pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration and shook his head.

"They are a team of mutant peacekeepers, and I have reason to believe that our lovely Nyx has joined their ranks."

"And how do you know this?" asked Murdock.

"Because our dear friend succeeded in taking down a dozen of my best men while helping the X-Men foil, yet again, a plan of mine."

"Well, where are these 'X-Men'? Sooner I find them, sooner I find her."

Essex chuckled darkly. "I'm afraid it is not that simple. The X-Men have on their team a handful of very powerful mutants, Mr. Murdock. Mutants that can withstand anything you may manage to throw at them. You will never get Nyx on your own."

"And I'm supposed to believe that you'll help me out of the goodness of your own heart?" Murdock replied bitingly.

Essex shook his head and looked directly at Murdock for the first time since he had entered his office. Murdock let out an audible gasp as he saw the flat crimson hue of Essex's irises. "I am a scientist above all else, Mr. Murdock. And as a scientist, I do research. To conduct this research, I need specimens. Your darling Nyx has recently piqued my interested, and I would just love to study her."

"And where do I come in?"

"When my research is done, Nyx is yours for the keeping."

Murdock was unsure, but he also was reminded by the nagging in his gut of his want to keep beautiful Nyx as his own. "Alright, I'm on board, but how do we get Nyx if we supposedly don't have the power to overwhelm the X-Men?"

Essex smirked ruefully, "Leave the incidentals to me."

Murdock merely nodded and took a moment to absorb the full appearance of the figure in front on him. Nathaniel Essex had ghostly pallid skin, white, pointed teeth that gave him the sneer of a shark, dull red eyes, and a shock of jet black hair. Truth be told, he was quite terrifying to look at.



Remy gently shook Nyx's shoulder in his third attempt to wait her, he sighed when all she did was grumble and then roll over, falling fastly back into sleep.

"You win, chere," he murmured as he gathered her in his arms. He reached Nyx's room soon enough, after tackling his doorknob without bothering Nyx. With the toe of his metallic boot, he knocked on the door.

"I was wondering where she ran off to!" Kitty exclaimed as the door swung open. After she saw Nyx cradled, asleep, in Remy's arms, she clamped a hand over her mouth. "Sorry," she murmured through her fingers.

Remy simply smirked at her before walking into the room. Kitty whispered that Nyx's bed was the one nearest to the window so Remy nodded and went to deposit Nyx on the blankets. When he placed her on the bed, Nyx sighed and grabbed him hand.

"Goodnight, Remy," she slurred. She gave his hand a light squeeze and then rolled back over, nuzzling into her pillow and drifting back to sleep.

"She looks pretty small when she's asleep, don' she, chat?" he asked Kitty quietly after a moment as he turned around to look at her. She was looking at Nyx, a sad smile on her lips.

"She sure does... Remy, if I ask you to do something for me, will you?"

"'Course I will, chat. What is it?"

She sighed and sat on the bed, looking at Remy directly. "I've gotten to know Nyx pretty well since I became her roommate. Probably more than she realizes. The point is, don't screw her over, alright?"

"What? I- I mean-," Remy sputtered.

Kitty smiled again and shook her head. "I know you didn't mean for it to happen, Remy, but Nyx has definitely taken a liking to you. And I don't think she does that often. Just be careful, okay?"

Remy swallowed thickly and nodded. "Will do, chat," he said before he left the room.



"You are strong and they are weak. You have the strength to do what is needed while their eyes are clouded with wistful attempts to be accepted by the insignificant human race. Their humanity makes them weak."

"Am I not human?" shouted Nyx to the voice that surrounded her on all sides, yet was eerily vacant in the sprawling blackness she found herself in. "Am I a monster?"

"No, darling Nyx. You are beautiful." As these words echoed throughout the expanse, a delicate silver mirror appeared in front of Nyx. Black eyes and pallid skin stared back at her. Her charcoal hair swirled around her face.

In a flash, the darkness disappeared and she was in the Danger Room, suspended in the air, her tendrils whipping violently around her.

Body after mangled body laid strewn on the floor. Light blue eyes and chestnut hair grabbed her attention. Kitty's body was face down, but her neck was twisted so her vacant eyes stared up at Nyx. Her mouth dripped blood and it covered her teeth as she spoke.

"You are capable of extraordinary things. They are holding you back from your destiny," Kitty said, but it was not her voice that said it. The sinister voice from the blackness spoke from the sweet, broken girl.

Nyx began to shriek. Losing her concentration, she began plummeting to the ground, toward the mass of dead bodies. "No! No! I'm not a monster!" she repeated over and over until she hit the ground with a sharp thud.

Her eyes snapped open in a flash. Taking in her surroundings, she realized she was on the floor of her room in the X-Mansion. The room was dark, and Nyx quickly looked at the clock to make sure that the darkness was natural, and not caused by her. The clock read 4:30 AM. Shaking, Nyx's lifted herself from the floor quietly and crawled back into her bed. Sweat that covered her body began to dry, leaving her with a chill. She curled herself into a ball under her blankets and shut her eyes tightly, willing herself to fall into oblivion.



"So, what exactly did you do to her?" Murdock asked Nathaniel Essex.

"My mutant abilities allow me to infiltrate the minds of other mutants, and therefore tap into the microscopic synapses in their brains."

"In English this time, please," Murdock replied sarcastically.

"I can enter their minds, anything from their unconscious to their motor skills I can control whilst in their minds. I controlled Nyx's dream, and discovered something. It seems that her powers are much more potent when she lies in an unconscious state."

"And this is interesting because?"

"Oh, my dear Mr. Murdock, this is interesting because now I know how to harness her power. And use it."