Chapter 22: Restoration
Glancing up from his work, Forge caught sight of Ororo just as she reached out her hand to touch a plant in the area that the salesman warned him about.
“Oh no,” he said, racing up the stairs. Reaching the front door, he rushed down the stairs to where Ororo lay, amongst the cacti and other vegetation. “Oh my God, what did you do?” he asked, taking in her swollen hand. Carefully taking her arms, Forge started pulling her to a more open space so that he could pick her up and rush her to his lab.
Laying her gently on the table, Forge rushed away to get the antidote. Sensing his absence, Ororo sat up and looked around for a weapon she could hide easily, ignoring the throbbing in her hand. Perfect, she thought, picking up a thick cylindrical tube with her normal hand and hiding it against her body.
Laying back on the table and closing her eyes, Ororo couldn’t help thinking about how Forge had betrayed her. How he decided to use her as a test subject for the neuralizer and then had the nerve to kidnap her to continue experimenting on her. She felt her rage boiling over but she suppressed it so that she could get home. Knowing that she could never beat him in her condition, Ororo decided it was best to get back to the mansion first and then if the opportunity presented itself, she would exact her revenge.
When she felt his hand on her arm, Ororo sat up quickly, swinging the cylindrical tube. She saw the surprise look on Forge’s face as the blow landed hard against his temple. He fell to the floor, the needle sliding across the floor. Knowing that she didn’t have much time, Ororo moved quickly. She gritted her teeth as she pulled him toward one of the metal support beams. She sat him up against it and wrapped his arms around it, securing them behind him. Facing him, Ororo thought of many things she could do to him at that moment to get her revenge but she stuck with the original one “ get back to the mansion.
Ororo hurried through the house, headed to the garage/hangar. Taking advantage of a rare opportunity while Forge was busy in his laboratory, Ororo happened upon it. When she stepped inside, she made a promise to herself “ if the Team had not contacted her by the end of the week, she would take a plane and go back to the mansion. With that in mind, Ororo started studying the control panel in the hangar as well as the controls in the mini-jets. She figured it was better to be prepared for anything than to leave everything up to chance. Every woman should always have a plan B, she had thought as she continued to study.
Taking the controls, Ororo quickly set about getting the plane in the air, hoping that Forge would be out until she was able to reach Rochester. Flipping the final switch, Ororo heard the roar of the engine. Engaging the throttle, Ororo held her breath as she traveled down the runaway, praying the entire time that Forge was still unconscious.
Ororo allowed herself to breathe easily once the jet had reached the cruising altitude and she was crossing into Missouri. Reaching for the controls, she tuned into the Team’s frequency.
“Hank, this is Ororo. Come in, Hank,” she called out, only getting static in return, “Hank, please respond. Its Storm, over.” Still getting static, Ororo ended the transmission and used the phone in the control panel, dialing the main house number, hoping against all hope that someone would answer.
“Xavier School for the Gifted, Jubilee speaking. How may I help you?” Jubilee answered.
“Oh thank the Goddess. Jubilee?” Ororo said, tears springing in her eyes.
“Storm. Oh my God, is it really you?” Jubilee screamed in the phone, before racing through the mansion, looking for an adult, “Oh my God. We have been so worried. Where are you?”
Chuckling in spite of her situation, Ororo said, “Yes, Jubilee it’s me. It’s so good to hear your voice. Is Logan or Scott around?”
“Yes. Here’s Scott,” Jubilee told her before handing the phone off to Scott, “It’s Storm.”
“Storm, oh my God, I can’t believe it. Are you okay? Where are you?” he asked in a rush, happy to finally hear her voice. Realizing the others would want to share in the reunion, Scott said, “Storm, I’m putting you on speaker.”
“Hello everyone,” Storm said huskily as tears fell from her eyes.
“Ororo, are you okay?” Hank asked, fighting back his own tears.
“Yes, my dear friend. I’m just so happy to hear your voices.”
“As are we, Ororo. Where are you now? Are you coming home?”
“Yes. I’m flying through Illinois now.”
“Flying? You mean you still have your powers?” Iceman asked hopefully.
“No, I’m in a jet,” Ororo said, just as Logan entered the room, followed by Gambit, Rogue, and Jubilee.
“Ro, that you?” Logan asked, sure his mind was playing tricks on him when he heard her speaking.
“Yes, Logan, my love. I’m flying through Illinois about to cross over the Great Lakes. I should be home very soon.”
My love?!?!?!, some of the younger members thought as they looked at each other, their mouths opened in surprise. What’s really going?
“Gambit glad to hear your voice Stormie,” Gambit said with a mischievous smile on his face.
“Gambit, please don’t call me that. You know how I feel about awful name,” Ororo replied. She couldn’t help laughing when she heard Gambit whooping with joy and Rogue scolding him, saying, “Put me down, you crazy Swamp Rat.”
Taking the phone from Scott, Logan switched off the speaker and stepped out of the room.
“Ro, you sure you’re okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine Logan. I just miss you all so much. I love you,” Ororo told him, not caring if she was speaker or not.
“Yeah, me too,” he said, falling silent as a tear slid down his face, that he quickly wiped away.
“Logan,” Ororo said after a minute of silence, “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Just thinking about how happy I am to hear your voice,” he replied.
“As am I. You have no idea how much I missed you,” she said, coaxing the plane to go a little faster since she was so close to home.
“Ditto for me. Hurry home so I can greet you properly.”
“See you soon. Storm out.”
Forge groaned as he came too. Gazing around his lab, he wondered why things looked so different. Its because you’re on the floor, his mind replied, forcing him to remember how he ended up strapped to one of the support beams in his lab. Ororo, his mind screamed, as the memories flooded his consciousness. Groaning from the pain again, Forge bit down on his lip to snap out of his haze so he could focus on freeing himself.
Standing, Forge rubbed the numbness from his human hand. Figuring Ororo had taken one of the jets, he headed to his mini control tower in the garage. Checking the control panel, his thoughts had been correct. The plane she had taken was crossing over the Great Lakes. It would have taken her about two hours to get that far in that plane, he thought as he headed to another plane to get it ready for take off. Although he could have killed the power to the plane from his tower, he decided that he would comfort them all in person.
Warming up the jet’s engine, Forge knew that he was being foolish in going back to the mansion after what he did. But his conscious wouldn’t let him leave well enough alone. Although he had started out intentional wanting to use her, he never dreamed that he would fall in love with her. It was only because of that love the he would risk going back to the mansion. He thought that at the least, he owed her was an explanation, whether she wanted to hear it or not. He also owed Xavier and Hank one because they trusted him. Even if that meant facing Gambit and Logan, who he was sure are ready to kill him now. Nothing left to do but face the music, Forge thought as the plane headed down the runaway.
Back at the mansion, Hank noticed an incoming air craft on the radar, which was about the only thing he was able to get back online. Sure it was Ororo, Hank sounded the alarm anyway, just to be on the safe side. Hank only had to wait a few minutes before the first of the team arrived.
“Is she here yet?” Jubilee asked, anxious to see her friend.
“Yes, she should be landing as we speak. Where’s Logan?”
“Knowing him, he’s probably outside already,” Scott said, leading the way to the above ground landing pad, not knowing how right he was, “You coming Hank?”
“No. I will stay here and keep an eye on the monitor. I have a feeling that this is not over yet.”
“Yeah, me too,” Scott replied before heading out the door.
Logan sat anxiously on the outlining barrier wall that surrounded the landing pad. Hearing the plane approach, Logan looked up as the pilot lined the plane up with the landing pad and slowly began its descent. Coming to rest on the ground, the loading door opened immediately, even before the engines were off.
Once the plane landed, Logan leaped off the wall and started toward it. His heart racing, Logan’s legs worked to match its speed when he saw Ororo emerge from the plane, her telltale silvery hair billowing in the wind.
As she stepped out of the plane, her eyes welled up and blinded her as she made her way toward Logan who ran toward her. They met at the end of the landing pad. He lifted her high in the air and swung her around in a circle before bringing her in close for a hug, their lips meeting. Ororo clung to him, tears of relief falling from her eyes as she continued to kiss Logan, letting him know how much she missed him. Logan, returning the deep kiss, hoped that she felt the happiness and relief he felt in having her in his arms again. They were still embracing when the others rounded the wall.
“Ahem,” Gambit said, clearing his throat and glancing away at the kissing couple.
“Oh my God,” Jubilee said, smiling and clapping happily, as the others murmured their surprise.
Hearing the commotion behind them, the couple reluctantly broke their kiss. Logan, ignoring the others, wiped the tears from their eyes before they turned to face the others.
“Storm, it’s really you,” Jubilee exclaimed as she engulf Ororo with her own bear hug, followed by the other young team members.
“Yes, sweetheart, it’s really me,” Ororo said, hugging them all at the same time.
“Okay, kids. Can you give the woman a chance to breath?” Scott said jokingly, as he, Jean, Rogue, and Gambit stood looking on.
“Oh, sorry,” Dazzler replied, stepping to the side of Logan so that the others could have access to Storm.
“Stormie, don’t ya scare Gambit like that again. His old heart can’t take much of it,” he said, going to embrace her. Whispering in her ear, he said, “I missed ya, mon amour.”
“Ditto,” she replied, taking one of Logan’s phrases.
“Why don’t we go inside mansion and give Storm a chance to rest?” Jean said, after giving her a hug and whispering, “Welcome back.”
“Sorry, Jean but my fiancé and I would like some time alone,” Logan said, taking Ororo’s hand, ignoring the surprised faces of his teammates as he began to lead her away.
“When did this happen?”; “When did ya’ll get back together?”; “Oh my God…I can’t take all this excitement,” the youngsters said at the same time.
“Wow…talk about dropping a bomb. Congrats you guys,” Scott said, taking his wife’s hand, “So I guess we’ll see you guys later.”
“Yeah, later,” Logan said over his shoulder as gathered Ororo in his arms and headed to the boat house.
“Wow, what a day,” Dazzler said, flopping down on the couch in the Rec Room. She and the other young member could not wait to get to the Rec Room so they could talk about the couple.
“You can say that again. First Storm comes back and then Logan drops a bomb, saying their engaged. I wonder what’s going to happen next,” Iceman said, sitting on the arm of the sofa, his feet on the cushion next to Jubilee.
“Whatever it is, let’s hope its something good ‘cause I can’t take any more bad news,” Jubilee said, leaning back against the cushions, a smile creasing her face as she thought about the happy couple.
Entering the boat house, Logan gently set Ororo on her feet. “Welcome home. Wait here,” he told her before going into the bedroom.
Ororo stood and watched Logan disappear into the other room. Alone for the first time since she arrived home, Ororo sat down in the nearest chair and the emotions she kept bottled up in her since her daring escape, came pouring out.
Logan had just grabbed what he was looking for when he heard Ororo sobbing. Knowing she needed a moment to get it all out, he took his time getting back to her. It almost killed to him to do it but he knew she would want a minute alone to get the worst of it out. With this in mind, Logan detoured to the bathroom, wetting a hand towel he got from the closet.
Hearing his steps, Ororo looked up at Logan, her eyes bloodshot and her nose running. “I apologize for being such a mess right now,” she told him.
Kneeling before her, Logan took his time wiping her face and her hands with the towel. When he was satisfied with what he saw, he spoke, “Darlin’, there’s nothing to apologize for. I’m just happy ya safe and back home. The Goddess answered this old man’s prayer.”
Stopping mid-sniff, Ororo looked at him with a shocked expression. “You prayed?” she asked incredulously.
She knew from their many conversations about religion, that he didn’t believe in a higher power. He told her that he had seen way too many things happening to people, especially children, all over the world to believe that a higher power would allow that to happen. So because it happened, he decided that it was best for him to put his faith in his own ability, instead of some mystical figurehead living the clouds above the earth. When she looked over at him, she knew by the look on his face that it was a touchy subject. Deciding to keep the peace, she let the conversation go and from then on, they stayed away from that topic. So to hear him mention it so casually, Ororo knew that her had seriously affected him.
“Yeah. I think I got a better understanding of this religion and belief thing,” he told her smiling as he reached into his pocket and retrieved the black ring box. “I prayed to the Goddess that if she would return you to me, that I wouldn’t question the fact that there is a higher power and would make damn sure to keep my word about not hurting you ever again. So since she kept her part of the bargain, I’m going to keep mine.” He opened the ring box and her ring sparkled brightly, like it was happy to see her.
Clearing his throat, Logan removed the ring and set the box on the floor. “I know that I have asked you once but I have to say it again. Ro, you complete me. When you were gone, I was lost without you and felt like someone had taken the best part of me. Although I know how you feel about promises, I need to make one now. Baby, now that I have you back, I promise on everything that I hold dear that I will do all that I can to make you happy and keep you safe,” he started, stopping to hold a finger to her lips, silencing her, “Yeah, I know. Don’t make promises I can’t keep but here’s the thing, it’s not a promise, it’s a vow that I made to the highest of all mystical beings. So what do you say, will you make me the happiest man in the world and marry me?”
Smiling through more tears, she nodded. “I said it before and I will say it again. Yes,” she told him as he slid her ring on her finger.
I haven’t cried this much since my parents died, Ororo thought as she watched Logan place the ring on her finger. Wiping away a tear, she allowed Logan to straighten the ring to his liking. When he released it, Ororo felt a slight tingling sensation. Lifting her hand to examine the ring, she was shocked to see it glowing brightly against her skin.
Looking past the glowing ring, Ororo watched Logan get to his feet. Before she could open her mouth to speak, the tingling sensation spread across her body, causing her to shake in her chair.
“Ro!?” Logan said, reaching for her.
“No, don’t,” Ororo said through clenched teeth, afraid that whatever it was would spread to him. Writhing in pain, the tingling sensation continued. Outside the window, the sky grew very dark.
A loud clamp of thunder sounded and lightning flashed across the sky, casting the area in a surreal glow. “What the hell..,” Logan started but was blown away as a lightning bolt came down through the ceiling, striking Ororo. Her blood curling scream was the last thing Logan heard before he blacked out.
Ororo’s scream faded to a slight whimper as the electricity crackled over her body. Opening her eyes, she waited until they adjusted to the golden light that permeated the hall. Sitting up, Ororo looked around, taking in her surroundings. She noticed that she was surrounded by large mounds of comfortable pillows, similar to the one she sat on. Glancing up, her eyes drank in a magnificent decor. Always a lover of Ancient Egyptian history, she was sure this was what the Egyptians had pictured when they thought of the afterlife. Majestic columns; Colorful paintings depicting the complete history of their extraordinary culture; the sound of gently flowing water in the background, bringing everything together. This room made the majestic tombs of the wealthiest pharaohs in Egypt look like a child’s playhouse.
Very observant, Daughter of Kenya. Egyptian architecture is one of my favorites, a disembodied voice told her.
“Where am I?” she asked, her voice sounding shrill and loud. So loud, she had to cover her own ears.
We do not speak with our tongues in my home. I prefer to communicate with thoughts. I find the sound of spoken words shrill and irritating. I favor the soothing, yet captivating sound of the Nile, the voice told her, referring to the sound of the running water, But to answer your question, you are far above the land of the mortals.
Okay. Now that we have established that, who are you and why am I here?, she asked, looking around, trying to find the source of the voice.
Patience, my child, patience. Haven’t I taught you anything?, the voice whispered across her synapses as she spied a form materializing in front of her, seated on a large mound of pillows that fashioned into a throne.
I apologize for my impatience but I have been through a great deal these past few weeks and have been away from home and my loved ones. I am anxious to return to them.
Had it not been for me and your mother, you wouldn’t be where you are now, Daughter of N’dare. You see, I am the Goddess, whom you worship and call on in your time of need.
Goddess!! Oh my, Ororo said, standing abruptly, Am I dead?
Smiling away her concern, the Goddess motioned for her to take her seat. No, no, my child. You are yet living but there is one more thing I have to do to set things right. Much was taken from you by those who act against He who is omniscient and holy. But because you have not allowed the lost of your powers to turn your heart against me who is a servant to the Omniscient One, He has instructed me to return your powers to you.
I don’t understand, Ororo said, looking up at the Goddess.
Do you remember when you lived in Africa and helped the Orinkua tribe by creating rain and other favorable weather conditions for their crops and livestock? When Ororo nodded, the Goddess continued. Now do you remember the shaman who presented the ring to you for the very first time? When Ororo nodded again, the Goddess smiled.
You mean…, Ororo started.
Yes, that was me. The ring was created by the Omniscient One and was sent to you as a gift. The ring was a token of appreciation, letting you know that He recognized the great works you were doing with the talents He had bestowed upon you. Because your powers are a talent that was given to you by the Omniscient One, no mortal can take it away. So, my dearest Ororo, the Goddess said, sitting on a pillow, next to Ororo, your powers were never taken away from you. You were made to believe that could not access them, thus losing your way.
Because the ring that was given to you by Him was returned to you, it serves as the key to unlocking your powers that lay dormant deep within you. But a word of caution, my Daughter, the Goddess said taking her face gently between her hands, to whom much is given, much is expected. Your powers will be magnified tenfold. Because of this, you must take great care with using them. Though you will be very powerful, you will still need to maintain a balance and not allow yourself to loss control because the lives of many will be at stake. So please be very careful.
I will continue as I have done since the appearance of my abilities. But one question, if I may Goddess, Ororo asked, Why are my powers being magnified?
My child, everything happens for a reason and only when it is time. When the time comes for you to use the full extent of your powers, you will know. Now, our time together has come to an end. Remember all that I have said during this visit and you shall not fail. You are truly a special person, Ororo Munroe, and know that you are never alone.
Embracing the Goddess, Ororo felt a tug on her consciousness. Thank you for everything, she said mentally.
No, my dear. Thank you and make sure to keep the faith and continue serving as an example for others.
Opening her eyes, Ororo made out the familiar surrounding of the boathouse. Looking around, she saw that everything was back as it was before the lightning strike. Smiling and saying a quick prayer of thanks, she got to her feet and went in search of Logan. Finding him in his bed, sleeping peacefully, Ororo almost didn’t want to wake him but she knew that he would be upset if she didn’t.
Kneeling beside him, Ororo called his name softly, gently touching his shoulder. She smiled at him when he opened his eyes, looking directly at her.
“Hi,” he said, peacefully, returning her gaze.
“Hi. How was your nap?”
“Peaceful,” he said, reluctant to sit up, enjoying the moment, “But I had a funny dream. How long was I out?”
“Not very long,” she whispered, not wanting to break the spell, knowing that the Goddess had something to do with Logan’s peacefulness. Standing, she held her hand out to help him up, “Tell me about your dream.”
“It was very weird. First, I dreamed I proposed to you again and after you said yes, I put the ring on ya finger. When I took my hand away, the ring started glowing and then everything flashed white then went black. A few seconds later, I saw ya floating above me, surrounded by this bright light. Ya floated back to the ground and I held my arms out and you came into them, saying ‘Logan, I’m home’,” he said, gazing into her face, watching for a sign to tell him he wasn’t crazy or something else.
“That was a very interesting dream, indeed, my dear Logan. Would you like to know my thoughts on it?” Ororo asked, putting her arms around his thick neck, enjoying the feel of his hands as he pulled her closer to him. Nodding his answer, Ororo kissed the tip of his nose before answering. “It could represent all that we have endured these past few weeks, all the potential the future holds and it’s all up to us to make the best of it. Or,” she said before kissing him gently on the lips, “It could simply mean, I’m where I’m suppose to be.”
“Either way,” she continued, kissing him again, “Logan, my love, I’m home and this is where I plan to stay.”
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