Blue Fire
(This is set in the X-men2 universe)
Running. It was what she was best at. From her abusive stepmother, from street gangs, and now, from the black ops group who wanted her dead. Adara Stewart, you should have known better than to enter the Air Force as a last resort to unemployment and a meddling stepmom. Why couldn't you have stuck it out? Why, why, why???
The 21 year old mused back upon her life prior to this desperate night. All her pathetic life she'd been visited by things that go bump in the night...aliens, fairies, angels, demons, ghosts, you name it. The predominate force had been a race of aliens from an unknown planet, who had implanted some of their genetics into her real mother. She had died when Adara was only 15 of cancer and knew nothing of the aliens' tampering with her body. Adara was mostly human, but carried some of the genes from the alien race...and an implant in her head. That was what the black ops had wanted from her, and the natural abilities that implant enhanced. There was a whole generation between Adara and her two brothers and one sister. Her father had told her he and her mother had tried to conceive her for seventeen years and even he knew her birth was no coincidence. It had no doubt been planned by the aliens...the Sississawoians, Adara learned. She had heard that word in a dream she knew was always more than that when it involved them. Through the years of her meeting them, she still couldn't tell what were physical encounters and what were mental. She was sure some of them were projected scenarios. Like the time she went to their planet at 15 and was missed at camp for several hours. This event was not the first or last of its kind. The leader of the group of aliens who contacted her spent more time with her, and got more intimate with her, than any of the others. He had even implanted a child the year previously, and then taken it out two months later to transfer to a female of his own race. His explanation was that the child could not live on Earth, even though he looked mostly human. His only giveaway were deep sparkly blue slanted eyes and silvery white hair. The aliens were slender and bald with intense slanted eyes and creamy skin. They would be considered beautiful to some humans, freakish to others. Adara entertained the belief that someday she would go to live with them until one night two years ago when Shayda told her that she must stay on Earth. She had been devistated.
Flash forward to five months ago. Adara had mistakenly trusted a self-proclaimed "ufo investigator" for Wright Patterson Air Force Base with her stories, thinking he would provide a listening ear and help her contact a good hypnotist to help her get the memories back she had lost. She had gone to him because she only had partial memories of her experiences, aside from the freaky little things that happened between them on Earth. One of the "freaky little things" that had gotten the investigator's attention was the ring of red dots she had found on her back the morning after her impregnation encounter with Shayda the night before...a mark that had stayed there for three days before fading away. It wasn't until after Adara had been assigned to her first post in Japan a few months later that she found out the investigator had sold her out to some unknown persons in the government. She had been kidnapped right out of her own dormroom in the middle of the night and taken to the base.
She shifted gears so violently on the stolen jeep that the device protested with a metallic ripping sound. She had taken care to dismantle the tracking system; in other words, zapping the crap out of it, that would trace the location of the vehicle by computer. She was now racing through the desert night on her way to anywhere but where she was. She'd think of a logical location later. At this moment, it was survival. Her adrenalin rushed through her veins as the night wind rushed through her long, disheveled blonde hair. The escape had been almost flawless. The facility cameras were disarmed with a flick of her wrist. The guards had been rendered speechless by her...animal magnetism...literally. If she ever got to a place where she could relax, she would have a good laugh at remembering how they had fallen over like dominoes as soon as the blue lightening from her fingers had hit them. The almost flawless part was the flesh wound compliments of the laser fence she'd not quite levitated high enough over. She made a mental note to get the burns treated...and a pedicure.
As her mind started to clear, Adara remembered the cabin at her parent's Idaho mountain property. That was about 600 miles away, but it was her only hope. The gold-mining property had been in the family since the 1920s and now that both her parents (except her stepmother) were dead, it didn't get used much anymore. It was also to her advantage that the cabins had been moved a couple of miles over the hill to another lot over the years, making it harder to locate. It wasn't even on any maps. The so-called "doctors" had tried to implant her with a tracking device, but she had soon learned how to short it out. They still had very effective search parties. Speed, if not darkness, was her friend. Still, speed wasn't much of an advantage once the ops groups became mobilized and went after her, which she knew wouldn't be long. At least she had the advantage of a good hiding place. It would buy her some time. For the zillionth time, Adara wondered if there were others like her being chased through other deserts by power hungry control freaks who were desperate for world domination....who wanted nothing more than to use her kind as weapons to obtain those goals.
She threw her head to the cold stars and yelled "WHY ME?"
* * *
Professor Xavier shifted his focus constantly to try to pin down this new mutant. The red energy field was zipping around Cerebro like a ping pong ball. It finally came to rest, but still floated in and out of the Professor's grasp. Xavier locked onto it before it slipped into the ether again, like trying to capture an elusive fly under glass. This one was unusual. He'd never seen an energy like it. There were also white pinpoints not far behind that showed humans were after her. Just as soon as he got the location, he let go. He didn't want to alarm her, and there would be plenty of time for introductions when she arrived at the school. The important thing right now was to get this young lady out of harm's way.
Ororo passed by just as he rolled out of Cerebro. "Storm. I'd like you to prepare the transport. We're getting a new mutant. I've given you the coordinates..."
He punched in the last few numbers into a hand-held machine that he then transferred to the ship. "You might want to take Scott with you. She won't immediately recognize us as friends . I can't tell what her specific powers are yet, but she has a very strange aura, and very bright. I would take all the precautions available. "
Ororo hesitated, as though she were debating whether to ask a question, but decided not to. Not for the last time, she wished Jean were there with her.
"Yes, Professor." she said. Just as she turned to carry out her orders, she thought of bringing Kurt. His teleportation power could be useful if their damsel in distress had to be rescued from inside a building or enemy craft. Before a word even left her mouth, the Professor gave his permission.
* * *
The blip on the screen of the Blackhawk told Ororo that the subject of their intended rescue was just a mile and a half away. They landed well out of sight of the main dirt road in a pine-tree-shielded meadow. Kurt looked puzzled.
"Why can't we get closer?"
Storm looked back at him as she unstrapped herself from the chair. "We can't just march in there and say 'come out with your hands up'. We're rescuing, not arresting."
"Is that what you call how you found me?" Kurt retored teasingly.
"That was different. Now we're gonna need you to play taxi. That clearing with the cabin over that hill...(she pointed)...is where we need to be. But don't set us down right IN the clearing. She could be anywhere in that area, inside or outside. Let's go to the edge of the trees behind the cabin so we can try to see her before she sees us."
"Good thinking." Scott smirked.
Ororo grabbed Kurt on one side and Scott the other. Their teleport went as planned save for one small problem. Kurt stepped on a scampering chipmunk at the arrival point.
"Verdammt!" he exclaimed, crossing himself. Scott and Storm made not very convincing attempts at hiding giggles.
They found themselves a stone's throw away from a fast-flowing river in front of the cabin. The cabin was actually a sided-in old trailer that had been remodeled with solar paneling and a wrap around porch. Storm sighed. This place was so comforting and beautiful she wished she could use it as her OWN getaway resort. The only sound was the murmuring of the river, the sigh of a sporadic breeze, an occasional chirping bird and chattering of scolding squirrels. She could just curl up and go to sleep right where she was in the soft grass by the riverbank. Kurt and Scott's reactions were similar as they stood with dreamy expressions on their faces, observing the surroundings. Even the mineral and floral smells were hypnotizing.
"Remind me to take my next vacation here." Scott murmured.
"This looks like the forests back home." Kurt said, staring at the river. He looked back at the other two. "I'm thirsty. I'll just take a drink over there." Before they could warn him about giardia, Kurt had teleported to the river bank. Scott and Ororo ventured into the cabin to have a look around.
Meanwhile, Kurt had reached the bank of the river. As he bent down to cup his hands full of water, a splashing sound made his head jerk to the right. That was when he saw...her. Simultaneous fear, embarassment, shock and adreniline-pumping arousal shot through him. Her skin was white like alabaster, her nude body petite but shapely. She bent backward to rinse her hair in the moving water, and it spread out like a gold fan sparkling in the sun. His tail shot up like an explaination point and he hissed instictively.
"Mein Gott!"
An ear-splitting scream was her response, followed by a crackling of electricity that was moving very rapidly in his direction. He teleported away just in time as a finger of it zapped the riverbank where he had just been squatting. The commotion drew the attention of Ororo and Scott, who came running. When they saw her, the shock on their faces matched that of Kurt's, who was still teleporting around in crazy circles as he stammered apologies in both German and English.
"GET OFF MY PROPERTY!!" shreiked the woman in the river, her whole body aglow with blue electricity. She was surrounded by so much of it that it had spread several feet around and above her, bouncing off the boulders in the river and threatening to set the nearby trees on fire. To the three of them, she looked otherworldly and dangerous. Even Storm's usually cool reserve was broken as her mouth hung open at the sight of this terrified and angry mutant. Scott was the first to speak to her.
"Just calm down!" he yelled through the crackling blue streaks. On instinct, the woman zapped a bolt in his direction in answer, and he countered with a blast from his eyes just in time. Blue and red fire pushed at each other like an arm wrestling match. Kurt had ported far behind them and watched in fascinated horror from behind a tree. He was crossing himself and praying fervently. Adara's exhaustion from her long trip, the fighting and the fear finally caught up to her, and the energy field dissapated. She was so weak she collapsed and fell beneath the water. Storm waded quickly into the river and pulled her out as Scott turned his back. Kurt had found the woman's clothes and walked tentetively up to Ororo, averting his eyes while he handed them to the weather witch.
"Thank you, Kurt." Ororo said. "But I think we're gonna need a blanket."
With an embarassed glance in her direction, Kurt ran off to the cabin and returned with the requested item. Ororo covered her with it. Only moments later, Adara came to. With a gasp at seeing Ororo bending over her and Scott right behind her, she tried to get up to escape. Ororo held her down and said, "You're safe. You don't need to run from us."
"Who are you???" came the predicted demand. "Are you from the black ops?"
"No, we work for Professor Xavier." Storm quickly said, hoping she could convince her. "He runs a school for mutants. We live there with him and we'd like you to come with us. You'd be safe there."
Adara's shoulders relaxed slightly...but only slightly. "A school for mutants? Come on..."
"You'll be a lot safer there than you are here. And you need to get checked out by a medical examiner. You might be hurt in ways you're not aware of."
Adara stared at them. Well, at least her question had been answered...there WERE others. But could she trust them? Her next words were cut off from the sudden sound of approaching helicopters, and Adara jumped, her energy recharging anew, if only a temporary burst of adreniline.
"Okay!" was all she said, and they all started to run. The threatening sound of the blades beating the air closer and closer put Adara on automatic pilot, and she summoned up an energy blast at the same time Ororo created a lightening storm to delay them until she, Adara and Scott could hook onto Kurt for the teleport back to the waiting Blackhawk. She only hoped they could reach it in time before these guys surrounded it. Still running, they all grabbed Kurt and ported back to the ship just as the copters were circling for a takeover. The started firing at them just as Ororo was frantically working the controls to get them airborne. At least Adara was dressed by now, though she didn't have time to strap herself into a seat. The takeoff was so sudden and jarring that she went sliding right into Kurt, who was trying to secure his own position in his seat. She hit the seat so hard that it knocked her out. The persuing copters didn't get far because the Blackhawk was much more powerful. Just the wind it created when it increased speed was enough to knock them back.
They made it to the mansion without so much as a scratch, but emotionally, they were not much better off than the still unconscious Adara.
Kurt carried her through the door of the school, where they were greeted by a concerned Xavier. "Kurt, get this young lady up to the infirmary right away. Scott and Storm, help me prepare a room for her."
"She's just passed out, Professor." Ororo explained.
"We can't be certain. We need to run scans to find out exactly what she is and what she's capable of. You informed me enroute that she uses electricity, but I'm afraid that's too vague. That capability can run a whole gamut of other possibilities and it can be very unpredictable. I'm concerned for her welfare firsthand. Our first priority is to revive her."
Kurt teleported to the med room and let Dr. Hank take over. The doctor had replaced Jean. Kurt left almost reluctantly, his concern and fascination for her had grown since the river incident, and now he was not so afraid of her. As he looked down into her face, he thought she looked like an angel as she slept, her blonde hair spreading out like a halo on the table. His thoughts were interrupted by the doctor's voice.
"Thank you Kurt. I'll take it from here."
With a nod, Kurt bamfed out. His next thought was of Ororo, and he realized she was probably still in shock over what had just happened. He was starting to feel more and more like her protector, though he knew how strong and independent she was. He couldn't seem to stay away from her. Her image had floated in and out of his mind ever since they'd met, and his soul was in turmoil. It wasn't like he'd never been in relationships before, but Ororo fascinated and confused him with all the glory and fury of the storms she created. And he hadn't been lying when he told her he thought she was beautiful.
Kurt now stood at her door, his heart hammering wildly. It took all his reserve to knock. He finally found his voice.
"Ororo?"
* * *
Adara meandered through the mansion, only she wasn't walking. She was astral projecting. She was also hoping she had a body to go back to, the way things had happened. But for now, she was gonna check this mother out.
She wondered if she had a form when she did this, and what it looked like. It was hard to tell. Every time she'd found herself in familiar and unfamiliar realms, other beings she'd met reacted differently. Some could see her, some could not. Some looked placid, others shocked. She wondered if she glowed, was an energy form, or some other person, or a projection based on the viewer's expectations. One thing was constant though. She FELT like herself, no matter what form she took or didn't take. In this state, she was more fluid than water. She could go through things, fly, draw items to her, start fires, telepath, teleport, travel to any dimension or world she wanted, and embarassingly, do kinky telekinetic things to herself sexually. She wondered if she affected the actual physical world with these astral abilities, or just the astral world. Maybe some of them, but not all of them. When other people she met in this state reacted to her presence she wondered if they were really there, or they were just her OWN projections. For now though, it looked very much like she was in the mansion, wandering around. If she met a living person and they reacted to her, she would then know it was real and not just a dream or astral state projection. It was like a drug trip without the drugs, and one never knew for sure what was real and what was not. It drove her crazy sometimes.
For awhile, Adara explored the levels of the school, absorbing everything like a sponge. This place was one of the most exiting and beautiful she'd ever seen. Like a giant maze where you never knew you were going to end up. The style was an architectual mix of Victorian, modern and high tech. It caught her off guard, even in THIS state. The homey look was on the upper levels; the high tech was down below where the labs, garage, Blackhawk pad and Cerebro were kept. Adara was more fascinated with Cerebro than any other of the rooms. It looked like a holographic chamber, like one she'd seen on Shayda's planet. Only Shayda's hadn't been completely enclosed. His had a wrap around window on the upper half, and when she had stepped into the chamber, she had floated and seen things in that window. This was where the Professor found her, at least her mind energy.
"Hello, Adara." he said calmly, catching her off guard. She turned her "eyes" to him, and wondered if he could actually see her. She could see him though, sitting in his chair looking up at her. She was confused. Was this really the physical Professor, or was he projecting a form himself? Apparently, he didn't need to be asleep or unconscious to do it, like she did. Adara was in awe at the thought.
"Who are you?" she said, not so eloquently.
"I am Professor Xavier, who runs this school. Funny how we end up meeting in the first place I found you." He read her confusion. "This is Cerebro, a machine I built with the help of an old friend that helps me find mutants. I brought you here because you were in long-term danger. I'd like to know more about you. It seems you possess a form of telepathy, but I've never seen anything like it. You also can manipulate electromagnetic fields, am I correct?"
"Yes, Professor, that's right." Adara said, amazed that this conversation was actually taking place. In this state, she was also less inhibited, and also more aware of others' intentions, as everything lay open to her. "I've been sensetive to it my whole life. I've messed up other people's lives because of it. It's gotten me into trouble more times than I can count." She winced. "I want to thank you for saving me from my...predicament." She wondered if she should tell him about the alien part, and if he knew about it already. She was also afraid that he would invade her mental privacy when she didn't want to reveal something. He didn't seem like the type to, but she had a feeling that at times he might know things and keep them to himself, too. The Professor smiled warmly at her gratitude.
"I think you'll be much better off here, and more comfortable. But right now I'm more worried about your physical state than your spiritual. The doctor is doing some tests to make sure we get you back on track. You've been through more than any mortal should have to go through, and we don't want to lose you. As soon as you get back in your body, you need to rest...that goes for your mind, too."
Adara was suddenly reminded of the urgency of her situation. She didn't want to be a floating energy form forever, and at that moment she desperately wanted to check on her physical form in the med room.
"Thank you Professor...I'll...talk to you later." With what she hoped was a smile, she rushed with the speed of thought to see what the doctor had found. She was scared. She wanted her body back, like NOW. As she hovered over her still unconcious but intact form, she watched the doctor intently. She was hooked up to machines that read her vital signs and was relieved to see her heart at least seemed to be working normally. Closing her eyes, Adara flooded into her body, her eyes opening suddenly and coming to with a gasp. The doctor stood back, then reassured her.
"Good to have you back. You've had a nasty shock, but you'll be ok. Just relax."
It took awhile for her to orient herself. "How long have I been out?" she asked feebly.
"Only for an hour or so. I've revived patients in far worse states than you, so this is nothing. How are you feeling?"
"Like shit."
"That's understandable." Dr. Mack smiled. "You need to eat and rest, young lady. I think your room's almost ready. You feel strong enough to get up?"
"I will be in a few minutes. Just gotta recover from the trip on the other side. Oh, and the Professor says 'good job'".
Ignoring the doctor's puzzled look as he helped her up from the table, Adara startled as she saw Scott standing in the doorway.
"May I escort you to your room, my lady?" he said in mock elegance, offering her his hand.
Adara resisted the urge to snicker. "That depends on if you have eyes only for me."
With a humored grin, Scott said, "Let's go." and they walked to the much more comfortable suite that was to be her new home.
"I'm sorry I zapped you back there." Adara apologized as they stood at the door. "I 'll save that for the enemy from now on."
Scott waved his hand in dismissal. "No problem. See you around." He said congenially, and walked away. Adara sighed, and went into her new room, which was quite lovely. She'd admire the décor later. She promptly fell on the bed and slept as soon as her head hit the pillow.
(This is set in the X-men2 universe)
Running. It was what she was best at. From her abusive stepmother, from street gangs, and now, from the black ops group who wanted her dead. Adara Stewart, you should have known better than to enter the Air Force as a last resort to unemployment and a meddling stepmom. Why couldn't you have stuck it out? Why, why, why???
The 21 year old mused back upon her life prior to this desperate night. All her pathetic life she'd been visited by things that go bump in the night...aliens, fairies, angels, demons, ghosts, you name it. The predominate force had been a race of aliens from an unknown planet, who had implanted some of their genetics into her real mother. She had died when Adara was only 15 of cancer and knew nothing of the aliens' tampering with her body. Adara was mostly human, but carried some of the genes from the alien race...and an implant in her head. That was what the black ops had wanted from her, and the natural abilities that implant enhanced. There was a whole generation between Adara and her two brothers and one sister. Her father had told her he and her mother had tried to conceive her for seventeen years and even he knew her birth was no coincidence. It had no doubt been planned by the aliens...the Sississawoians, Adara learned. She had heard that word in a dream she knew was always more than that when it involved them. Through the years of her meeting them, she still couldn't tell what were physical encounters and what were mental. She was sure some of them were projected scenarios. Like the time she went to their planet at 15 and was missed at camp for several hours. This event was not the first or last of its kind. The leader of the group of aliens who contacted her spent more time with her, and got more intimate with her, than any of the others. He had even implanted a child the year previously, and then taken it out two months later to transfer to a female of his own race. His explanation was that the child could not live on Earth, even though he looked mostly human. His only giveaway were deep sparkly blue slanted eyes and silvery white hair. The aliens were slender and bald with intense slanted eyes and creamy skin. They would be considered beautiful to some humans, freakish to others. Adara entertained the belief that someday she would go to live with them until one night two years ago when Shayda told her that she must stay on Earth. She had been devistated.
Flash forward to five months ago. Adara had mistakenly trusted a self-proclaimed "ufo investigator" for Wright Patterson Air Force Base with her stories, thinking he would provide a listening ear and help her contact a good hypnotist to help her get the memories back she had lost. She had gone to him because she only had partial memories of her experiences, aside from the freaky little things that happened between them on Earth. One of the "freaky little things" that had gotten the investigator's attention was the ring of red dots she had found on her back the morning after her impregnation encounter with Shayda the night before...a mark that had stayed there for three days before fading away. It wasn't until after Adara had been assigned to her first post in Japan a few months later that she found out the investigator had sold her out to some unknown persons in the government. She had been kidnapped right out of her own dormroom in the middle of the night and taken to the base.
She shifted gears so violently on the stolen jeep that the device protested with a metallic ripping sound. She had taken care to dismantle the tracking system; in other words, zapping the crap out of it, that would trace the location of the vehicle by computer. She was now racing through the desert night on her way to anywhere but where she was. She'd think of a logical location later. At this moment, it was survival. Her adrenalin rushed through her veins as the night wind rushed through her long, disheveled blonde hair. The escape had been almost flawless. The facility cameras were disarmed with a flick of her wrist. The guards had been rendered speechless by her...animal magnetism...literally. If she ever got to a place where she could relax, she would have a good laugh at remembering how they had fallen over like dominoes as soon as the blue lightening from her fingers had hit them. The almost flawless part was the flesh wound compliments of the laser fence she'd not quite levitated high enough over. She made a mental note to get the burns treated...and a pedicure.
As her mind started to clear, Adara remembered the cabin at her parent's Idaho mountain property. That was about 600 miles away, but it was her only hope. The gold-mining property had been in the family since the 1920s and now that both her parents (except her stepmother) were dead, it didn't get used much anymore. It was also to her advantage that the cabins had been moved a couple of miles over the hill to another lot over the years, making it harder to locate. It wasn't even on any maps. The so-called "doctors" had tried to implant her with a tracking device, but she had soon learned how to short it out. They still had very effective search parties. Speed, if not darkness, was her friend. Still, speed wasn't much of an advantage once the ops groups became mobilized and went after her, which she knew wouldn't be long. At least she had the advantage of a good hiding place. It would buy her some time. For the zillionth time, Adara wondered if there were others like her being chased through other deserts by power hungry control freaks who were desperate for world domination....who wanted nothing more than to use her kind as weapons to obtain those goals.
She threw her head to the cold stars and yelled "WHY ME?"
* * *
Professor Xavier shifted his focus constantly to try to pin down this new mutant. The red energy field was zipping around Cerebro like a ping pong ball. It finally came to rest, but still floated in and out of the Professor's grasp. Xavier locked onto it before it slipped into the ether again, like trying to capture an elusive fly under glass. This one was unusual. He'd never seen an energy like it. There were also white pinpoints not far behind that showed humans were after her. Just as soon as he got the location, he let go. He didn't want to alarm her, and there would be plenty of time for introductions when she arrived at the school. The important thing right now was to get this young lady out of harm's way.
Ororo passed by just as he rolled out of Cerebro. "Storm. I'd like you to prepare the transport. We're getting a new mutant. I've given you the coordinates..."
He punched in the last few numbers into a hand-held machine that he then transferred to the ship. "You might want to take Scott with you. She won't immediately recognize us as friends . I can't tell what her specific powers are yet, but she has a very strange aura, and very bright. I would take all the precautions available. "
Ororo hesitated, as though she were debating whether to ask a question, but decided not to. Not for the last time, she wished Jean were there with her.
"Yes, Professor." she said. Just as she turned to carry out her orders, she thought of bringing Kurt. His teleportation power could be useful if their damsel in distress had to be rescued from inside a building or enemy craft. Before a word even left her mouth, the Professor gave his permission.
* * *
The blip on the screen of the Blackhawk told Ororo that the subject of their intended rescue was just a mile and a half away. They landed well out of sight of the main dirt road in a pine-tree-shielded meadow. Kurt looked puzzled.
"Why can't we get closer?"
Storm looked back at him as she unstrapped herself from the chair. "We can't just march in there and say 'come out with your hands up'. We're rescuing, not arresting."
"Is that what you call how you found me?" Kurt retored teasingly.
"That was different. Now we're gonna need you to play taxi. That clearing with the cabin over that hill...(she pointed)...is where we need to be. But don't set us down right IN the clearing. She could be anywhere in that area, inside or outside. Let's go to the edge of the trees behind the cabin so we can try to see her before she sees us."
"Good thinking." Scott smirked.
Ororo grabbed Kurt on one side and Scott the other. Their teleport went as planned save for one small problem. Kurt stepped on a scampering chipmunk at the arrival point.
"Verdammt!" he exclaimed, crossing himself. Scott and Storm made not very convincing attempts at hiding giggles.
They found themselves a stone's throw away from a fast-flowing river in front of the cabin. The cabin was actually a sided-in old trailer that had been remodeled with solar paneling and a wrap around porch. Storm sighed. This place was so comforting and beautiful she wished she could use it as her OWN getaway resort. The only sound was the murmuring of the river, the sigh of a sporadic breeze, an occasional chirping bird and chattering of scolding squirrels. She could just curl up and go to sleep right where she was in the soft grass by the riverbank. Kurt and Scott's reactions were similar as they stood with dreamy expressions on their faces, observing the surroundings. Even the mineral and floral smells were hypnotizing.
"Remind me to take my next vacation here." Scott murmured.
"This looks like the forests back home." Kurt said, staring at the river. He looked back at the other two. "I'm thirsty. I'll just take a drink over there." Before they could warn him about giardia, Kurt had teleported to the river bank. Scott and Ororo ventured into the cabin to have a look around.
Meanwhile, Kurt had reached the bank of the river. As he bent down to cup his hands full of water, a splashing sound made his head jerk to the right. That was when he saw...her. Simultaneous fear, embarassment, shock and adreniline-pumping arousal shot through him. Her skin was white like alabaster, her nude body petite but shapely. She bent backward to rinse her hair in the moving water, and it spread out like a gold fan sparkling in the sun. His tail shot up like an explaination point and he hissed instictively.
"Mein Gott!"
An ear-splitting scream was her response, followed by a crackling of electricity that was moving very rapidly in his direction. He teleported away just in time as a finger of it zapped the riverbank where he had just been squatting. The commotion drew the attention of Ororo and Scott, who came running. When they saw her, the shock on their faces matched that of Kurt's, who was still teleporting around in crazy circles as he stammered apologies in both German and English.
"GET OFF MY PROPERTY!!" shreiked the woman in the river, her whole body aglow with blue electricity. She was surrounded by so much of it that it had spread several feet around and above her, bouncing off the boulders in the river and threatening to set the nearby trees on fire. To the three of them, she looked otherworldly and dangerous. Even Storm's usually cool reserve was broken as her mouth hung open at the sight of this terrified and angry mutant. Scott was the first to speak to her.
"Just calm down!" he yelled through the crackling blue streaks. On instinct, the woman zapped a bolt in his direction in answer, and he countered with a blast from his eyes just in time. Blue and red fire pushed at each other like an arm wrestling match. Kurt had ported far behind them and watched in fascinated horror from behind a tree. He was crossing himself and praying fervently. Adara's exhaustion from her long trip, the fighting and the fear finally caught up to her, and the energy field dissapated. She was so weak she collapsed and fell beneath the water. Storm waded quickly into the river and pulled her out as Scott turned his back. Kurt had found the woman's clothes and walked tentetively up to Ororo, averting his eyes while he handed them to the weather witch.
"Thank you, Kurt." Ororo said. "But I think we're gonna need a blanket."
With an embarassed glance in her direction, Kurt ran off to the cabin and returned with the requested item. Ororo covered her with it. Only moments later, Adara came to. With a gasp at seeing Ororo bending over her and Scott right behind her, she tried to get up to escape. Ororo held her down and said, "You're safe. You don't need to run from us."
"Who are you???" came the predicted demand. "Are you from the black ops?"
"No, we work for Professor Xavier." Storm quickly said, hoping she could convince her. "He runs a school for mutants. We live there with him and we'd like you to come with us. You'd be safe there."
Adara's shoulders relaxed slightly...but only slightly. "A school for mutants? Come on..."
"You'll be a lot safer there than you are here. And you need to get checked out by a medical examiner. You might be hurt in ways you're not aware of."
Adara stared at them. Well, at least her question had been answered...there WERE others. But could she trust them? Her next words were cut off from the sudden sound of approaching helicopters, and Adara jumped, her energy recharging anew, if only a temporary burst of adreniline.
"Okay!" was all she said, and they all started to run. The threatening sound of the blades beating the air closer and closer put Adara on automatic pilot, and she summoned up an energy blast at the same time Ororo created a lightening storm to delay them until she, Adara and Scott could hook onto Kurt for the teleport back to the waiting Blackhawk. She only hoped they could reach it in time before these guys surrounded it. Still running, they all grabbed Kurt and ported back to the ship just as the copters were circling for a takeover. The started firing at them just as Ororo was frantically working the controls to get them airborne. At least Adara was dressed by now, though she didn't have time to strap herself into a seat. The takeoff was so sudden and jarring that she went sliding right into Kurt, who was trying to secure his own position in his seat. She hit the seat so hard that it knocked her out. The persuing copters didn't get far because the Blackhawk was much more powerful. Just the wind it created when it increased speed was enough to knock them back.
They made it to the mansion without so much as a scratch, but emotionally, they were not much better off than the still unconscious Adara.
Kurt carried her through the door of the school, where they were greeted by a concerned Xavier. "Kurt, get this young lady up to the infirmary right away. Scott and Storm, help me prepare a room for her."
"She's just passed out, Professor." Ororo explained.
"We can't be certain. We need to run scans to find out exactly what she is and what she's capable of. You informed me enroute that she uses electricity, but I'm afraid that's too vague. That capability can run a whole gamut of other possibilities and it can be very unpredictable. I'm concerned for her welfare firsthand. Our first priority is to revive her."
Kurt teleported to the med room and let Dr. Hank take over. The doctor had replaced Jean. Kurt left almost reluctantly, his concern and fascination for her had grown since the river incident, and now he was not so afraid of her. As he looked down into her face, he thought she looked like an angel as she slept, her blonde hair spreading out like a halo on the table. His thoughts were interrupted by the doctor's voice.
"Thank you Kurt. I'll take it from here."
With a nod, Kurt bamfed out. His next thought was of Ororo, and he realized she was probably still in shock over what had just happened. He was starting to feel more and more like her protector, though he knew how strong and independent she was. He couldn't seem to stay away from her. Her image had floated in and out of his mind ever since they'd met, and his soul was in turmoil. It wasn't like he'd never been in relationships before, but Ororo fascinated and confused him with all the glory and fury of the storms she created. And he hadn't been lying when he told her he thought she was beautiful.
Kurt now stood at her door, his heart hammering wildly. It took all his reserve to knock. He finally found his voice.
"Ororo?"
* * *
Adara meandered through the mansion, only she wasn't walking. She was astral projecting. She was also hoping she had a body to go back to, the way things had happened. But for now, she was gonna check this mother out.
She wondered if she had a form when she did this, and what it looked like. It was hard to tell. Every time she'd found herself in familiar and unfamiliar realms, other beings she'd met reacted differently. Some could see her, some could not. Some looked placid, others shocked. She wondered if she glowed, was an energy form, or some other person, or a projection based on the viewer's expectations. One thing was constant though. She FELT like herself, no matter what form she took or didn't take. In this state, she was more fluid than water. She could go through things, fly, draw items to her, start fires, telepath, teleport, travel to any dimension or world she wanted, and embarassingly, do kinky telekinetic things to herself sexually. She wondered if she affected the actual physical world with these astral abilities, or just the astral world. Maybe some of them, but not all of them. When other people she met in this state reacted to her presence she wondered if they were really there, or they were just her OWN projections. For now though, it looked very much like she was in the mansion, wandering around. If she met a living person and they reacted to her, she would then know it was real and not just a dream or astral state projection. It was like a drug trip without the drugs, and one never knew for sure what was real and what was not. It drove her crazy sometimes.
For awhile, Adara explored the levels of the school, absorbing everything like a sponge. This place was one of the most exiting and beautiful she'd ever seen. Like a giant maze where you never knew you were going to end up. The style was an architectual mix of Victorian, modern and high tech. It caught her off guard, even in THIS state. The homey look was on the upper levels; the high tech was down below where the labs, garage, Blackhawk pad and Cerebro were kept. Adara was more fascinated with Cerebro than any other of the rooms. It looked like a holographic chamber, like one she'd seen on Shayda's planet. Only Shayda's hadn't been completely enclosed. His had a wrap around window on the upper half, and when she had stepped into the chamber, she had floated and seen things in that window. This was where the Professor found her, at least her mind energy.
"Hello, Adara." he said calmly, catching her off guard. She turned her "eyes" to him, and wondered if he could actually see her. She could see him though, sitting in his chair looking up at her. She was confused. Was this really the physical Professor, or was he projecting a form himself? Apparently, he didn't need to be asleep or unconscious to do it, like she did. Adara was in awe at the thought.
"Who are you?" she said, not so eloquently.
"I am Professor Xavier, who runs this school. Funny how we end up meeting in the first place I found you." He read her confusion. "This is Cerebro, a machine I built with the help of an old friend that helps me find mutants. I brought you here because you were in long-term danger. I'd like to know more about you. It seems you possess a form of telepathy, but I've never seen anything like it. You also can manipulate electromagnetic fields, am I correct?"
"Yes, Professor, that's right." Adara said, amazed that this conversation was actually taking place. In this state, she was also less inhibited, and also more aware of others' intentions, as everything lay open to her. "I've been sensetive to it my whole life. I've messed up other people's lives because of it. It's gotten me into trouble more times than I can count." She winced. "I want to thank you for saving me from my...predicament." She wondered if she should tell him about the alien part, and if he knew about it already. She was also afraid that he would invade her mental privacy when she didn't want to reveal something. He didn't seem like the type to, but she had a feeling that at times he might know things and keep them to himself, too. The Professor smiled warmly at her gratitude.
"I think you'll be much better off here, and more comfortable. But right now I'm more worried about your physical state than your spiritual. The doctor is doing some tests to make sure we get you back on track. You've been through more than any mortal should have to go through, and we don't want to lose you. As soon as you get back in your body, you need to rest...that goes for your mind, too."
Adara was suddenly reminded of the urgency of her situation. She didn't want to be a floating energy form forever, and at that moment she desperately wanted to check on her physical form in the med room.
"Thank you Professor...I'll...talk to you later." With what she hoped was a smile, she rushed with the speed of thought to see what the doctor had found. She was scared. She wanted her body back, like NOW. As she hovered over her still unconcious but intact form, she watched the doctor intently. She was hooked up to machines that read her vital signs and was relieved to see her heart at least seemed to be working normally. Closing her eyes, Adara flooded into her body, her eyes opening suddenly and coming to with a gasp. The doctor stood back, then reassured her.
"Good to have you back. You've had a nasty shock, but you'll be ok. Just relax."
It took awhile for her to orient herself. "How long have I been out?" she asked feebly.
"Only for an hour or so. I've revived patients in far worse states than you, so this is nothing. How are you feeling?"
"Like shit."
"That's understandable." Dr. Mack smiled. "You need to eat and rest, young lady. I think your room's almost ready. You feel strong enough to get up?"
"I will be in a few minutes. Just gotta recover from the trip on the other side. Oh, and the Professor says 'good job'".
Ignoring the doctor's puzzled look as he helped her up from the table, Adara startled as she saw Scott standing in the doorway.
"May I escort you to your room, my lady?" he said in mock elegance, offering her his hand.
Adara resisted the urge to snicker. "That depends on if you have eyes only for me."
With a humored grin, Scott said, "Let's go." and they walked to the much more comfortable suite that was to be her new home.
"I'm sorry I zapped you back there." Adara apologized as they stood at the door. "I 'll save that for the enemy from now on."
Scott waved his hand in dismissal. "No problem. See you around." He said congenially, and walked away. Adara sighed, and went into her new room, which was quite lovely. She'd admire the décor later. She promptly fell on the bed and slept as soon as her head hit the pillow.