Pulse, Part Three

by Tangerine

The fog of sadness lasted into the night, and by the time Betsy finally returned back the hotel room, she felt almost lost. It was dark and quiet, and it frightened her because of the shadows and the danger they presented. She knew she was losing to them again. She could feel herself slowly ebb away into a memory. How long would it be until she finally gave in and let them take her?

The baby chose that exact moment to kick, sharp and strong against her rested hand, and Betsy looked down slowly, afraid that it had sensed her thoughts. "Are you afraid of the shadows, baby? Don't be, sweetheart, I won't let them get to me, not until you're born and I lose my control over you. You're safe from them for now."

After a minute more of movement, the child chose to stay at rest, and Betsy stroked her belly with gentle fingertips as she travelled around the room, turning on every light she could see. Betsy sat on the bed, kicking off her shoes and slowly undressing.

Glancing absentmindedly in the mirror, she stood to examine herself more closely. She had to admit that motherhood and pregnancy had given her a glow of life. Her belly swelled with expectant anticipation and her breasts were bloated with nurturing milk, and she was beautiful.

But she was nothing without Warren.

Betsy closed her eyes tightly, clenching her fists as she resisted the urge to scream out for him. Sometimes, she loved him still so much it hurt, but other times, she hated him for leaving her, for letting Apocalypse play God with his life, for being too weak to find a way to save himself, but she was also angry at herself, angry for never saying stop, for not finding a way to save him before he died. And now, in the aftermath, she asked herself: would he have been saved by the Crimson Dawn? Should she have even tried to do that to him? Would it have been enough? Or would it have done to him what it had done to her? Would it have destroyed him?

Sighing, she walked to the open window. She would never know the answer to those questions. Warren was dead, and with him, a part of her. It hurt so much, and at times, she forgot that he was gone until life slapped her hard in the face, forcing her to realise she was alone and lonely.

"Warren?" Betsy called quietly, bringing her fingers to her pale lips, remembering how his sweet kiss had felt against that cold flesh, remembering how he used to silence her with a touch of his lips against hers. "Warren."

"Elisabeth," a voice responded with a whisper, and Betsy turned around quickly, pulling a sheet to her naked body as a sort of flimsy shield to protect her from whatever could bring her harm. "Did I scare you? I expect you never thought you'd happen upon me again, but you were mistaken, Elisabeth."

"Sinister," Betsy said darkly, her purple eyes narrowing suspiciously, and she moved from her spot defensively as Sinister began to walk. "What are you doing here? I want you to leave me alone, do you hear me? I want nothing to do with you!"

"Calm down, Elisabeth," Sinister said gently with a calm motion of his silver hand, for he had gone without gloves today. In fact, Betsy could not recall ever seeing the monster dressed casually, like he could possibly be human. "I've merely come to see how you're doing."

"I don't want you here! Get out! Get out!" Betsy screamed, the shadows lurching at her angry tone, begging to be freed, to be allowed to attack the visitor. Betsy, sensing this violence, stepped back and forced herself to calm down. Even the child within raged as she did, seething with hatred for the villain, and she could not have that. It was too young to hate and despise people as she did.

"Elisabeth," Sinister spoke sharply, grabbing hold of one arm as it stretched out toward him, "this will not do the least amount of good. You are not simply thinking about yourself anymore. You have this baby to consider."

"I know that!" Betsy snapped, tearing her arm from his grasp. "You think I don't know that? And that's what I'm doing now, protecting this child from you! I know you, Sinister, I know what you've done to the Summers!"

"That hardly applies here, Elisabeth." Sinister chuckled coldly and sat down in a chair by the desk, crossing a leg over the opposite knee and placing his fingers together, bringing them to his lips, letting them rest there. "Can't I come here merely to check upon you and your X-Man- to-be?"

Betsy bit her bottom lip and drew blood, fighting the urge to gut him. "That would imply I trust you, Sinister, and I don't."

"You don't trust me? I'm hurt." Sinister grinned slightly, relaxing in his chair, bearing his white, angular teeth. "And you have every right not to trust me. In fact, I'd advise you to be suspicious of my every attempt, save for this one."

"That's not very reassuring, Sinister."

"Call me Nathaniel, Elisabeth."

Betsy turned away from him, pulling the blanket further around her, making it her armour against his deceitful presence. She didn't like being tainted like this. She didn't want to be around such uncontrolled evil. "What do you want, then?"

"Apocalypse, has he come after you?"

"I haven't seen him since... since..." her voice trailed off and filled with regret. She had never thought she'd be able to wound the mighty Apocalypse, but she had, and now, his blood was on her hands and her death was on his. She had condemned herself, and she knew, though she might fight, she would never again beat Apocalypse.

"That was a very dangerous thing you did," Sinister commented quietly, "and you have sentenced yourself to death, or, at the very least, a life of extreme torture and pain. I wish you wouldn't have done that."

"You do?" It was Betsy's turn to laugh. "And why? You wanted to take a stab at him first? Well, rest assured, Nathaniel, he's not dead, and he'll be back. You'll have your shot then, I only hope I live to see it."

Sinister stood and moved so he was face to face with Betsy and he placed a warm hand to her face. She tried to move, but something stopped her and forced her to remain placid before his cold face. "I've gone after him, Elisabeth, and look at me," Betsy closed her eyes but Sinister shook her head forcefully, "look at me! Unable to die and destined to live as a cold monster. You may think me cruel, but not even I would want to inflict such unexplainable horror on my greatest enemy."

Betsy looked away for a moment, unsure if she could believe him, but something told her, he spoke nothing but the truth this time, this time. "Why are you telling me this? Don't expect me to believe you have my well-being at heart."

"To speak bluntly, you are none of my concern, Elisabeth, I could care less about what happens to you. As it stands, I think you should be eliminated because you are a threat to the survival of me. You have power someone of your stature should not, and one day, I will kill you if only to save my own hide."

"You bastard," Betsy growled, tearing her face from his touch. "It'll be a cold day in hell before I let you slaughter me."

"Or somewhat sooner," Sinister murmured, "but that is not what I've come here for, Elisabeth, and you gave me the answer I wanted to hear. Consider this my warning, Apocalypse will not rest until you have been destroyed." Sinister's eerie eyes narrowed slightly, resting upon Betsy's stomach. "And he has that child."

Pulling a robe around her frame, Betsy closed her eyes tightly, letting a small sound of defeat escape from her dry lips. "I just can't win, can I? Whether it is you or Apocalypse or the Mandarin or some other vile creature that wants from me what they cannot have, my life will never be my own, will it?"

"No, for your child is very special to him, Elisabeth. You should have heeded my warning and aborted it when you had the chance. It was wrong of you to let it grow as it has."

"Don't you tell me I made a mistake! Wrong would have been killing this child simply because monsters like you exist. This baby is the last vestige I have of Warren, and I can promise you, Nathaniel, neither you nor Apocalypse nor anybody else is going to lay their hands on it."

"And you think you are strong enough for this?"

"I'm stronger than even you can imagine, Sinister." Betsy sat upon the bed, looking down to rest her eyes from his unending stare then rising them back to his level. "I am weak in body now, but my power has never come from there, and my mind is as sharp as it's ever been. Don't let my appearance fool you."

Sinister smiled slightly. "I wouldn't dream of it, Elisabeth, and I would warn you not to underestimate me because of what your eyes tell you. In the coming storm, I may be the only friend you have when all others turn against you."

"And what of the X-Men? Will they not be my friends?"

"But will they be able to help, and will they want to? You are a part of something now they are not involved with. You are a part of a long battle that goes back hundreds, and for Apocalypse, thousands of years. The moment Warren became a part of this, any child of his would be forever condemned, and the moment you decided to love him and give him this child, it, too, became your destiny. I've been there, Elisabeth, and I hate dear old Apocalypse as much as you do, so remember that. I am willing to be your ally in this."

"And that's supposed to be a good thing?" Elisabeth laughed lightly, bringing a hand to her temple. "For some reason, I'm not at all reassured by that offer. I don't care what you do, Sinister, so long as you leave me and this baby out of it."

"That's an impossible thing to wish for!" Sinister said suddenly, grabbing her hand away from weary face. "You are not understanding what I am saying. You are never going to be freed from this! Warren had his release, he found a loophole, but even that is not destined to stay as it is! You think Apocalypse would simply let him go like that? You think I couldn't bring him back if I wanted?"

Betsy's violet eyes flared in anger, and she backhanded Sinister, feeling the sting of his flesh against her skin and knowing it would have little effect on a man whose very mortality was in question. "You will leave him dead!"

Shocked she would even try what she did, Sinister brought a hand to his silver face, touching where she had contacted him. "You hit me? You hit me?" Sinister chuckled loudly, falling into a chair. "You hit me! Elisabeth, I did not think you had something so stupid in you. Rest assured, Psylocke, I will not bring him back unless it serves my needs, and as it stands, it does not. But I can tell you, Apocalypse will make no such promise." Sinister laughed again, shaking his head in utter disbelief, muttering under his breath, "she hit me."

"Do not laugh at me," Betsy growled under her breath, moving to hit him again but paused painfully mid-step. One hand moved to grasp her belly as her mouth open slightly in a silent scream. In a blink of the eye, Sinister was out of his chair and grabbing her before she could fall.

"Damn you, Elisabeth," he murmured, lifting her into his arms. She protested weakly, trying in vain to push him away as she writhed in agony, bitting her lip to keep from crying out, and Sinister drew her closer, walking toward the door.

"Let me be," Elisabeth whispered, crying in the fear that she would lose this baby or deliver it prematurely when it was not ready to take its first breath, and angry still that Sinister would dare to touch her.

"I will not. If you go into labour now, the consequences will be dire, but looking at you, it seems almost inevitable." Sinister pushed his way out the door, and almost running, made his way down the long corridor. "You do not understand, Elisabeth, what this means. This baby must be carried to full term because it will die any other way. When it is born, you will understand, but now, trust me when I say this baby will not survive if it lives any sooner that what has been recorded as the due date."

Betsy barely heard his words, and it is not as if she wanted to. It just wasn't fair! She could take anything life decided to dish out to her, but not her baby, not her innocent child. That soul didn't deserve what was coming to it, and she didn't know what she could do to protect it.

"Sleep, Elisabeth," Sinister murmured quietly as she drifted into unconsciousness, holding her tightly as he activated his teleportation device when there was sufficient space. "And forget what this horrid world has in store for you."

[next part]

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