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Xavier Institute
Westchester, New York

Darkness, endless darkness. Cold, it was so cold. Pain and smoke and blood.
“Storm?” Gambit was kneeling in front of her, brows creased, looking at her strangely. “Stormy?” He was snapping his fingers in front of her face.
“We have to go!” She rose from the couch, trying to maneuver past Gambit, who was holding her arms.
“Storm, what’s da matter?”
Ororo pulled her arms away, placing one hand to her temple, an intolerable throbbing in her head.
“Are you all right, chere? You actin‘ peculiar. Maybe you should rest.”
“Logan. I have to get to Logan!” She shoved Gambit away from her, striding towards the stairs purposefully. She took them in one wind assisted leap, heading towards her attic loft, never once looking back over her shoulder.
Gambit started after her, concern written all over his face. When Storm had sat down she seemed to black out, but her eyes had remained wide open, her voice strange as she spoke in a language Gambit didn’t recognize. Then as suddenly as she had spaced out, she was up and raring to go.
He started after her, hearing the sound of breaking glass he rushed the stairs two at a time, bursting through her bedroom door just in time to see her launch herself from her balcony railing into the sky at a velocity he never knew she was capable of.
“Storm!” Gambit braced himself against the railing as a blast of air nearly sent him toppling to the ground.
“Gambit! What is it?!” Kitty was phasing through the floor and he could hear Peter’s heavy footfalls in the hallway.
“Don’ know, chaton. She took off like a bat outta hell, and I don’ know where to.” In the distance thunder boomed and the sky was alight with flickering lightening.
“She didn’t say where?” Kitty asked, clearly troubled.
“Said somet’in about da Wolverine, den…” he gestured to the shattered balcony doors.
“If she mentioned Wolverine, then she is headed to San Francisco,” said Peter, entering the dimly lit room.
“If dat’s da case, I’ll be needing a flyer.” Gambit was already moving towards the door with long strides.
“We’re coming with you,” Kitty said, moving to follow.
“Non, I don’ t’ink so.” Gambit cast them a look over his shoulder. “Stay here, someone needs t’ be in charge ‘til we get back.”
“You’ve got to be kidding,” Kitty grumbled as Gambit disappeared down the hallway with a thief’s stealth.

San Francisco
Harbor

“Wolverine, I think Scott’s down!” Rogue’s voice, muffled and distant, came through the blackness surrounding the jet.
“Can ya see him?” Wolverine’s hands searched blindly for something familiar to hold on to. A shard of glass penetrated his hand between thumb and forefinger causing him to swear.
“Yeah, Ah see him. Where are yah?”
The blackbird was shrouded in darkness, enveloped by a large, offensive smelling tentacle-thing, that was squeezing the aircraft like a boa constrictor would its prey. The plane shrieked in protest, metal buckling, glass tinkling to the floor.
“I’m making my way towards ya. Stay put.” Wolverine stiffened as the jet was jostled again, causing the overhead compartments to bust open, oxygen masks dangling in the air. “Are ya hurt?” He called.
“A little woozy, but otherwise ok. Scott’s laying pretty still, but Ah can’t see if he’s hurt bad or not.”
“I can see ya now, hold on.” Wolverine pushed against the folded steel of a collapsed container blocking his path.
“What the heck is this thing?” Rogue demanded.
Wolverine didn’t respond, instead he grasped the seat beside him, spread his legs, finding his center of balance. His enhanced senses picking up the subtle shift in movement beneath his feet. “Brace yerself!” he shouted. No sooner had the words left his mouth than the Blackbird was lifted high and plummeted back into the ground, jarring his teeth and sending objects flying about the cabin like projectiles. He felt something long and sharp pierce his side below his ribs. Grunting he pulled out a long sliver of metal, tossing it aside.
“Ah lost Scott!” Rogue cried as the plane was slammed again.
A tall body crashed into Wolverine, knocking him to the side. “Got him!” He grabbed Scott by the back of the neck, hauling the lifeless man up beside him, propping him against the seat. “Ya with us, Cyke!” He slapped Cyclops’s across the face. Hard.
“Jesus, Wolverine.” Scott snapped, throwing an arm up in automatic defense.
“Just makin’ sure yer with us.”
“Wolverine!” Rogue came into view, rushing towards them. “Something’s inside!” Several long snake-like shadows were hissing along the interior walls and along the floor. -SNIKT- Wolverine impaled one of the shadow snakes that slithered towards his leg. It squealed, a high pitched awful sound, thrashing about beneath his claw.
“Rogue!” Scott shouted in warning to his teammate, but too late, one of the slithering fiends slid up Rogue’s arms, springing forwards and covering her face. Upon contact with her skin the creature’s energy was drained away, absorbed by the southern beauty’s mutant power and it dropped limply to the floor. Immediately Rogue began screaming, hands on her head, dropping to her knees!
“AAAAHHH!! The Door!! Find the door!! Kill the Door!! Find the Door!!”
“Rogue--”
“Don’t touch me!” She cried, skittering away. “Oh…God…” she sobbed.
The plane shifted once more, lifting from the ground. Wolverine and Cyclops exchanged a look, both knowing as sturdy as the Blackbird was it would not withstand another impact like the one they just had. They braced themselves, prepared for the worst.
KABOOM!! Thunder echoed throughout the aircraft, followed by flashes of bright white slipping in past the oily tentacle‘s folds. The slick shadow snakes flopped to and fro in what could only be described as an orgasmic frenzy, their hissing and squealing raising the hair on each X-man’s neck.
“Logan!”
Wolverine froze, unable to believe what he was hearing. Surely that wasn’t ‘Ro’s smooth velvet voice calling out to him. She couldn’t possibly be here, she was hundreds of miles away tucked safely in her bed, dreaming sweet dreams of him.
“Logan! By the Bright Lady, you had better answer me!”
Yup, it was ‘Ro alright. “’Ro, what the fuck are you doing here?” He roared.
“Saving your ass!” She shot back. Ororo hovered above the trapped Blackbird, appalled at the sight of the slimy membrane encircling the jet, crushing it in it’s greasy wrinkles. Her heart had nearly stopped when she had emerged from the clouds and saw the carnage below. Ororo began looking around frantically trying to locate the origin of the bracchialis. Bracchialis? How is it she knew what the monstrosity was called?
The sound of steel bending caught her attention, pulling her from her musing. Time for questions later, now she had to rescue her friends from being crushed like a beer can at a frat party. Ororo’s eyes clouded white, an idea forming in her head. “Hang on, guys, it is going to get a bit chilly!” She warned.
Calling forth the elements that were hers to command Ororo turned the balmy evening sky into a swirling mass of clouds, the temperature dropping dramatically, a funnel of snow and sleet pouring out of her cloud cauldron, smashing into the offensive creature trapping her teammates, and freezing it on contact.
Inside the cabin of the Blackbird, the walls creaked and moaned but no longer from being crushed, instead protesting the ice that was crawling along the walls, capturing and immobilizing the shadow snakes, making the air so cold it was almost unbearable to breathe.
Wolverine crunched several of the critters beneath his booted heel, making his way to the front of the plane. The tentacle outside, the one that had been crushing them, was frozen solid. Through the busted window Wolverine saw Ororo gliding towards them, eyes glowing. He growled angrily. She should be at the mansion, safe, away from this shit. She wasn’t on active duty, and how the hell did she know they were in trouble, there hadn’t been time to send an SOS.
“Is everyone all right?” Ororo asked.
“Just peachy,” Rogue answered, helping Scott to his feet.
“Step away from the window.” When all three complied, Storm unleashed a bolt of lightening, shattering a large piece of the creature and the front part of the Blackbird, creating a gaping exit.
The three wounded X-men stepped from the wreckage, surveying the area around them with cautious, highly trained eyes. “I saw no one when I arrived.” Ororo said, landing beside Wolverine. He immediately grabbed her around the waist, pulling her into him, glowering at her. He kissed her quick and hard before demanding, “Just what the hell do ya think yer doin,?” his voice a deep growl, shaking her slightly.
“I t’ink Stormy already answered you, Wolverine.” Came a smooth voice from the shadows. “And I suggest ya don’ handle her like dat, homme.”
“Gambit?” Ororo turned, surprised. He was leaning against one of the single person jet flyers from the mansion, looking very laid-back.
“Course, chere. Gambit couln’ let ya run off half cocked wit’ out ‘im.” Gambit flicked his cigarette aside, looking at her with a half smile on his face, but concern evident in his eyes.
“Gambit!” Rogue gasped. He gave her a hard stare in return.
“GUMBO!” Wolverine shoved Storm behind him, launching himself at Gambit with a feral snarl, claws unsheathed, slicing with deadly intent.
Gambit reacted quickly, snapping his staff to full length twirling it, deflecting Wolverine’s hurried attack. He reached into his pocket, pulling out two cards, snapping them at Wolverine, leaving a trail of pink phosphorous in their wake.
Wolverine dodged the kinetically charged cards, crouching low, snarling at the tall Cajun. “Yer dead!” he vowed. He lunged again, spinning in the air, his foot connecting with Gambit’s chest, sending him to the ground. Gambit was back up in an instant, just to be knocked right back down.
“Logan, stop!” Ororo said, taking a step forward, only to find herself restrained by Rogue’s gloved hand on her arm.
“This is something they need ta do,” Rogue said quietly.
“Are you insane?” Ororo demanded, jerking her arm away.
“Wolverine won’t let Gambit’s betrayal slide,” Rogue argued.
“Any more idiotic statements from you and I may forget that we are on the same side,” Storm warned, eyes flashing, the wind picking up, lifting her hair. She turned back to the two men circling each other with deadly intensity.
“Stop! Both of you!” Her shout was ignored by both Gambit and Wolverine.
“I’m gonna gut you like a fish you sniveling coward!” Wolverine snarled.
“ Embrasse mon tcheue, Peeshwank!” Gambit shouted, leaping in the air, staff twirling, connecting with a solid thwack against Wolverine’s head. Wolverine grinned. Gambit took a step back.
“Scott, do something! They are going to kill each other!” Ororo demanded.
“Naw, I think Wolverine’s got a pretty good chance to take this one.” Scott said nonchalantly, nursing his broken arm. Ororo gave him an incredulous look. Had they all lost their minds?
“Enough!” Lightening split the sky, crashing in between the two warriors, the two men she loved most in all the world. They paused, Wolverine’s stance aggressive, Gambit’s defensive, and looked at the woman now striding towards them like an avenging angel, wind whipping her white hair, flapping her shirt, thunder booming overhead.
“Knock it off!” She shouted. “This is ridiculous! Logan, Gambit is my friend! Remy, back off or so help me--!” Once again they ignored her, turning towards each other, intent on returning to their battle. Neither one prepared to yield, both prepared to fight for Ororo. Wolverine bared his fangs, Gambits hands began to glow.
Without warning a blast of artic wind sent them flying in opposite directions. Wolverine landed hard, rolling backwards, Gambit much the same way. “I said enough!” Her voice was harsh and unyielding. It was the voice she used in the field, when she commanded her team. It was a voice both men respected.
Storm was about to say more when the hulking mass that had been frozen only moments ago suddenly surged to life, its oily arm whipping out and snatching her from the ground. She dangled uselessly from its bone crushing grip her hoarse cry cut short by a none to gentle squeeze.
“’Ro!” Wolverine was already moving, blades out, ready to attack. A section of the tentacle separated, lashing out at him and the others, snatching them up and slamming them against the ground brutally. Gambit unleashed a flurry of glowing cards, spinning them from his fingers with unbelievable dexterity and accuracy but to no avail. The explosions having no effect, save that of pissing off the tentacled beast even more.
Ororo felt the slimy scales of the tentacle-thing against her flesh and she cringed. She struggled against the oppressive weight wrapping itself around her just like it had captured the Blackbird. Dark tendrils slid over her face, covering her mouth, her nose and finally her eyes, submerging her in endless shadow.
Panic was mounting; having been a severe claustrophobe since the age of five, this was pure hell for her. She arched her back, pushing against the mushy substance holding her. No use, she only sunk deeper into the abyss, no longer able to hear her friends hollering for her, no longer able to feel the night breeze on her skin. She was trapped! Images of Cairo and her mother rose before her.
“No. No. No. No. No.” Her chest tightened, her breathing became labored, she was suffocating!
“Yesss. The doorway is oursss..”
“No. No. No. No. No. No. No.” Ororo felt her limbs tingling, her eyes burning like they had been exposed to the sun for too long, her heart was racing.
“Yesss.. Ours..”
“No! No! NO!” Electricity exploded from her body, bursting from the creature’s black depths, streaking high into the sky. Ororo escaped through one of the holes her flare had created. From her aerial view she saw her friends being attacked ruthlessly, their bodies being tossed about like children’s playthings. A split apart tentacle latched around Wolverine’s neck, choking him, forcing him to his knees. Ororo’s mind went numb with rage. Her entire focus on the bracchialis.
Moving her arms in a circular pattern she began chanting four words over and over: “abolescere, aboriri, aborisci, abscedere!” instinctively knowing these were the words to destroy the fiend. The tentacle creature wailed angrily, several smaller snakelike whips forming, splitting off, lashing out, occasionally snapping against Ororo’s flesh, leaving bloody streaks in their wake. She chanted louder, letting the instinct take over. There was a loud shrieking and then the creature began to dissolved, a pool of slick oil appearing in the aftermath, much like the remains of the reptilian foe Wolverine had fought earlier.
With a faint cry of relief Ororo plummeted to the ground, scarcely feeling the impact, her body so drained.
The other X-men fell to the ground as well, released from the dark monster as it died. Wolverine found himself looking at Scott, who looked at Rogue, who was staring at Gambit, who said, “Where’s Stormy?”
Wolverine saw her first; she was kneeling in the center of the smeared creature, head in her hands. He rushed to her side. “Darlin’?” No response from her. “’Ro, baby, look at me,” he said gruffly, crouching in front of her, his hands cradling her shoulders.
“Goddess, Logan, what is happening to me?” With that question she raised her head revealing her face to him. Instead of finding himself staring into Ororo’s familiar intense blue eyes or even their cloudy white, Wolverine gazed into eyes that were swirling black, inky liquid like endless night. He took a ragged breath, pulling her into his arms, crushing her to him. She trembled.
“I don’t know, darlin’.” He wrapped his arms tighter around her, hugging her close. She buried her face in his neck, whispering his name.
“Scared,” she said softly.
“Me too, darlin’. Me too.”





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