Chapter 1
Everyone at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters was quiet and withdrawn, especially those who were close to both Jean and Pyro. Storm was taking it especially hard, her grief for Jean evident as menacing black clouds rolled across the sky.
Bobby was sitting on his bed, in the room that he once shared with his best friend, John Allerdyce. He lifted his head slightly and caught sight of John's bed - the still messy sheets with a small burn in his blanket when he got cocky and decided to play with fire in the middle of the night. "Bobby," a soft, melodic voice floated in through the doorway. "Rogue," Bobby looked towards the door at his girlfriend. Rogue shut the door and walked over to his bed and sat down. "I miss him a lot," Rogue whispered, leaning her head carefully on Bobby's shoulder. Bobby put his arm around her and drew her to him. "So do I," Bobby paused, "I still can't believe he blew up my front yard and six cop cars." Rogue laughed softly. There was a knock at the door. "Come in," Bobby called. There was a bamf and Nightcrawler a.k.a. Kurt Wagner, appeared inside the room. "The professor wishes to see the X-men," he said, solemnly. He too appeared troubled by the loss of Jean and the betrayal of Pyro, even though he had only known them for a short time. His tail had lost some of its usual bounciness. Rogue and Bobby stood up and silently followed behind Nightcrawler to the professor's office.
Professor X was sitting as usual, in his wheelchair and the rest of the X- men were gathered around. Scott was sitting in a corner, his head in his hands. Ororo was also sitting; her arms crossed and head down, her eyes flickering between a rich chocolate brown and pure white. Rain poured, lightning crashed and thunder boomed. Logan was leaning against the wall, not smoking for once. Kurt had immediately bamfed to a comfortable spot on top of a filing cabinet. Bobby and Rogue quickly sat down. All of them felt the absence of Jean. "Magneto's up to something," Professor X said, swivelling around in his wheelchair. "Magneto's always up to something," Wolverine snapped. "And I think Pyro may be a big part of his plans," Professor X finished. With the mention of Pyro, Rogue's head snapped up. "Pyro." she whispered, her mind flickering through memories of him. She remembered him flirting with her, filling his hand with fire behind his back. That was on her first day. Over time, they had bantered with each other constantly and shared a strong bond. Bobby heard this and gripped her hand tighter. "I've tried using Cerebro, but as always, no luck," Professor X confessed, "but I have discovered that Lady Deathstryke is alive and moving around in the world." "What, how? That's impossible," Wolverine spat, "I filled her with boiling adamantinum." "Yes, but she healed. She's in a café in New York. She's no longer controlled by Stryker," Professor X continued. "Then how?" Wolverine's eyes were burning with a strange light and he was leaning forward. "I have a feeling Magneto twiddled his fingers," Professor X said with a small smile. Wolverine slumped back with a soft thump, "great. So now she's with Magneto." "That's what confuses me. I don't think she's taking orders from Magneto. I probed her mind gently with Cerebro. Her thoughts are unruly, but she seems to have two goals. To find where she came from and to find you," Professor X looked directly at Wolverine. "Why? So she can stick five claws into me?" Wolverine said, angrily. "No, I don't think so. She seems to think you're the only one who can, well, understand." Wolverine relaxed. His eyes grew distant, "well, that is true." "Nightcrawler, Rogue and Storm, can you go find her and bring her back here," Professor X commanded. Rogue perked up, "me?" "Yes. If Lady Deathstryke gets violent, it will be difficult to stop her, because of the healing factor. You may be the only one to be able to effectively disable her," Professor X explained. Rogue paused, then nodded. "Let's go," Storm said, standing up. Nightcrawler and Rogue followed her out the door.
Everyone at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters was quiet and withdrawn, especially those who were close to both Jean and Pyro. Storm was taking it especially hard, her grief for Jean evident as menacing black clouds rolled across the sky.
Bobby was sitting on his bed, in the room that he once shared with his best friend, John Allerdyce. He lifted his head slightly and caught sight of John's bed - the still messy sheets with a small burn in his blanket when he got cocky and decided to play with fire in the middle of the night. "Bobby," a soft, melodic voice floated in through the doorway. "Rogue," Bobby looked towards the door at his girlfriend. Rogue shut the door and walked over to his bed and sat down. "I miss him a lot," Rogue whispered, leaning her head carefully on Bobby's shoulder. Bobby put his arm around her and drew her to him. "So do I," Bobby paused, "I still can't believe he blew up my front yard and six cop cars." Rogue laughed softly. There was a knock at the door. "Come in," Bobby called. There was a bamf and Nightcrawler a.k.a. Kurt Wagner, appeared inside the room. "The professor wishes to see the X-men," he said, solemnly. He too appeared troubled by the loss of Jean and the betrayal of Pyro, even though he had only known them for a short time. His tail had lost some of its usual bounciness. Rogue and Bobby stood up and silently followed behind Nightcrawler to the professor's office.
Professor X was sitting as usual, in his wheelchair and the rest of the X- men were gathered around. Scott was sitting in a corner, his head in his hands. Ororo was also sitting; her arms crossed and head down, her eyes flickering between a rich chocolate brown and pure white. Rain poured, lightning crashed and thunder boomed. Logan was leaning against the wall, not smoking for once. Kurt had immediately bamfed to a comfortable spot on top of a filing cabinet. Bobby and Rogue quickly sat down. All of them felt the absence of Jean. "Magneto's up to something," Professor X said, swivelling around in his wheelchair. "Magneto's always up to something," Wolverine snapped. "And I think Pyro may be a big part of his plans," Professor X finished. With the mention of Pyro, Rogue's head snapped up. "Pyro." she whispered, her mind flickering through memories of him. She remembered him flirting with her, filling his hand with fire behind his back. That was on her first day. Over time, they had bantered with each other constantly and shared a strong bond. Bobby heard this and gripped her hand tighter. "I've tried using Cerebro, but as always, no luck," Professor X confessed, "but I have discovered that Lady Deathstryke is alive and moving around in the world." "What, how? That's impossible," Wolverine spat, "I filled her with boiling adamantinum." "Yes, but she healed. She's in a café in New York. She's no longer controlled by Stryker," Professor X continued. "Then how?" Wolverine's eyes were burning with a strange light and he was leaning forward. "I have a feeling Magneto twiddled his fingers," Professor X said with a small smile. Wolverine slumped back with a soft thump, "great. So now she's with Magneto." "That's what confuses me. I don't think she's taking orders from Magneto. I probed her mind gently with Cerebro. Her thoughts are unruly, but she seems to have two goals. To find where she came from and to find you," Professor X looked directly at Wolverine. "Why? So she can stick five claws into me?" Wolverine said, angrily. "No, I don't think so. She seems to think you're the only one who can, well, understand." Wolverine relaxed. His eyes grew distant, "well, that is true." "Nightcrawler, Rogue and Storm, can you go find her and bring her back here," Professor X commanded. Rogue perked up, "me?" "Yes. If Lady Deathstryke gets violent, it will be difficult to stop her, because of the healing factor. You may be the only one to be able to effectively disable her," Professor X explained. Rogue paused, then nodded. "Let's go," Storm said, standing up. Nightcrawler and Rogue followed her out the door.