Chapter 7: Location, Location, Location…

(Storm)

She looked back to the children as the younger X-Men tried to calm them down, starting to succeed.

"We're missing Jones and Theresa." she observed, turning a worried face to Xavier.

"They can't be too far. I should be able to locate them fairly quickly." Xavier said, closing his eyes. She clasped her hands together nervously as she watched hi concentrate. Confusion pinched at his face briefly before clarity washed it all away and his eyes opened. There was a pause as he took everything in.

"I was unable to pinpoint their exact location, but they are here, in the forest." he announced. Storm sighed in relief, her hands falling to her sides.

"I say we split up, cover more ground as we look." Scott said. She now looked at him, surprised by the leadership persona he seemed to now possess.

"I agree. Scott, you and Logan will head north. Storm, take Ms. Pryde with you and head west." Xavier said, pointing in the two directions. "And I'll stay tell Mr. Drake and Mr. Rasputin to head East. Rogue and I will stay here with the students."

She left and pulled Kitty aside, explaining the situation as Xavier did the same with the others. Scott and Logan wasted no time and had already left in their assigned direction. She and Kitty hurried along and went west; she hoped the two missing students would be found soon.

The bright afternoon sun started to dim as the evening neared. According to Kitty's phone, it was 4:48, nearly four and a half hours since the attack on the school! Which means Jones and Theresa had been missing for over three and a half (she assumed), and that the two of them had been walking for about three hours! The teacher and the student walked on some more, and Storm's stomach growled softly, sending them both into a giggling fit.

Kitty pulled two granola bars from her back pack and gave one to Storm as she opened her own.

"Thanks." Storm said, tearing a part of the foil away to take a bite.

"No problem, Professor Munroe." Kitty replied with a smile.

(Rogue)

"Can I ask you something, Professor? she asked, leaning on the hood of her chosen kids as the kids amused themselves nearby. It took a little encouraging to get them to feel safe enough to enjoy the distraction of almost-playing.

"You don't even have to ask to ask me, Rogue." I can sense a lot is on your mind." he answered, watching the kids like a protective parent.

"Can you…this is dumb, but…can you sense John? I mean, is he even still alive?" she asked, looking down at the ground.

The Professor looked over to her, a small smile pulling at the corner of his lips. "I try to check in on him every now and again. You and Bobby were the only friends he had, and he thinks about the two of you often."

She smiled, relieved to know he was faring well even if he was with the enemy. "When he left," she started, standing straight, "did it hurt you?"

He maneuvered his wheelchair so he was facing her. "I've had students leave before, in the past, well before your time. Every one of them stung, but I never took it personally. The same applies to Mr. Allerdyce. He feels he's better off with Magneto, and I won't try to control him."

She nodded in understanding, only to frown and look up at the rapidly-darkening sky. Clouds were swarming and blanketing the sun, like an eclipse. She looked to the Professor, whose eyes were closed in an attempt to figure out what was happening. The children were gawking and pointing up at the cloudy sky, wondering what on earth was going on up there. A bolt of lightning suddenly touched down, striking in the area Storm and Kitty had gone.

"It's alright, they're okay. The lightning caused the men to retreat." Xavier informed.

The sky cleared, but it was still a little dark out.

"I hope they find them." she said, referring to Jones and Theresa.

"They will. From what I can tell, they have stopped moving, and are resting by a boulder." Xavier reassured. As they sat in silence, fireflies began to come out, exciting the younger students who gave chase and tried to catch them.

Rogue smiled to herself at the sight. This is what kids should be doing this time of year; trying to catch fireflies. Playing. Not hiding in the middle of nowhere to avoid being slaughtered.

(Kitty)

After the encounter with the soldiers, Storm decided it was best to return to Rogue and the Professor, and she didn't argue. They didn't have any leads on the missing students, but hopefully one of the other groups did. Maybe they were even found!

"I hope we get back before it's too dark to see." she mumbled to no one in particular.

"We still have about thirty minutes of daylight, don't worry. We'll regroup with the others with just enough time to watch the sun set." Storm said.

She slimed to herself, thinking about how much she loved sunsets. They're always so pretty, so…romantic.

In exactly twenty minutes, they returned to the group. Bobby and Pete had returned as well, but Scott and Logan were still gone. As Storm had predicted, they were all able to see a small part of the sunset between the woodsy forest foliage. Once it was dark out, the kids retired to the cars, feeling safer in the smaller space than out in the open.

The X-Men sat around a small fire, almost shoulder-to-shoulder, and Scott and Logan were still gone.

"When will it be safe to return to the school?" she asked, looking away from the fire.

"Not for a while. It's still surrounded." the Professor answered in his forever-calm tone.

"Scott and Logan should be back by now. I'm going to go look for them." Storm said as she stood up.

"No need. Right behind you." Wolverine, suddenly illuminated by the light of the fire, as was Scott.

"I lost track of their scent up by the river. Sniffed around for a good hour or so before we had to head back." the gruff mutant added. Everyone was quiet for a while, letting the intel sink in.

"Well, they're smart kids." Bobby said, breaking the silence. "They'll be okay."

Xavier suddenly stiffened, his eyes firmly shut. "They're with Magneto and his Brotherhood. They're taking them back to…back to the school!"

"They'll be heading into an ambush!" Storm realized.

"You have to warn them!" Rogue urged. The leader of the X-Men focused, determined.

"Magneto's helmet keeps me out, and Mystique and Pyro are somehow able to block me. I'll try Jones…" he said, concentrating. "That's impossible. I can't reach either of them. It's as if they're protected by the material in Magneto's helmet that keeps me out." he said, opening his eyes.

"Then we have to stop them! Kitty said, stating the obvious. Without another word, everyone hurried into their cars, leaving the forest at breakneck speed and unwillingly waking the sleeping students.

As they raced back to the last place they could possibly return to right now, Kitty kept mentally picturing a dozen possible outcomes, all resulting in death or imprisonment. The school became visible rather quickly, as all of its lights were on.

They all stopped a short distance away, their own lights off, staring at the line car in front of their home. She saw a small flash of light, followed by the sound of a gunshot, and Theresa's scream was heard from inside the car. Her breath caught in her throat, and she could barely make out the sight of three forms getting out of the car. Magneto, Mystique, and Pyro, she guessed. She saw some more small flashes of light, and one larger one, followed by an explosion. Her hands subconsciously shot to cover her mouth and the lone car sped away, passing them in the blink of an eye.

They all turned their cars around, following the Brotherhood car as it barreled down the road. Another helicopter came at them from ahead, but before it was in range to fire its weapons, it veered off course and crashed, most likely (if not definitely) due to Magneto.

The Brotherhood car soon pulled over, followed by the X-Men cars. Magneto and Mystique got out, and in the glare of their own car's headlights, she could see they were arguing.

A/N: Next to come: what to do regarding Pyro…the X-Men and Brotherhood have their own opinions.