“I’m telling you, its Magneto,” Bobby offered. Betsy focused her powers on the surveillance videos of the party. Jean stood beside her; her psychic energy also focused in on the videos. The images were scattered across seven different monitors, which captured the grounds of the mansion, and various angles of the party from beginning to end. They had played it back several times and still there seemed to be no indication as to who had planted the toxic gift; a weapon that had obviously been intended for the Professor, and had rendered Ororo unconscious for almost two days, now.
Jubilee nodded in agreement “He hates the X-men, and he knows how important the Professor is to us. With him out of the way--”
Jean shook her head “Magneto’s relationship with the Professor is…complicated, but he would never set out to kill him----At least not intentionally.”
Betsy kept her eyes on the videos as she rewound and played them again “Whoever did this went through a lot of trouble to cover their tracks.”
Jean dropped her eyes, pulling her focus away from the monitors. This entire ordeal had left her mentally drained and feeling quite useless. They were all agitated and tired. On more than one occasion she had caught Jubilee with her eyes closed, and even Betsy had yawned a time or two. Jean turned to Betsy “I’m still not getting anything. Maybe, we should all just take a break.”
Betsy ignored her suggestion and went on as she continued to examine another monitor. “Since Storm’s not dead, we don’t know if the goal for whoever did this was to actually kill the Professor to begin with.”
Everyone but Betsy turned their attention towards the doors as they slid open, and Warren and Logan entered.
“What’d you come up with?” Jean asked.
“Nothing’” Warren said.
“And lots of it,” Logan added with a snarl. They had been tasked with questioning the fifty plus workers who had been in attendance on the night of the Professor’s party. From the wait staff to the valets no one saw anything suspicious, although there had been a lot of buzz about the man with claws in his hands getting into an altercation with one of the other guests.
“Anythin’ on surveillance?” Logan pressed as he moved towards the monitors to take a closer look for himself.
“Surveillance videos are a bust,” Jean replied “Either there’s nothing on them or we’re just missing something.”
Betsy rewound another video “We are definitely missing something chaps, I’d bet my life on that.”
“Its not yer life,” Logan bit out, “ Storm’s tha one layin’ half dead in tha infirmary,” Warren took a protective step in Betsy’s direction, but she held her hand up to stay him. Warren stopped but kept a hard glare on the wild man some of the children affectionately called Wolverine. Betsy turned a calm tone towards Logan “We are doing the best we can here ---”
Logan clenched his hands into fists “Well our best is getting us nowhere, fast. I say its time to start knockin’ on some doors.” Then he was moving towards the exit.
“That‘s what I‘m talkin‘ about--“ Bobby agreed as he moved in behind him.
Betsy stepped to the door, blocking their way “Logan, we have enough to deal with right now without roughing up our enemies prematurely, especially The Brotherhood,” she said turning a hard stare at Bobby.
Jean nodded “Psylocke is right, we need to have more information before we go starting a war.”
“Far as I‘m concerned tha war is already started, darlin.” Logan growled as he continued towards the door “And I aim tah finish.” He turned to exit again and was stopped short by Hank who entered with heavy and excited steps “Success!” he announced. Jubilee‘s eyes lit up “Is Storm awake?”
~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:
“I don’t understand how this happened, Scott said his voice strained with grief “Can’t you do anything for her?“ He questioned through clenched teeth. His patience had abated with the wait-and-see approach the Professor had adopted after his last attempt to connect to Ororo’s mind had failed.
The Professor sat at a respectful distance from Scott who sat beside Ororo’s lifeless body in the infirmary. This was just as frustrating for him as it was for Scott, if not more. It was his fault that this was happening. That syringe had been meant for him. They still had no clue as to who had sent the box, but whoever it was had taken care to craft the casing to be impenetrable to telepathy. The Professor‘s jaw tightened “I wish there was,“ he replied, and Scott clenched his fists in response.
Scott needed her to wake up…she had to wake up so that he could tell her. Maybe this was a sign….. “Ororo?” Scott called her name for the umpteenth time, and still received no response. She was dressed in a hospital gown now, and Jean had removed what little make-up she had been wearing at the party. She was still beautiful even in her current vegetative state. Sadly, he reached into his pocket and retrieved the diamond engagement ring he had planned on giving her the night of the Professor’s party. He slid the ring on her finger and then kissed her hand.
This was all he could offer her right now. Otherwise, he felt useless. The fact that there was seemingly nothing he could do for her was eating away at him. That powerless feeling shot through his gut like a hot blade. He looked haggard and in desperate need of a shower, shave and a good nights rest. However, sleep wasn’t an option or even a notion that had crossed his mind since he‘d learned about the accident…not when the woman he loved was dangling somewhere between life and death.
The Professor touched Scott on his shoulder as he advised “You should rest.“ Scott gently tugged away from the Professor’s hand “I’ll rest when she’s awake,“ he concluded. The Professor could see that there was no need to argue with him, and sat back in his chair. The more time that passed, the less likely it would be that Ororo would recover. They all knew it, and it was that reason alone that they had all been working tirelessly to find a solution.
The Professor sensed a shift in energies throughout the house. It quite literally felt as if a weight was being lifted from of his chest. He paused placing his fingers against his temple “Beast has found something” he said calmly. Scott lifted his head relief finally flooding across the hard lines of his face “What is it?”
~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:
“Its called H-I-7 or at least it was when I saw a presentation about mutant molecular regeneration a few years ago constructed by an old colleague of mine, Dr. Kavita Rao. Her findings were brilliant and ambitious, but many, many years away from development.” Beast explained.
Betsy tapped her fingers along the digital notepad she had picked up to continue running through the surveillance videos remotely. “I‘m running that name through our database now” she announced. Beast stopped her “There’s no need for that. Tragically, Dr. Rao along with her husband and twin daughters were killed in a car accident almost three years ago.”
“What did Dr. Rao specialize in?” Warren asked.
“She was a master of genetics” Beast replied “She was convinced that the mutant gene was a corruption of healthy tissues in the body. She dedicated her life to finding a ‘cure’.“
Jubilee frowned “A cure for what?”
“Us“, the Professor offered as he maneuvered his chair to sit along side Beast. “I’m familiar with Dr. Rao and her work. She approached me years ago at a molecular biology summit in India. She needed some funding and thought perhaps I would share her vision. Needless, to say I passed on her offer.”
“A cure for mutation? That‘ll make yah a few bucks“ Bobby observed.
The Professor smirked “I assure you it wasn’t about the money.”
Jubliee rolled her eyes and gave Bobby a firm punch in the arm “We’re not exactly living in a shack” she reminded him.
Bobby fumbled for his words “I know--I just meant--yah know--”
“He didn’t invest his money in Dr. Rao’s project because there’s nothing to cure,” Jean snapped, “Mutation is not a disease contracted from some fruit fly in the Serengeti; it’s the natural order of things. Giving that woman money for a so called cure would have gone against everything that we stand for.” Jean tossed an apologetic look at Beast “Sorry Hank, I know she was your friend.”
Beast shook his head “No offense taken.”
Logan crossed his thick arms over his chest “So, is this ‘cure’ what’s got Storm comatose?“
“Yes and no,” Beast said “I recognized the research as Dr. Rao‘s, but there are a few significant deviations from Dr. Rao‘s original formula” Beast said as he spun around on the tiny stool that sat in front of the station he had constructed to run tests on the syringe. He pushed his thin rimmed glasses up onto the bridge of his nose as the X-men stood patiently awaiting further explanation. “What Ororo was injected with was a highly concentrated concoction of the body’s essential vitamins and minerals. That, combined with certain elements of Dr. Rao’s formula creates a significantly high combination of hormone accelerating substances. I’ve yet to identify these substances, but they are similar, and more potent, to those responsible for the natural regenerative composites that initiate hyper-mutation.”
Bobby looked on at Beast dumbly “Dude, are you speaking words?”
Beast furrowed his brows, but Betsy stepped forward before he had a chance to respond “Hank, are you saying it’s some kind of a booster shot?”
“Not quite, but very close.” he confirmed.
Jubilee frowned “I don’t get it. What is it supposed to boost?”
Beast’s face lit up as he glided over to another section of his work station “An excellent question Jubilation!” Jubilee smiled at the compliment. Beast picked up a Petri dish and held it up for all of them to examine “After testing a sample of Ororo’s blood I’ve discovered a deconstructive pattern in her cellular mutation”
Bobby scratched his head and said to no one in particular “Seriously, is he speaking words?”
Betsy rolled her eyes and asked “So, whatever was in that syringe is destroying the mutated cells in Ororo’s body?”
Beast nodded and Warren rubbed his forehead “That makes it a cure then right? Guess that crosses out Magneto. The last thing he would want is to destroy mutated cells.”
Tired of the song and dance Logan stepped forward “Cut to tha chase blue man group, What’s this stuff gonna do to Storm?”
“Logan,” Jean chided.
As much as he hated agreeing with Logan, Scott found himself saying “He’s right Jean, “ -- then he turned to Hank -- “Spare us the details. What can we do to fix it?”
Hank took hold of his patience and sighed “The devil is in the details, my friend. I’m afraid there’s nothing to fix.” All of their faces went solemn. What did that mean? Was Ororo going to be a vegetable forever? Hank switched on the monitor just over his workstation to reveal a microscopic display of a sample of Ororo’s blood. Both her red blood cells and her mutated cells spiraled through plasmic fluid. “The reason the substance she was injected with is not a ‘cure’ is because the deconstructive pattern that I discovered has a regenerative quality as well,” he explained as a cloudy gray mutated cell rubbed against one of the bright green ‘booster’ molecules that came into view. The booster molecule consumed Ororo’s mutated cell and turned it black. They all watched in silent horror as another mutated cell was consumed and then recreated, then another, and another…. “What does this mean?” Scott asked.
The Professor lowered his gaze from the screen as he said “It means that H-I-7 has triggered Ororo into a second mutation.”
Beast nodded and added for further confirmation “The mutated cells in Ororo’s body are being modified at such an accelerated rate that it has forced her into a coma. Its her body’s way of protecting itself while she’s…evolving.”
Betsy shook her head “Evolving into what?”
That was a question Beast didn’t have an answer to, and that deeply disappointed him. Scott turned away from the screen “So, what are we supposed to do? Just wait it out?”
“What’s plan B?” Logan said tersely.
Hanks patience was beginning to wear thin. He cared about Ororo just as much as the rest of them…if not more. When they were younger Hank had developed an intense crush on the wind rider. One that over the years had blossomed into a close and loving friendship. Not only was she beautiful on the outside, she was also beautiful on the inside and had never once made him feel like an outsider because of his appearance. For her sake, Hank remained calm as he said “Its to dangerous at this point to try and create a synthetic antidote. We can’t be sure how she will react.”
“We can’t just sit here twiddling our thumbs either,” Scott said.
“I think we should just wait it out like Beast says” Jean spoke up, and all at once they began to argue about the best course of action to take. Angry voices crowded over one another; each one fighting for respect and attention.
“I found something” Betsy said and everyone immediately stopped arguing and turned to her. Betsy tapped her fingers along the digital keys which switched the image on her screen to the monitor over Beast’s desk.
They looked on as the video played out. On the video the Professors gift table was practically overflowing. It was around that time that they had begun carting the gifts off to a separate room. There was a small empty space on the edge of the table, which was ripe for just one more small gift box….Then suddenly the space wasn’t empty anymore. There was a gift in the space…a gift that no one had placed on the table. It just simply….appeared.
Betsy rewound the video and played it a second time. “How the hell did we miss that?” Jean said more to herself then anyone else. “Its obvious someone’s messing with our heads, and whoever it is, can apparently sneak in under the Professor’s radar as well” Betsy added.
They let that bit of information sink in for a moment. It was a scary thought that even the Professor had very little insight to offer during this entire ordeal. “Our footage has been altered,” Betsy added.
“Somebody hacked into our security system?” Warren said, his blood beginning to boil. He had invested his own time and money into that system.
“We’ve never been hacked” Bobby added.
“Ever” Jubilee clarified “Who could do that without the Professor knowing about it?”
~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:
Nathaniel Essex. Maurice sneered at the name on the gold nameplate that sat on the edge on the large mahogany desk. God, how he hated the sight of that name. Maurice held his head down and stepped into the shaft of light that illuminated the floor below him. After three years with Nathaniel Essex, he had become accustomed to his menacing theatrics. He room was cold and unnecessarily dim. A familiar chill rose from the small of his back and tightened around his neck. Maurice pulled the collar of his heavy trench coat closer and shifted his weight to one side of his body. He rested his hand on the nine millimeter at his hip, more out of habit then out of fear. What did he have to be afraid of? Mr. Essex had made it very clear that he was a viable asset to his cause. However, it wasn’t just his life on the line now was it? The incident at the mansion was a minor setback, but quite certainly fixable.
“Lets hope so, for your sake,” Essex’s voice rumbled with a hiss that almost sounded reptilian from somewhere behind him shaking Maurice to his core. The air was suddenly thick with the smell of sulfur and Maurice‘s heart began to pound. “I‘m starting to regret our arrangement“ Essex added as his large frame moved through the shadows of the office.
Maurice knew that he would have to deflect Essex’s mood. If he didn’t then he’d never get to see his wife and children again…God how he missed them. Essex was holding them somewhere, and had promised to reunite them only when Maurice and his wife had fulfilled the task he needed them to perform.
“This could work to our advantage” Maurice offered.
Essex lowered himself into the large chair behind his desk, his wide shoulders under the fine cut of his dark tailored suite gave him the look of a mountain with piercing red eyes, “Enlighten me” he said, his tone flat and patronizing Essex continued with “That weather witch is a loose cannon and will be more trouble than she’s worth.”
Maurice bowed his head “I know that the Hemo-Inhibitor was meant for a mutant with a significant level of control, but---”
“I chose Xavier for a reason,” Essex reminded. “I’m told that the neuro-restrictive sensors implanted in the serum have gone offline? That is a problem. I have no doubt that Ms. Monroe would be very useful to us but---”
Maurice’s tone turned hopeful “I’ve reviewed her file and if nothing else she is the epitome of self-control---”
Essex banged his fist on top of his desk shaking the few contents that decorated it. Maurice resisted the urge to pull out his gun and pump the bastard full of hot bullets. Despite his outburst, Essex spoke with a calm menacing voice “Take care of your thoughts, Maurice, or you’ll never see your wife or those beautiful daughters of yours again.”
Those words tightened Maurice’s jaw.
“What were their names again?” Essex added “Ah yes, Jane and Jessica.” Hearing his daughters names come out of Nathaniel Essex’s filthy mouth sent him over the edge. Maurice pulled his gun and aimed it right at Essex’s chest.
Essex’s red eyes darkened, and before Maurice could even get a shot off he had grabbed him by his neck and dragged him across the desk. Maurice gurgled in pain as the superhuman strength in Essex’s large hand tightened around his throat, cutting off his airway.
“You know it really hurts my feelings when you try to kill me” Essex growled. Maurice gasped for air, clawing at his throat, but he couldn’t match Essex’s strength. Essex flung Maurice to the floor into a pathetic heap. Maurice gasped for air coughing and gagging as oxygen forced its way back into his lungs.
Essex rolled his shoulders and turned his eyes towards Maurice who lay crumpled on the floor. “My patience with this has run its course. Do you understand me?”
A few more moments passed before Maurice was well enough to respond, but finally he said “Yes, Mr. Sinister.”
Essex arched a dark eyebrow “Good. I’ve made a few…adjustments in their security system. That should create a small window of opportunity. Retrieve her.”
~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:
“Yer really startin tah piss me off” Logan rasped. Ororo continued to lay motionless on what some of the students had begun to suspect was her deathbed. It wasn’t looking good. Beast wasn’t sure when or if she would even wake up.
Logan stood beside her, his hand resting on her forearm. This would probably be the only opportunity he had to be alone with her. Betsy had done them all a favor and finally convinced Scott to shave and take a shower. He was no use to anybody stinkin’ up the joint….least of all Storm. They were all on edge, looking for answers that weren’t readily available. Cyc wouldn’t be gone for long, and Logan intended to enjoy what little time alone with Ororo. He missed her friend, her smile, her laugh, and her occasional nags about him being so anti-social. The diamond on her left hand stopped him.
Had Scott proposed? By the look on Ororo’s face the last time he had seen her she seemed as if she were about to tear Scott a new one for the scene he had made at the Professor’s party. Maybe they had made up. He was having a hard time imagining Ororo as Scott’s wife. Regardless of what he could imagine, if she was wearing his ring, then that meant she had made her decision. Scott was her choice. Logan ran his tongue along the roof of his mouth which had suddenly gone dry. He had no choice but to respect that….besides he was with Jean now. Things had been a lot better between them in spite of the recent turn of events. He thought perhaps he was beginning to develop a deeper connection with her…more then he had ever experienced before with her. It was odd and more than a little off-putting, but he decided that he was going to be more open. That’s what Ororo would have wanted him to do.
Logan turned away from her, his very being filling with conflicting emotions that made him uncomfortable. In an attempt to steer his thoughts in another direction he said “Yer stronger than this, dammit. Wake up, Storm. We need yah.” Logan shoved his hands in his pockets because he wasn’t sure what else to do with them “I need yah.”
He turned to look at her again, hoping that his small confession would jolt some life back into her body…it didn’t. Logan cursed under his breath. He hated seeing her this way. She was always so strong and confident. Seeing her with tubes in her arm and her beautiful caramel skin, now pasty from the injection of medicinal fluids did something to his insides. Logan leaned over and placed a kiss on her cool forehead…still no response. He lingered there, his eyes examining her lovely face and shooting down to her full inviting mouth. No…she belonged to Scott now, and he had made a promise to Jean hadn’t he? Besides, she had nearly struck him with lightning the first time he tried to kiss her. Perhaps kissing her would ignite some kind of response….even if it was a negative one.
It was the best excuse he could come up with as his hot breath feathered her lips as his mouth came dangerously close to Ororo‘s. He kept his eyes on her closed lids as he began to move in for the kiss that he was still trying to convince himself that he didn’t want.
“Not a very inspired idea” Betsy said as the doors to the infirmary swished closed behind her. Logan jerked away before their lips connected and cursed under his breath again. If he hadn’t been so distracted he would have heard the telepath coming. Logan opened his mouth to speak, but Betsy held up her hand to stop him as she moved in closer “I’ll leave this to you and your conscious which at the moment seems tucked away in your trousers,” A gentle smile played at the ends of her mouth, and somehow Logan knew that Betsy wasn’t here to chastise him.
“Still nothing’” she asked and Logan w crossing his arms over his chest. Betsy nodded silently and caressed Ororo’s other arm. “You’ll be happy to know we’ve decided to be more proactive with our approach to this.”
Logan’s pulse jumped in anticipation “Bout damn time. Who’s up first?”
“Charles” Betsy said her eyes still focusing on Ororo.
Logan allowed that information to settle in for a moment…what was she saying? Was the Professor responsible for all of this? The attack had been meant for him, but up to this point they had all just assumed he was a victim like Storm. Charles wouldn’t….he couldn’t
“Of course he wouldn’t” Betsy answered reading Logan’s thoughts “But I do think he knows more than he’s letting on. I think we need to dig a little deeper.”
“Why yah tellin’ me this?”
Betsy moistened her bottom lip with her tongue “If you haven’t noticed, Scott has been a bit on the emotional side as of late”
“We’re all a bit emotional on this, Purple.”
Betsy squinted her eyes at him, but ignored what she decided to accept as a term of endearment, “Nevertheless, Scott doesn’t think clearly when it comes to matters of the heart. I have a feeling that despite your feelings you’ll do what is right”
Logan scoffed “What makes yah so sure?”
Betsy shrugged one shoulder, “Because Ororo trusts you, and believe me she doesn’t give her trust to just anyone.”
“She trusts Scott,” he reminded.
“But she won’t marry him,” she revealed. Logan’s eyes darted down at the engagement ring on Ororo’s finger. Betsy sighed “I don’t like to pry, at least not when I don’t know all the facts. Until I know more, I suggest you remember there are degrees of trust, wolfman.”
:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:
“What do you want?” Scott said as he pulled a fresh t-shirt over his head.
Jean pursed her lips “Do me a favor and try not to be so--Scott, for a minute.”
Scott adjusted his ruby quartz glasses and sat on the edge of his bed, his shoulders softening with regret “Sorry, its just been a little--”
“I know” Jean said crossing her arms over her mid-section. “How are you holding up?”
Scott shrugged, “All things considered?” Silence fell between them, and after a moment Scott stood to his feet “I’ve got to get back to--”
“Scott, we need to talk about--”
“No, we don‘t.”
Jean sighed “I haven‘t been able to focus since--I just feel so--” Jean pressed her fingers against her temple at the onset of a headache.
Scott shook his head “Is this the part where I console you with a hug? Grow up, Jean.”
He was moving towards the door before she could object. At the last possible moment, Jean’s arm shot out and grabbed Scott forcing him to face her. Then she slapped him so hard her fingers when numb. Scott’s jaw tightened with anger.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Their exchange was suddenly interrupted by the alarm that signaled a security breech. Immediately they both went on the defensive and hurried to the hall way. A few of the children had already begun to gather in the halls, their faces wrecked with concern.
“Everyone back to your rooms!” Scott ordered as he took charge down the hall. Jean was right behind him trying to offer them comfort with her eyes.
“What’s happening?” Kitty shrieked
Dazzler piled her hair into a pony tail “Is somebody trying to break in?”
Pyro fell in beside them clenching his fists “All their gonna do is, try” he promised as fire flashed in his eyes and he pounded his fist into his palm.
Jean used her abilities to stay their fluttering emotions “Get back to your rooms. Everything will be fine.”
:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:
“We‘re screwed” Bobby said his attention drawn to the monitor that reveled what appeared to be special opps team of some sort scaling the walls of the school.
“Way to be a team player, Bobby” Jubilee mumbled “What do you think they want?”
Warren shrugged “Whoever they are, they‘ve got some serious balls.“
“And heavy artillery“ Beast added referencing the perimeter scan he had conducted. “But their weapons don’t appear to be lethal in nature. Mostly high voltage stunning mechanisms.”
“I don’t care if they have cap guns.” Scott said through clenched teeth “These are probably the same guys responsible for what’s happened to Storm.”
“And, now their coming to collect,” Bobby said.
Warren attached a com-link to his ear “Guess its our lucky day”
“I’ve already started directing the children towards the safe rooms” The Professor announced.
“Warren, I need you in the sky. We need to know how many are out there,” Scott continued “Jean and Jubilee, safeguard the children, Beast and Bobby flank them from the right, Psylocke and I will take the left -- Logan, you take the-- Logan?”
~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:
Logan slammed his fist so hard into the intruders face the mans teeth almost permanently shifted to the back of his brain. Whoever these guys were they were fast, but not fast enough.
A gun went off and a pair of projectile electrodes whizzed past Logan’s ear. SNIKT! Logan reached out, grabbed the nozzle, and brought his other claw down on the hot metal splitting the weapon in half. Another intruder tackled him to the ground throwing sloppy punches at his face, probably panicked by the way Logan had put his partner down. Logan grabbed one of his wild punches and twisted the intruders arm until he heard a horrific CRACK! The intruder belted a gut wrenching scream as blood gurgled in his throat and tears glistened behind his black mask. Logan ripped the mask off of his face and snarled “Wrong school, bub.” Logan retracted his claws and punched the mans lights out.
The intruder folded up onto the ground with a harsh thud SNIKT! Logan crouched low, revealing his sharp incisors “Who’s next?”
[Reviews - 15]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Chapter or Story |
Chapter or Story |
Chapter or Story |
Has been viewed 926 times
- Text Size +
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Chapter or Story | Chapter or Story | Chapter or Story | - Text Size +
You must login () to review.
