Author: Wyrd Sister
Fandom: X-Men
Disclaimer: I know you know, so I keep it brief: I own nothing apart from Chris and the characters I make up on the way.
Unfortunately I´m not making money with this story. But presents and cheques (and most of all: reviews) will be gratefully accepted… grin

Rating: Suitable for all ages - you should be able to cope with a little swearing from time to time - not much, just about the same amount you usually have to deal with on a normal day...

Summary: Dimension travels are possible after all! This time Chris will find out that Bester´s more dangerous than she thought.


You are about to hear the story of a traveller between worlds, between dimensions that have only one thing in common: All of them had been created by people of this world - my home world, the world you´re living in. My name is Christine, I´m 20 years old and live in Germany. And not long ago I had an experience most people dream of all their lives.

Chris´ Chronicles
Journal of a Dimension Traveller

Part 6 - Amnesia

The smell of steel and hospital was in my nose when I woke up. I heard quiet bleeping noises around me, nothing else.
With a start I sat upright.
Despite the headache that hit me straight away I forced my gaze to wander through the room quickly.
I was lying on an examination table in the center of a medium-sized square-shaped room stuffed with electronic. A cap with thin wires on my head seemed to be connected to a computer next to the table and hummed a little.
Where am I?!
A scientists´ lab, without doubt.

Friends or foes?

I didn´t intend to stay long enough to find that out - better get away first and ask questions later.
With one quick movement I got rid of the cap and slid from the table. The humming turned into an unnerving bleep.
The white cotton night-gown felt strange on my skin when I started to run to the door. For a moment a huge silver X blurred before my eyes, but then my vision got clear again and I raced through the opening.

I nearly ran into a brown haired man wearing red sunglasses.

Just in time I moved to the side to avoid his outstretched hand, leapt around a corner and shot into a well-lit corridor.
The man shouted something, but I didn´t pay attention. All I wanted was getting out of this place.
A lab indeed.
A huge complex.
Corridors leading into other corridors, all of them looking alike.
A bloody labyrinth.

There were footsteps behind me, apparently the man had come to his senses and tried to catch me now. I increased my speed. There had to be an exit somewhere!
What was this deserted place? A secret laboratory? For what? And what was I doing here?
Before I could think about that any further I ran around the next corner and...into a dead-end.
The footsteps became louder and looking around frantically I saw a door opening next to me. Without thinking I jumped into the small room and the door closed again. The feeling of an elevator being set in motion reached my stomach.

I crouched next to the door and prepared myself to jump out as soon as the doors opened next time. I didn´t have to wait long.

With a gentle hiss they slid apart and I hopped out, right behind a wooden column. There I stopped to take a look at my surroundings.
They certainly had changed.
The sterile laboratory corridor had been replaced by the basement of a Victorian mansion.
Dark wood panels, plants and carpets.
A difference like night and day.

And not too far away, at the end of the hallway, a huge door surely leading outside.

Quickly I marched around the column, ran in the direction of this door - and with full force into a guy who was just coming down the stairs to my right.
With a surprised cry I jumped back.

Startled, the dark-haired man whirled around. I heard a sound like knives being dragged and saw three blades coming out between the knuckles of his fists.
He stood in front of me, one hand raised to his chest, the other one at his side, his dark eyes holding my gaze for a moment, before he let out a surprised grunt.
His body relaxed, the frown disappeared and the blades went back where they´d come from.

I was still staring at him.
It wasn´t because of the blades.
Not even because of his ready-to-fight appearance.
It was because I had seen him before.
He looked familiar.

You should think a guy like him (even without the blades) would be easy enough to remember.
But I didn´t know where to put him.
I was almost certain that his name started with a "W" though.

"Logan!" came a voice from behind - the man with the sunglasses had appeared someplace near the front door. "Would you mind bringing our...guest back to the lab, please?"

Dammit!

With these two guys blocking the corridor there was only one way left.

Cursing quietly under my breath I side-stepped the man called Logan, stormed up the stairs and reached the first floor. It looked almost like the basement - the same long, empty corridor with doors on either side, but with a huge open window where the front door had been downstairs.

Suddenly a door to my left opened and a group of kids came out, teenagers around 14 years of age. They stopped and stared at me open-mouthed - they probably don´t often see girls in long white night-gowns roaming the corridors. Quick footsteps from below became louder, the man with the sunglasses came around the corner and stopped halfway up the stairs, with Logan at his heels.

Before I could decide to take the next staircase and run further up a woman with long white hair came down the steps. She, too, stopped halfway and looked at me curiously.

Again there was only one way left.

I heard a few gasps when I turned towards the open window and broke into a run.
The opening grew bigger and bigger before my eyes, then I stepped onto the sill and jumped out.

-----ooooo-----

Instinct took over immediately.
My right hand grabbed the window frame, the momentum made me crash against the house wall and pushed the air out of my lungs. The other hand found a piece of stone to clung to and with as much power as I could gather I began climbing up the wall of the old mansion, taking advantage of every little hole on the way, any little stone sticking out. With bare feet it wasn´t as difficult as it may sound.

On the roof I hid between two huge chimneys and waited for my pursuers to follow.
A few times my hand wandered down to my trembling ankle, to a weapon that wasn´t there. Instead I found a fresh bandage. The wound under it had already closed.

After half an hour - daylight was already fading - I moved into a more comfortable position, but remained alert, keeping my gaze on the few spots where someone could come through to get me. Another half hour later my left foot fell asleep.

40 minutes after that the rest of my body followed.

-----ooooo-----

A gentle breeze blew over my face when I awoke.

It was dark around me, only the moon was shining on my surroundings and for a moment the feeling of disorientation was overwhelming. But the warm chimney next to my shoulder brought the memory of the past events back and quickly I got up.
Was there a chance that these people - whoever they where - had forgotten about my presence?
But the figure sitting only a few metres from my position shattered all hopes of an unnoticed departure.
Her white hair fluttered in the cool wind and she looked at me the same way she had on the stairs earlier: With a mixture of curiosity and wariness. But she gave me a smile that at least looked genuinely.
"Hello."
I glanced around the shadows on the roof, but couldn´t see any more people. If she was here to bring me back on her own she certainly underestimated my condition.
If used wisely fear can be a strong ally in a fight.
Where did this come from? a part of my mind asked confused.
The woman hadn´t moved, was still eyeing me from a distance.
"Hello." I replied eventually.
My voice sounded strange in the silence of the rooftop.

The woman´s smile broadened and slowly she stepped nearer. I forced myself not to move, but another part of my mind automatically noted the lack of weapons on either side, made a list of pressure points that could come in handy should she decide to attack, and suggested an escape route from the rooftop.
Only two metres in front of me the woman stopped and extended a hand. Suddenly the feeling I´d had earlier, when seeing Logan, hit me again. She seemed familiar somehow, although I couldn´t remember having met her.
"My name is Ororo Monroe. Welcome to Xavier´s School for Gifted Youngsters."
Expression blank I stared at her.
"Where?"
Now she looked a bit confused.
"Xavier´s School for Gifted Youngsters. The kids also call this place "Mutant High"."
Slowly - because of the headache getting worse - I shook my head.
"Doesn´t ring a bell. How did I get here?"
She let her hand sink and sat onto one of the smaller chimneys.
"You don´t remember?"
"No."

Suspiciously she examined me head to toe.
"What´s your name?"
Now that was an easy one.
Or so I thought.

The headache grew stronger and with two fingers rubbing my right temple the answer finally popped up.
"Chris."
"Just Chris?"
My fingers continued the gentle massage, but there was nothing else.
"I.don´t remember."
No idea if she bought that, but the woman nodded and smiled again.
"That´s okay. What about if you came down with me, Chris? We could have tea while talking things over. Professor Xavier - the headmaster of the school - just returned from town and would like to meet you."
I frowned.
"Do I have a choice?"
Her gaze never left mine.
"Of course. There´s always a choice."

An attack was one thing.
An invitation another.
Logic helped me with the decision.
If she had actually wanted to bring me back to the lab she could have asked the two men for help or - even easier - grab and anaesthetise me while I was still sleeping. From the equipment I´d seen in the lab drugs couldn´t be a problem.
Instead she had waited for me to wake up and given me a warm welcome.

Apart from all these facts there was my own curiosity.
How had I come here?
What was this school - "Mutant High"?

And where did this feeling come from?
The feeling that I´d seen some of these people before?
That I knew this place?

And the most important questions: Why was it so hard for me to remember what had happened before this afternoon?
Where did this awful headache come from?
How come I´d forgotten my own name?

The woman who had introduced herself as Ororo Monroe waited patiently while I was juggling with fear, doubts and curiosity.
Curiosity killed the cat. the voice of a careful part of my mind told me.
Right. another part mused, But satisfaction brought her back.

I nodded and she stood up. A few meters further east, in the midst of a forest of chimneys an open oriel window led back into the mansion.

-----ooooo-----

They watched me sipping the hot soup.
I finished, put the bowl back onto the wooden desk and looked up.
"Feeling better?" the red-haired woman (Jean Grey, I remembered) asked and silently I nodded. I still wasn´t sure what I was doing here and so far nobody had explained anything.
The bald man behind the desk cleared his throat. When I´d seen Professor Xavier for the first time I´d had a sudden vision of him in some kind of red and black pyjama-like uniform. No idea how to explain this, so I´d just kept my mouth shut. The inquisitive glance he´d given me had probably referred to my clothing. Jean had given me a bathrobe that was slightly too large, but nice and warm. I pulled my knees towards my chest and tugged it around me. Then I crossed my arms on my knees and placed my head on them, looking at the Professor. He wheeled around the desk and stopped in front of my chair.
"Let´s start again, shall we?" he suggested and glanced at the man with the sunglasses (Scott something), who stepped forward.
"Marie saw a blue flash out in the garden. When she went out to examine the phenomenon she nearly stumbled over...our guest lying near the forest, unconsciously. Jean´s examination showed no sign of a mutant gene in her body. Nevertheless she was found in a place nobody can normally reach without being spotted by the surveillance cameras."
"She?" Excuse me? I´m still in the room! I thought and gave Scott a sharp glance which he ignored. He was probably still annoyed about the fact that he´d "lost" me down in the lab.
Xavier turned to me again.
"And you don´t recall what happened?"
I shrugged.
"It took me a while to remember my own name. But...I don´t know."
The bald man gave me a reassuring smile and so I added what I´d felt about this place (and some of the people here) straight away.
"...I look around here and feel I know this school. The building, even this office...and Miss Monroe, you, Professor, and....this guy I ran into in the corridor....Logan."
Scott sneered.
"And what´s your explanation for this...feeling?"
I turned my head and glared at him.
"Do you have a problem with me?"

Before he could respond, the professor raised his hand.
"Please, everybody calm down. It´s late and we´re all tired. Why don´t we go to bed and continue tomorrow..."
Scott mumbled something and walked to the door, followed by a puzzled Jean Grey. Suddenly the door opened and Logan came in. He stepped to the side to let the couple pass, looked after them and finally closed the door again.
"What´s up with him? Anyone stole his motorbike?" he joked.
Ororo shrugged and put a hand on my shoulder.
"You want to come with me? There´s a free bedroom upstairs."
Gratefully I hopped off the chair.
When we passed Logan, there was another vision. A name this time.

"Wolverine."

The hand on my shoulder vanished.
"What?"
I turned around and saw them staring at me in shock.
Obviously, I had spoken aloud.
Oops.
Okay, then we should probably get over with it quickly.

"Wolverine. That´s your name, isn´t it?"
The dark-haired man nodded slowly, then looked at Xavier with a raised eyebrow.
"Telepathic?"
Xavier shook his head.
"No. I would have sensed it."
With an curious expression he rolled nearer.
"A memory fragment. Interesting. Do you remember more? Scott Summer´s mutant name, for example?"
Scratching my head and imaging the face of the man didn´t work.
"Glasses"? "Specs"? "Mr. Cool"? Or, for that matter: "Mr. Good-manners-are-for-losers"?
"No. Nothing."
"What about Miss Monroe?"
I focused on the beautiful white-haired woman, standing in the corner of the office, then closed my eyes. Pictured her under the night sky, wind playing with her hair like it had up on the roof. Not only wind, more like a...

"Storm."

My eyes flew open again and found her exchanging glances with Logan and Professor Xavier, then her gaze returned to me.
"What about the professor?"
They watched me walking back to the chair in front of the desk and leaning against the armrest. It was harder to concentrate now. The pictures that flew through my head were different.
There were more and half of them showed the man walking around.
And with hair, for that matter.
Strange.
But there was a tiny piece of information, a scene similar to the present situation. Another guy talking names in this very room. Musing about them.
Confused I looked up, then the word slipped out of my mouth.

"Wheels?"

-----ooooo-----

This time the silence was overwhelming.

Feeling my head turning red like a tomato I stammered an apology.
"Sorry, professor, I meant no offence. Somehow it just…popped up…"
The man in the wheelchair raised his hand again and, relieved, I saw him smiling.
"None taken. Relax. It was just…unexpected to hear it again."
With this he glanced at Logan who had found a fascinating spot on the carpet he couldn´t take his eyes away from.

Again I wondered what had happened to my mind.

Maybe I was becoming crazy.
Maybe all these things around me were just pictures of my mind - creations of a mental.
Maybe reality was a little cell with white, soft walls and people in sneakers speaking in low voices.

Well, if that´s true I rather stay here.

-----ooooo-----

The room Storm had led me to was small, but comfortable. There was a mirror on the wall next to the bed and when my guide was gone I took a look into it.

A gruesome sight.

Pale face, huge, possum-like eyes and dark shadows underneath.
At the moment I would make good money as a zombie in a theme park ghost house.

Now look at that: Only just arrived, but already found a job opportunity.
The thought cheered me up a little and I turned around to examine the rest of the room.

It had a bed and - thank goodness - a shower.

I only came out of the small bathroom again when I was red like a lobster and feared people would send a search party after me. But no one checked and after dressing in the soft pyjama that was lying on the cupboard I fell into bed.

No dreams disturbed my sleep that night.

-----ooooo-----

A knock on the door awoke me.
"Y…yes?" I managed, sitting up and looking around in confusion.
The door opened and a white-haired woman stuck her head in. Missing pieces fell into place and suddenly I remembered the previous day.

Unfortunately only the previous day.

"Hello. The professor asked me to wake you. Are you hungry?"
The question went to my stomach without bothering the brain.
"Starving."
I jumped out of bed and glanced at the alarm clock on the nightstand.
"6 o´clock? Does the day here always start that early?"

There was a pause.
"Take a closer look." came the mild reply.
Puzzled, I obeyed.
5:57 pm. PM?!
"It´s 6 o´clock in the evening?!"
Storm grinned.
"You slept almost 20 hours straight. See if you find something in the cupboard that fits. Dinner starts in half an hour. I´ll see you downstairs."
Then she was gone.

-----ooooo-----

Was it paranoia or was indeed everybody staring at me?

I finished my meal quickly and glanced over my shoulder. A few heads turned, but others stayed and most of their owners eyed me with a mix of curiosity and…I don´t know…mild confusion? On other faces there was open hostility.
I kept on staring back provocatively till these guys decided to turn back as well. Only one girl held my gaze and - suddenly - broke into a smile.
Surprised I found myself smiling back.

She made a gesture towards the door and stood up. I followed her out the door and into the corridor, where she offered me her hand. Shaking it I saw that she was wearing gloves.
"Hi. I´m Rogue."
I grinned.
"You don´t look like one."
She gave me an inquisitive glance, but seemed to decide I was only kidding.
"My real name is Marie."
"Chris."
"I know. I found you."
"After seeing a blue light. I heard from Scott Summers. Do you know anything else about this light?"
"The professor asked the same question. No, I only saw it from a distance. Just a blue flash or something. You really can´t remember who you are?"
"Nope. Only my first name. And little bits and pieces. Far from being useful most of the time. For example: I know I´ve dived before. I´m familiar with diving tables. Can calculate nitrogen time and have a clear picture of how to put the gear together. But no memory of any diving sites. I know English is not my native language - it´s German. No memory of an area or city though. That kinda stuff. Someone must have tempered with my brain - Miss Grey said she found some strange stuff in my ear trumpet."

The girl frowned.
"Weird. Couldn´t the professor help you?"
"How?"
"Well, you know…" she tipped a finger against her forehead, "…with his telepathic powers."

This remark made my head buzz.
Telepathic powers? Prof. Xavier is a telepath? But…but…telepaths are bad!

Suddenly it was like watching two people having an argument.
One part of my brain wanted to leave the place at once.
The other one asked in surprise how it could possibly have forgotten the fact that Xavier was a telepath. It even was quite comfortable with this fact.
Which one was the truth?

"Ah, Chris, you met Marie already. Would you both mind coming down to the lab to clarify a few things?" the bald man in the wheelchair asked and rolled past us towards the hidden elevator.

My headache started again, worse than before.

-----ooooo-----

The doors opened with the usual hiss and Professor Xavier and Rogue walked out.
I didn´t move.
My feet just…didn´t step out into the corridor.
Didn´t want to go into the lab again.
Didn´t even want to leave the elevator.
Sweat appeared on my forehead and my fingers began to tremble.

The mutants in front of me turned around.
Rogue raised an eyebrow.
"What are you waiting for?"
Xavier´s gaze met mine and I shook my head slowly, then suddenly felt the wall of the elevator in my back and a lump in my throat.
"I´m…sorry. I´m not coming. Not into…the lab."

After a moment the bald man nodded, not surprised at all.
"Very well."
And rolling back, "Then how about we´ll do the talking in my office?"

-----ooooo-----

Back in the comfortable seats in front of the desk Rogue turned to me again.
"What happened down there? Are you claustrophobic or something?"
I shifted in my seat and looked around uncomfortably.
"No…not that I know of. I just didn´t want to go into the lab again. Kind of…bad feeling about that…no idea why."
Bad feeling? That was 100 % panic. Maybe I was a laboratory rat in a former life.

The thought didn´t amuse me one bit, but left a rather…unpleasant taste in my mouth.
Professor Xavier raised an eyebrow.
"Chris…" he began and we turned towards his thoughtful gaze.
"Would you allow me to scan your mind?"
NO!! No way!!
The force of this refusal - although the outcry was only in my head - was overwhelming. I jumped up and backed away, in the direction of the door.
My shoulders bumped into the carved wood.
"I don´t want to be scanned!"
Rogue and Xavier exchanged glances, then the professor raised his hands in a calming gesture as he had earlier.
"Nobody´s going to force you. I just want you to think about it. We might be able to learn who you are and what brought you here."
"No! I don´t want anybody in my head! It´s too crowded in there already!"
The headache returned and from a distance a concerned female voice asked if I was okay.
I don´t remember Rogue leading me back to the bedroom, but suddenly there was a cold cloth on my forehead and I drifted into a restless sleep.

-----ooooo-----

The clock showed 00:42 am.
Groaning I rolled out of bed.

Too much sleep lately - now I probably had to stay awake for a couple of hours before I would be drowsy enough to drop off again.
I decided to get some fresh air and opened the window.
An instant later I was up on the roof.
Where did I learn all these climbing technics? I wondered, but was soon distracted by the beautiful view you have from the roof of the old mansion. The lights of the city shone far away and the forest looked dark and mysterious.
If I was 10 years old I´d be tempted to explore it.

Yeah, sure. Right now I didn´t even know what I´d done a week ago, let alone a couple of years.

What if the professor scanned my mind? What could possibly happen?
Telepaths are not to be trusted!
That´s not true. He´s one of the good guys. I know it.
Telepaths are bad! They play around with your mind, influence it, make you do what they want, make you think what they want…
How do you know? Where does this come from?
It´s true. And you know it, too.


And - weird enough - I did. I felt it was true, but how could both sides be?

After a desperate attempt to remember that only helped increasing the pain of the headache I turned around and crept back to the side of the building.
On my way down I passed several dormitories, a kitchen - and a library. Sleep wouldn´t come for some time, so why not grabbing a good book?
The window was locked, but the latch simple and easy to open.
I hopped into a room filled with bookshelves and listened for a minute, but everything stayed quiet.

A well equipped library awaited me.
Unfortunately, a school library.

Shakespeare, Mann, Goethe - heaps of books about science and math and poetry. Where do they keep the pleasure stuff? Oh…here comes Mr. Twain - it´s getting warmer…

Eventually I found some short stories by Roald Dahl and settled into a comfortable chair next to a lamp, not too far from the window. But I couldn´t really concentrate on the book, with all my thoughts circling around the past events.

After half an hour there was a noise on the corridor.

Quickly and quietly I turned the lights out, stood up and found the space where the book had been. When I was just about to step onto the window sill the door opened.
I could have swung out using the downsprout, but something held me back.
There was a noise like rubber on a wooden floor and suddenly the lights were on again and I saw Professor Xavier wheeling into the library.
He still wore the same suit he´d had on the previous evening.
Does this man ever sleep? I wondered briefly.
"Occasionally. But I tend to catch up with the paperwork in the late evening, when it´s quieter." the man in the wheelchair smiled.

It took me a moment to realise that he´d read my mind.
"It wasn´t on purpose, I assure you. But most people have rather…loud surface thoughts, so it´s impossible not to hear them. I didn´t scan you."

He came nearer and threw a glance at the rather hastily stowed away book.
"Roald Dahl? Very subtle kind of stories. Most of them with a surprising and rather intense ending. Storm sometimes uses his books in English lessons."

I didn´t reply and the moment of silence grew longer.

"I apologise for Scott Summer´s behaviour yesterday."

Surprised I looked up.
"What?"

"It´s never been the policy of this school to meet anyone with mistrust. But the last week had been hard for him."
I relaxed a bit and settled down on the window sill.
"What happened?"

"He went out to bring a kid - a mutant - here. Other people had found the girl before him."

I swallowed hard and didn´t dare asking more, but the professor went on as if he´d forgotten my presence.
"They call themselves "Friends of Mankind", a group openly fighting mutants. They claim mutants have no right to exist and every child that has the gene should be killed immediately."
"Nazis." I muttered.

Xavier looked up.
"Similar to these mislead people, yes. Scott found only her body. At the moment he´s trying to figure out his feelings towards "normal" people."

Grimly I shook my head.
"And my own behaviour didn´t help either, did it?"

The professor smiled.
"You didn´t know."

I sighed.
"No. And I feel I don´t know anything anymore. It´s frustrating."

There was a moment of silence, while I was studying the carpet, then I heard the sound of the wheelchair rolling nearer.
"Do you feel you can trust me?"

I met his searching glance and waited for the voices in my head to start screaming again, but everything stayed quiet.

This wasn´t about telepaths.
It was only about him.
Did I trust him?

"Yes."

"Very well. I would like to take a look inside your head - with your guiding me. Would you allow that?"
"How does this work?"
"We go together and you can call the "trip" off whenever you want."

Scratching my head I thought about the alternative.
Waiting until my memories came back by themselves? Could take ages.
But did I want to let anyone inside my head?
No.
On the other hand I longed to find out what was going on. Who wouldn´t, in my position?

In the end I just threw all doubts over board and nodded.

-----ooooo-----

What a dump.

An amused voice spoke next to me.
"Welcome to your mind."

I turned to the man standing (uh…yes, actually "standing") at my side.
"That´s my mind? I expected it to be a little…brighter…"

The sight was indeed not very pleasant.
Dark clouds.
Strong wind.
Occasional thunder.
And the area looked like a spaceship cemetery.
Huge metal parts were sticking out of the sandy ground, some rusty, some shining - but most of them broken.
There were red mountains in a distance, yellow clouds hung around them.
Lightning shone through from time to time.

Maybe I´m a mass murderer or something…
"No, only confused. And as far as I can see you grow angry when you´re confused…or frightened."
"Never get frightened - get angry instead." I slowly recited the saying I knew only too well, but couldn´t come up with the person who´d said it.

"Do you want to stop?"
"No. Please continue."
"Can you see anything around here you remember?"

My gaze wandered over the pathetic sight.
"Nothing. Can we go closer?"
"Certainly."

We didn´t have to walk long.
A round piece of metal was blocking our way after a couple of steps. The label said "BAB…", the rest was illegible.
I felt the smooth material and shuddered.
"There is something: The feeling of excitement……a fight……friends."
Great, now you sound like a fortune teller. "You´ll meet a dark-haired stranger…"-kinda thing.

The professor threw an interested glance at the metal piece and especially the label.
"You´re doing well. Go on."

We walked around the arch.
On the other side was a gigantic hourglass half-buried in the sandy ground.

And next to it stood a tall figure in a long, black coat.

The coat fluttered in the wind.
Suddenly the hood flew back and a white skull appeared where the head should have been.
The figure raised one hand and I saw it held a scythe. The bones of the other hand pointed at the hourglass, then towards me.
A moment later the figure vanished in a grey cloud.

I turned to Xavier.
"Can you explain this, professor?"

He shook his head slowly.
"Amazing. It seems parts of your mind are still capable of remembering and try to express these memories. But something keeps them from reaching their destination, the area where they could be processed. Concentrate on the picture you just saw. Try to remember what it means."

I tried and something happened.

There was a puff and a short man in a black uniform appeared in front of us. Another familiar face, but I´d be damned if I knew who it was.

Lightning ran over the sky and thunder rolled.

"This is a restricted area, accessible only for members of the Psi-Corps. Please state your name and identification number."

This time there was surprise in Xavier´s gaze.
"I´ve never heard of a group named Psi-Corps. But it seems we found the root of your problem."

I walked around the uniformed man.
"You think this guy is responsible for my…condition?"

"This is merely a picture, left in your mind to prevent telepaths - and yourself - from accessing your memories. But I wouldn´t be surprised if the man who did this to you matched this picture."

I tried to touch the shoulder of the short guy, but my hand went through.
Same with the head.
Not even the metal piece I tried it with brought any results.
And it hadn´t been for the lack of force.
Or the lack of repetition for that matter.

Panting I turned to the professor.
"Can you…knock him out?"

Xavier stepped in front of the uniformed man.
"I can try."

His eyes narrowed in concentration.

A moment later I felt as if a glowing piece of iron was being pushed into my brain.

-----ooooo-----

Gasping for air I jumped out of the chair, hand on the forehead.
"Freaking HELL! What was that?!"
Xavier opened his eyes and sat back.
"I´m sorry, I should have foreseen this. It seems that the other telepath set some kind of trap for whoever tried to access your mind."
When my brain didn´t feel like it was burning through my forehead anymore I took the hand away.
"That´s some trap. Dammit! It felt like someone was filling my head with acid."
Xavier nodded.
"A very effective defence. At least if the person you deal with is more interested in your well-being than in the information buried up there."
"Can you switch it off?"
"I´m not sure. Usually these "traps" are password protected. If you would see a certain picture or hear a certain phrase the barrier would break automatically."
"How do we find out what it is?"

Xavier waved towards the chair and I sat down again. He reached for my hand.
"We´ll ask the dungeon keeper."

-----ooooo-----

"Remember Bronx."

I stood in front of the mental picture with a stupid expression.
"Remember Bronx? What´s this supposed to mean?"

Xavier lifted his shoulders helplessly.
"I don´t know. Enough mysteries for one night. We´ll think about it tomorrow."

This time coming back didn´t come as a shock. It was rather a smooth (and painless) slide into reality.
I rubbed my eyes and yawned.

"Do you want me to bring you back to your room?" Xavier asked with a smile, "Or will you be able to find the window on your own?"

Grinning I stepped onto the window sill.
"Thanks, professor, I´m sure I´ll find it."

-----ooooo-----

"Bronx? Like in the city suburb?"
"Maybe. The exact words were "Remember Bronx". And since we´re in New York it´s a pretty good guess."
"But what about Bronx? A certain place? A statue? A person living there somewhere?"

Xavier reached for the street map on his desk and tossed it to Scott Summers.
"I don´t know. It might be a wrong turn altogether. But I would appreciate if you tried. Just drive through the area, stop at a few sights, let Chris take a good look around."

Uncomfortably I shifted in my seat.
"Maybe that´s not a good idea. I mean there are endless possibilities. We could be there all day, not finding a single clue…"
And spending a whole day with this guy will certainly feel like hell for both of us. Oh, professor, why are you sending me with him of all people?

The dark brown eyes seemed to see all the way to my soul.
"We´ll talk about the results of this journey upon your return. Take the BMW."
With this Xavier rolled back to his desk and picked up a small pile of letters.
"Have a good day."

Hesitatingly Scott and I stepped out of the office and exchanged inquisitive glances.
I felt I hadn´t been the only one begging for mercy in there.

"So..." he said eventually, "You heard the professor. The car park is this way."
And he began walking down the corridor.

I had to run to keep up with his pace.

-----ooooo-----

By the end of the day I felt like a guidebook for NY travellers. Well, at least for the borough Bronx. We didn´t leave a single famous well or statue or museum out.

And during all these hours we talked about 20 words, altogether.

I was relieved when Scott finally called it a day, turned the comfortable car and drove back in the direction of the mansion.

Somewhere on the way, a bit out of town, we went through a small forest. The street turned and a bridge appeared about a kilometer ahead. We were just driving over it, when I saw something near the first pylon.

"Scott-"
"I´ve seen him, too."

He stopped at the side of the road right behind the bridge. I opened the door and jumped out even before the car had come to a complete halt.
On the way back Scott caught up with me again and together we arrived at the stone pylon that was connected to an iron railing.

The boy sitting at the far end of the crossbeam couldn´t be older than 15 years.
And considering his position and the look on his face it seemed he didn´t wish to turn 16.

-----ooooo-----

When we stopped at the railing and stared over to him, he barely looked up.
Scott´s voice sounded strange in the twilight of the surroundings.
"You don´t want to do this."

The boy´s head jerked up.
"You have no idea. Go away and leave me alone!"

I swung over the railing before Scott could do anything and stepped onto the crossbeam.
"Stay away!" the kid screamed and I sat down where I was.

Right in the middle of the beam, with the ground about 30 metres under me.

"Okay, okay. Don´t worry, I won´t come nearer. My name is Chris, by the way…that´s Scott."
The boy didn´t look too happy, but at least turned his gaze away from the abyss.
"I´m not changing my mind. Please go away."

Scott had climbed over the railing as well, but stopped at the beginning of the crossbeam.
"What´s your name, son?"
"I´m not your son. Henry."
"Henry, why don´t you come with us and we go someplace warm and talk?"
The kid shook his head.
"I don´t want to talk. All I want is a quiet place to think. Now please go!"

Scott and I exchanged glances, then he kneeled down.
"What do you want to think about?"
The teenager´s gaze went back to the small river far under us.
"Life. Death. And everything in between. And why everything is changing."

I slid an inch nearer.
"What changed for you recently?"

He looked up again.
"What do you care?"
And with a dreamy stare at the forest behind us.
"If I just hop off this beam, everything will be over. Just like this."

I felt all the colour draining from my face.
No. No! Don´t jump! Oh please, don´t jump…say something, dammit!
"Henry! Look at me!"

He shook his head and focused on my face again.
"What?"

"What has changed? Please tell us. We may be able to help you."

"No one can help me."

Scott had sat down with his legs dangling over the edge of the bridge.
"Try us. There has to be another way."

The boy looked from Scott to me and back again.
A soft breeze came from the forest and a few birds called out to one another.

Henry relaxed a little, but was it because he didn´t think of throwing himself into the abyss anymore or because he´d just chosen to do it right away?

There was nothing Scott or I could do if it was the latter.

"I wish there was another way. But there isn´t. My father says…" the boy´s voice broke, but he tried again. "People like me shouldn´t be allowed to live."

Things began to take shape.
"And people like you would be…" I stopped.

"Mutants. Freaks. Whatever you call them. See this?" he tugged at the collar of his pullover and three folded pieces of flesh became visible at the side of his neck.
"I´ve got another one at the other side."

"Branchias." Scott stated from behind.

"Yeah, branchias." the boy repeated, while I was trying to figure out what they were talking about. Did I mention that English wasn´t my native language?
"Ehm…excuse me: What are branchias?"

Henry gave me an odd look.
"Like fish have them. I can breath under water."

I glared.
"That´s…cool! Then why are you sitting here thinking about killing yourself?"

"Are you kidding?! I´m a mutant! I can´t live among normal people anymore."

"Who says that?" Scott asked carefully.

"My father. He…threw me out a week ago. Said he couldn´t have a freak under his roof. He´s a big fan of this Kelly-guy. After his last speech about cleaning-up-your-neighbourhood dad came up to my room and gave me a similar sort of speech."

He paused for a moment.
"Then he handed me 50 bucks and sent me away."

I glanced over to Scott, who stared at the boy grimly. He´d probably heard this kind of story before. Well, I hadn´t (not as far as I remember), and it gave me the creeps.

"Henry, not all 'normal' people think like your dad!" I said firmly (and desperately hoped this was true).

"How do you know? In my neighbourhood everybody does. Hell, everyone in New York seems to think like my dad!"

"There are a couple of places where you would be welcome. Places where other mutants live." Scott replied. "Why don´t you come with us?"

The boy threw an inquisitive glance at him.
"What´s this thing you wear?"

Scott´s hand went up to the visor.
"It´s a device with ruby-quartz lenses. I have to wear it because my eyes fire optic blasts whenever I open them."
"You´re a mutant, too?"
"Yes, Henry, and if you come with us, you´ll meet others your own age."

The boy´s gaze wandered to me.
"What´s your mutation?"

With relief I saw the interest in his eyes, but didn´t want to lie to him.
"No superpower here, I´m afraid. Although extra strength and agility would be welcome, along with other things. But Scott´s right – there are heaps of teenagers with such special powers where we´re heading. Come on, give it a try. The bridge will still be here in a week or so."

Henry gave me another odd look, then – suddenly - broke into a grin.
"You have a way to convince people."

But he stood up and balanced back towards the railing, while I slid back a little and rised as well. Scott grabbed my arm and pulled me at his side. Then we both helped the boy climbing over the iron railing.

Only back inside the car my hands began to tremble.

-----ooooo-----

Storm was standing in the door of the garage when we came in.
She smiled.
"Did you find what you were looking for?"
I shook my head.
"Not exactly. But we found something else instead."
With this I opened the back door, so that she could see the boy sleeping on the seat.
Storm didn´t waste time with questions.
"Stay here." she said while Scott was closing the driver´s door carefully. "I´ll get Jean."

-----ooooo-----

Scott and I were walking to and fro in front of Xavier´s office.

Finally the door opened and Jean stepped into the hallway.
"Well?" we asked in unison.
"He´s fine, at least physically. The professor could convince him to stay for a couple of days. My feeling tells me he´ll stay even longer."

I couldn´t help myself – I grinned like a fool.
Glancing at Scott I found he did the same.

Jean smiled and turned to me.
"Professor Xavier would like to have a word with you now."
"Oh. Okay."
When I walked past Scott, he held my arm.
"Good work."
He offered his hand and I felt my spirits rise even more when I shook it.
"Goes for both of us."

-----ooooo-----

"It seems your trip through New York was a failure, at least when it comes to your own…problems." Xavier stated, but then a warm smile went over his face.
"On the other hand, it wasn´t for us. Thank you for helping Henry. He doesn´t feel as lost as before. I´m sure he´ll recover quickly from his unpleasant experiences."

"I very much hope so. He seems to be a nice guy."
There was a moment of silence.
"Professor, I think I could walk around town for ages and not even come near the key to my mind. Is there anything else I can do to regain my memories?"

He thought about the answer.
"It is an extraordinary strong block. I have never seen one like it. Judging from your behaviour – especially when it comes to unconscious reactions – I have the firm believe you were kept in a laboratory for some time, where it was implanted against your will. But usually even the strongest blocks get holes after a while. Maybe with a little push in the right direction you´ll be able to regain important parts of your memory in time, even if you never come across the key. But you´ll have to be patient."

I sighed.
"Even without my memory I know I´m not a patient person."

He smiled again.
"In the meantime you can stay at the mansion. I won´t order you to take courses, but rather invite you to choose a few with the older students. See if you can further develop your climbing abilities, maybe discover new interests. I´ll see what I can find out about this other telepath and his block."

Tired, but with a warm feeling in my stomach I got up.
"Thank you, professor. For everything."

-----ooooo-----

Sunbeams were wandering over my open book, over the picture of a cell.

Jean was giving a speech about chromosomes and most of the students were already half asleep. I found it difficult to concentrate either, my interest in micro-biology being very limited.
A piece of paper landed on my desk. I picked it up and unfolded it.
Are you coming to the mall later? Henry, Jason and Bobby want to see this new war movie. We could go window shopping afterwards.

Slowly I turned my head and caught Marie´s gaze. Bobby and Henry were watching me either, only Jason looked in the other direction. He was a muscular guy with a greenish teint and little horns and scales on the back of his neck – when he went outside he always wore a long-sleeved shirt with a collar to hide them. He called me "Normalo" whenever he saw me and would throw me hateful stares all the time. He had plenty of them.
I had decided to ignore him.

Certainly the idea of going to the mall with me – even if I was only part of a bigger group – was nothing he´d look forward to. Well, it seemed he was in for a pleasant surprise.

With an apologetic smile I shook my head and lifted my shoulders.

I´d promised Scott to help with the training later on. Jean and he wanted to test something.
I wrote a brief note and threw the paper on the desk behind me.

A few minutes later the answer was there.
We´ll help with the training and go together afterwards. How does that sound?

"Miss Grey?" Jason had lifted a hand.
"Yes, Jason?"
"I was on the Internet yesterday and found this website – "
Jean Grey frowned.
"I know it. What does it have to do with this lesson?"
The boy glanced at me, briefly.
"It claims mutants were the "greatest scourge of the twenty-first century". When the Normalos already think that, why don´t we just take over? I mean you could temper with their brains to get them to do what you want. Almost every mutant is stronger with his x-sense than a Homo sapiens. Why don´t we use these senses to make life easier for us, instead of locking ourselves up like frightened kids?"

Jean closed her book.
"Okay, let´s finish here. Please read page 43 to 47 for tomorrow."
She walked around her desk and dropped the book, which levitated in the air for a moment before taking its place in a shelf nearby.
"Jason, I´d like you to think about this question and discuss it with your classmates. We´ll talk about it tonight, after dinner in the library. Anybody who´s interested can attend the meeting. Class dismissed."

Everyone rised, grabbed their stuff and walked in the direction of the door. Marie and Henry caught up with me in the hallway.
"Don´t listen to him." she said, "He only tries to provoke you."
"I know." I growled, only partly satisfied that Jason´s big mouth had gotten him sort of extra lessons and not the fight he´d been looking for.
"So what about the mall?" Henry asked, rubbing his hands, "We can still go there after this training thing, can´t we?"
"Uh…sure." I replied, wondering if I still wanted to go, knowing that Jason would be in the group - almost certainly harrassing me along the way, "I just have to see what Scott and Jean are up to first."

-----ooooo-----

Buzz

Buzz

Buzz

I took another pile of the small orange frisbees and threw one at Scott.
Like the others it exploded in mid-air, in front of his visor.

Buzz

It wasn´t exactly a brain-job, so I could turn my head a little every now and then, watching the others playing with their senses.

Bobby was fighting Jason.
They were circling each other.
Suddenly Jason leapt forward and swung his padded stick, but Bobby dove under his arm and pushed him from behind.

"Chris."
"Sorry, Scott."

I threw a few more frisbees.

Buzz

Buzz

Buzz

When I looked again they were already rolling on the ground, a ball with arms and legs and horns. A crust of ice was crawling over the stony ground, freezing Jason´s left leg. I was laughing with the others when the boy tried to get up – he looked like a fish hopping around on dry land.

He shot me an angry glance.
"Stop! Laughing!"
I raised an eyebrow, but did so.

From the corner of an eye I could see Professor Xavier wheeling out onto the terrace.

Jason finally freed himself, got up and walked past me. The hiss was only for my ears.
"Normalo! We should eliminate your kind! All of them!"

Paralysed by the hate in his voice I only stood there, watched him placing his foot onto a flower pot and adjusting his trousers. Then anger took over, though I didn´t express it aloud - there were kids around.
Asshole! You should be put in a lab! Shock therapy might help you!
A serious voice in my head, not one of mine.
You don´t mean that.

I grabbed a few more frisbees.
Oh yes, I certainly do!
I don´t think so. As a matter of fact you pity him.

Suddenly Scott became very busy destroying all the little orange discs that appeared in front of his visor, being thrown with the force of my rage.

Buzz
Buzz
Buzz
Buzz
Buzz
Smack

The last one hit his shoulder and disappeared behind a small stone wall.

I asked the professor to leave my mind and a moment later could only hear my own thoughts again.

-----ooooo-----

In another corner of the huge terrace an older boy I´d only seen occasionally did a similar job as I: He was throwing knives at Logan. Without much effort Wolverine was brushing them away with his claws. The boy tried different angles, speed, anything possible to unbalance the man, but each knife was caught and wiped away. Logan didn´t even sweat.

When I´d calmed down a little – Jason had gone back into the house and Marie and Bobby were sitting on a stone bench, deep in conversation - I continued the training with Scott, but kept on watching Wolverine and his "trainer". The man was wearing a padded vest, but not even a single knife had hit it yet.

Buzz

Buzz

Buzz

He uses the wrong technique. I found myself thinking, He shouldn´t take the knife at the top, rather hold it more in the middle.

"Chris?"
"Sorry, Scott."

Buzz

Buzz

Buzz

I began to wish the training was over – this was getting dull. And in dull moments the mind begins to wander.
Certainly not a bad thing.

But I didn´t like the path my mind was wandering on.
It was full of black holes that gave me a headache – literally.

There was a growl behind my back, a hiss and half a second later a silver blade stuck in the flower pot next to my right leg.
I whirled around.
"Are you nuts?! Watch it!"

Logan pulled his claws back in and walked over.
"Sorry, my fault. The kid threw a bit too low and I just tried to catch it."
"Doesn´t seem to be a very useful training session when you can catch the knives, instead of just fighting them off."
"You think you can do better?"

I shrugged.
"No idea. I´d love to try though."

We looked at Scott, who glanced at his watch and nodded.
"Okay, I have afternoon lessons in a few minutes anyway. Don´t hurt yourself."
I rolled my eyes.
"Oh, thank you so much for your confidence in me."

-----ooooo-----

Logan gave me a basket with a dozen throwing knives.
I took one out and – almost unconsciously – weighted it in my hand, finding the center of gravity.
Logan stepped back and waited.
"No claws?" I asked disappointed.
"Let´s see if I need them."
Nodding slowly I took a deep breath.
"Ready?"
"Ready."

The first knife flew directly at his heart.

-----ooooo-----

Of course I missed.

That is – his claws shot out in time and the weapon flew to one side, landing on the stone ground, gliding onto the lawn next to the terrace.
Before anyone could say anything the next silver blade was on the way, aiming at his stomach area.
It was closer this time, but still no hit.

My mind began to gather facts and list them, while I was reaching for the next knife.

The wind´s blowing from behind.
His left arm is slightly slower than the right.
The padding can´t be more than 6 inches.
The last knife wasn´t flying straight, more precision this time.
If you want to kill someone with a knife aim at the windpipe.

Now where´d that last part come from?

Too late – the weapon was already flying.
Not towards the windpipe – much lower. Towards the upper hip.
It screeched when the claws hit the metal blade and hurled it away.
But this time I didn´t give Logan the opportunity to recover.

Two more knives were on the way, thrown with a technique called "donkey-shot" after a guy who got both of his ears pinned to a wall with this move.
Where the hell did THIS come from?!

Wolverine lifted his right arm to keep the knife from hitting his nose – then breathed in sharply.
The left arm hadn´t been quick enough.

A black handle was sticking out his chest, the blade deeply buried in the fabric of the padding.

Way too deep.

-----ooooo-----

I heard Rogue crying out behind me.
A second later she was at Logan´s side.
"Oh my gosh! Are you okay?"

His grin looked a bit forced.
"Sure. Let me just…" he removed the knife with a grunt.

There was blood on the blade.

An accident.
Just an accident.

I looked up and found everyone staring at me.
Another knife was in my hand and I dropped it quickly.

No accident.
I´d seen the small opening of the padding only an instant before the knife left my hand. I´d seen it and aimed at it without thinking twice, knowing that this time it would hit home.
And it had.
The first thing I´d felt was satisfaction.
No triumph, no joy, just plain satisfaction about a task well accomplished.

When I came to my senses again, I realised what that meant.

"Chris…" Jean´s voice.
I backed away.
"I´m…I´m sorry."

A killer.
I was a killer.
There was no other explanation.
Someone had my brain washed, but the bits that were leaking through the holes didn´t need explanation, any idiot could make the connection.

I needed to sort out my thoughts.

"It was an accident." Logan grumbled while covering the cut with his hand. "No harm done."
There were only three people on the terrace who didn´t seem to join in the relieved chatter of the group around the bleeding mutant:

Jean Grey, Professor Xavier and myself.

-----ooooo-----

I hugged my knees and watched the sun setting behind the forest.
You get an impressive view from the roof of the mansion.
And it´s quiet enough to do what I had avoided for too long: thinking.

A killer.
No.
"Assassin" was the word I had been looking for.
Not that it made any difference.

Actually it made one, at least when it came to my staying at this place. I would have to go eventually.
They were nice people, but with all the kids around they couldn´t take the risk of letting me stay here any longer. Who knew what else was buried in the depth of my mind, waiting to come to the surface?
Maybe I was a mass murderer.

The breeze brought a familiar scent, I didn´t have to turn around to recognise its owner.
"I don´t wanna talk."
Storm sat beside me.
"Just wanted to check on you. Logan is fine, the wound wasn´t deep."
Now I turned around.
"That´s not true and you know it. If it wasn´t for his healing abilities this could have gotten him killed."

She shook her head.
"Even without his mutation he wouldn´t have died."
I didn´t respond and she put a hand on my shoulder.
"You didn´t want this to happen. It was an accident."
I shook the hand off.
"You have no idea! I wasn´t in control! It was all reflexes taking over! I didn´t, not even for one second, think of Logan´s healing abilities. There was an opening in the pad, I saw it, I used it. No conscious thought about it! Just reacting."

I didn´t continue the train of thoughts. Storm could make the connection herself. What if I lost control again?
With someone else around?
One who couldn´t stop me?

One of the students?

"I don´t think you could kill anybody."
"The problem is you don´t know. Not for sure. Hell, not even I know for sure!"
"Trust the professor. He didn´t detect danger in you."
"Just because it wasn´t there before? I feel like the barrier in my head is breaking – and I try to hold it up, because I´m not sure if I want to know what´s behind! Whenever I look at someone my mind unconsciously starts making a list of pressure points I could use in an attack and notes things like a mutation for further reference. Have you ever seen "A long kiss goodnight"? About this woman who suffers from amnesia? She´s no memory whatsoever about her former life, marries a guy, has a family and leads a normal life – and finds out eventually that she´s in fact an assassin. The former personality takes over and she abandons her husband and daughter and gets back to her old job, almost killing her daughter on the way."

Storm chuckled softly.
"I remember the movie. Didn´t she put her own life in danger in the end to save the child?"

"That´s beside the point."
"I thought that was exactly the point."

"What if I´m here to kill one of you?"
"Who?"
"I don´t know. The professor."
"Don´t worry about him. He´s not as defenceless as he might appear."
"He can´t see behind my block. I could get this de-programming code or whatever in the right moment and would just…you know…throw a knife or something."

Storm sighed. "It would take more to kill him, believe me. Why don´t you give your mind a rest? Sleep over it – sometimes things look different the following day."

I rubbed my eyes. All of a sudden I felt very tired. With an obedient nod I got up and together we walked over to the mansard window.

"Where are Marie and the others?"
"They were waiting for you downstairs. I sent them to the mall and promised I would try to convince you to follow them later."

"I´m afraid I´m not in the mood."

-----ooooo-----

When we were walking down the steps to the students´ lounge Scott called out from the hallway. His face was more serious than ever.
"We have a situation: Rogue and Jason have been kidnapped."
"What?! By whom?"
Jean came around the corner, carrying a black uniform that she now thrusted into Storm´s arm.
"We assume it was Mystique. The kids were abducted from the mall by a policeman. Bobby said they were accused of shoplifting and went with the guy to set things right. When they didn´t come back he checked and found out there´d never been a complaint from the shop."
Suddenly a growling Logan appeared at my side, throwing Scott a key.
"What are you waiting for? The jet´s ready. Let´s go."

I watched the group walking quickly to the hidden elevator, with Storm only flashing me an apologetic half-smile.
Amazing how the 3D-charts of pressure points in my head could be so easily replaced by a map of the mansion – including most of the cameras and hiding spots on the way to the jet hangar.

When the X-Men were gone I turned around and ran down the corridor.

-----ooooo-----

I found Professor Xavier in the observation room.

He was talking to the guys in the jet, but I was a total loss about what all this techno-babble was referring to.
Then the noise of the jet starting filled the room and Xavier turned to me. Silently I walked over to a chair and sat down. I could tell he was about to object, but something stopped him from throwing me out.

I watched him working on the controls, wishing I could help somehow. Since my first plan (smuggling myself into the jet and saving the day) hadn´t sounded like such a bright idea on second thought I was looking for something else to do now.

Suddenly there was a flash in my mind.

The mall.
A policeman walking over to us with a serious expression.
"Someone saw the two of you taking a few things from the CD-shop over there. Would you please follow me?"
"But officer, we didn´t…"
"When someone tells me such a thing I have to investigate. There are two ways: You either come with me or I´ll make you."

I realised Xavier was transferring someone´s memory of the past events into my mind, like a video tape.

"Okay, officer, we´re coming. Bobby, stay here, we´ll be back soon."
"But Marie…"
"I´m sure it won´t take long. We´ll just explain things."
"Uh…okay."

The policeman leading Rogue and Jason away. They disappear around a corner. The hand of the clock at the wall rushes forward, but still no sign from them.
A frantic thought: I should have gone with them.

The freckled guy in the CD-shop:
"No, I didn´t report any shoplifters today."

Panic.

I shook my head to get the intense feeling of panic out of my mind and the "tape" stopped.

Xavier was still working at the console, the silence was only interrupted occasionally by the bleeping sounds of the blinking instruments. A blinking red dot on the screen moved another few inches.

"Where are they going?"
"Rogue and Jason are outside of town, in an old warehouse. They´re going to pick them up."

Sounded pretty simple, but you don´t really need a jet and four powerful mutants to just "pick someone up". Well, there wasn´t anything I could do right now, so I settled back and recalled the part of Bobby´s memory in which the policeman had showed up for the first time.

Maybe I´d find a clue concerning the reason for the kidnapping.

-----ooooo-----

There was a knock at the door of the ready room and a young man stuck his head in.
I got up.
"Hey Bobby."

He smiled at me and raised a gun.

The gun was bad enough. It was huge. But what really gave me the creeps was the strong feeling of déjà-vu that overcame me at this point.

-----ooooo-----

I threw a glance at Professor Xavier who slowly turned around.
"Mystique. So you are behind this. What do you want with the children?"

Bobby closed the door behind him, locked it and……began to melt.

His face changed, skin and hair ran down the top of his head and gave way for some sort of helmet sitting over a face covered in blue scales. Solid yellow eyes gave me a brief, uninterested glance, then went back to the professor.

"Can´t you read my mind, professor?"

I realised that the helmet was kind of a protection against telepaths. So that was the reason why this mysterious woman had managed to get into the mansion without being detected.

Mystique smiled again.
"Don´t worry about your precious children. They are save. I only needed them to lure the other X-Men away. I wanted to talk to you alone, professor."

I got up and strolled towards the door.
"Well, if you´ll excuse me then…"

She didn´t even move.
"If you touch the handle, I will kill you."

I stopped, turned and went back to my chair without another word. Mystique smirked.
"Smart girl. What´s your mutation?"

"Sorry, just a simple homo sapiens without a sixth sense. But people fear my sarcastic remarks."

The blue scaled woman looked at Professor Xavier with a raised eyebrow.
"Still searching for hope, are you?"

Xavier wheeled nearer.
"Why are you here, Mystique?"

Her voice was all business.
"I want you to release Magneto."

-----ooooo-----

He shook his head.
"Impossible."

Her eyes narrowed.
"It´s not. Not for you. I want you to arrange his release right away. Mix the minds of some official up and get him out of there. If you refuse I´ll tell Sabretooth and Toad to kill one of your kids. And…" with this her gaze wandered to me, "…I will take care of this little homo sapiens here."

I wasn´t afraid. I mean, this whole situation was just so…weird…it didn´t feel real at all.

At the same time, my mind was searching for a way out. Couldn´t Xavier send Jean a telepathic "memo" about what was happening here? Make them come back?

But they wouldn´t. I realised a moment later, He would tell them to get the kids first, then return.

Searching the room for weapons and escape routes and my mind for an idea I continued to listen to the conversation of the two mutants.

"…was in there long enough. He only tries to make the world a better place."
Xavier shook his head.
"Only for mutants."
She laughed.
"You´re a mutant, too."
"As you know I believe in peaceful coexistence between homo sapiens and homo superior."
Mystique was about to say something, but stopped. Then she raised her weapon again.

"I´m not here to have an ethical discussion. Get Magneto out or your kids will die."

-----ooooo-----

It took Xavier about 15 minutes to do what she demanded.

I watched as he convinced three official that Erik Lehnsherr needed an immediate abdominal operation and was to be transferred to the mansion. They didn´t ask why their arrestee was to be brought to the mansion instead of a hospital.

When the professor turned to Mystique again he looked tired.
"I did what you wanted. Now let the children go."

She sneered.
"That´s not the way it works. We´ll wait for him. But not here."

-----ooooo-----

We were standing in the hangar when the Mercedes drove down the ramp.

It stopped and a very confused looking man in a suit got out. He didn´t seem to notice Mystique, who immediately aimed her gun at him, but addressed Xavier, while walking around the car and opening the back door.
"Good afternoon, professor. Mr. Lehnsherr has a…medical problem that has to be looked after." From the expression on his face he desperately tried to remember something, but couldn´t.

I pitied him, but was distracted by the guy who got off the back seat. Average height, grey hair – but a pair of piercing brown eyes that saw right through you. He looked around for a moment, then his gaze fell onto Xavier and me, being guarded by Mystique.
He broke into a smile.
"Mystique, my dear. I should have guessed it right away."

The woman returned the smile, but said nothing. Magneto walked nearer.
"Charles. How did she "convince" you to let me out? As much as I want to I can´t imagine you finally came to your senses and did it out of your own free will…"

Xavier´s expression didn´t change.
"No." he said gravely, "It seems she took over some of your methods to archieve her goals. Erik, before-"
"No, Charles, save your breath. And while we´re at it: Don´t try anything funny! You know I would feel it if you tried to mess with my mind. Mystique, the helmet, please."

The blue-scaled woman removed the helmet and handed it to Magneto, who pulled it over his head. He sighed.
"Much better."

Suddenly there was a loud metallic noise outside and a man flew into the hangar, slid over the ground, toppled over and was stopped by a wall.
I inhaled sharply.
"Scott!"

This meant the others were here.
This also meant they weren´t alone.

-----ooooo-----

I reached behind me and grabbed the object lying on a pile of boxes.
A screwdriver.
Not a very elegant weapon, but it would have to do. If only I could remember this assassins´ training I´d apparently had. Then I could at least help! Instead I stayed next to the wheelchair, trembling with a mix of fear and anticipation.

"Erik, stop this!" Xavier said sharply, while the noise of the fight grew louder. The other man laughed.
"But why? Let them fight – aren´t you interested in the outcome? Who knows, maybe your students are indeed better than mine."

It didn´t look like it though.

Scott hadn´t regained consciousness yet and from what I could see Wolverine was extremely busy outside, fighting off Sabretooth. The man who´d brought Magneto was sitting in a corner of the hangar, staring at the pile of boxes behind me, but obviously not "seeing" anything.

Suddenly a greenish guy jumped into the hangar, landed on the ground, turned around and let his tongue shooting towards Storm, who came running down the ramp, all glowing eyes and flying hair.

The tongue never reached her.
With a cry Toad jumped back against the wall, where he stuck, rubbing his head.
"Ouch. What was that?"

Magneto turned to Xavier again.
"Tsk, tsk…You call this fair, Charles?"

The man in the wheelchair didn´t respond, but kept on concentrating on the fights around us. I was still waiting for an opening, but with both Magneto and Mystique standing so close there wasn´t much I could do.

Bronx? What the hell could it be I have to remember before my memory comes back?

Sabretooth and Wolverine had finally found their way inside the basement as well, growling and punching. There was this déjà-vu-feeling again, but this time I didn´t pay much attention.

Where was Jean?

Bringing the children.
For an instant there was a picture of the jet in my mind, with a grim-looking Jean and two very relieved teenagers on the way here.

Sabretooth was jumping towards Wolverine, but seemed to be out of breath all of a sudden – none of his punches hit his opponent.

Magneto made a gesture with one hand and Mystique tossed him the gun. He made a face while he cocked it and aimed it at Xavier.
"You just never listen to me!"

Then he pulled the trigger.

-----ooooo-----

I gasped when the shot thundered through the hangar.
Actually it wasn´t that loud, but to me it was like a clangorous slap in the face.

A red dart hit Xavier´s shoulder and fell down to the floor while his hand reached for the wound. Then his eyes closed and he folded in the chair.

Not dead! Not dead! It throbbed in my head, Just unconscious. It was only a dart, an anaesthetic! Magneto wouldn´t kill him!

I sank down and felt his pulse, just to be sure. It was still beating. The screwdriver disappeared in my right shoe.
With a bored sigh Mystique walked away to help Toad beating up Storm.

I was alone with Magneto, who looked at me for the first time.
"Don´t worry." He smiled and pointed towards Xavier, "Your headmaster will come to in a few minutes. It´s not a strong anaesthetic."

I couldn´t talk, only grabbed the screwdriver firmer to make sure it was still there, then stood up again, quickly slipping the tool up my sleeve.
"Bastard!" I muttered, loud enough for him to hear.

Magneto chuckled without humour.
"Someday you will also learn that humans and mutants can´t live together. Maybe you´ll even join my side in a few years, who knows?"

I was too angry to hold back.
"I don´t think you´d like me to join your "team". Not if you mean what you say about homo sapiens."

His eyes widened.
"You…you are…"
Then he chuckled again, shaking his head and throwing the unconscious man in the wheelchair an almost affectionate glance.
"Oh Charles, you always have a surprise up your sleeve, haven´t you?"

"HEY!"
The man in the suit was walking around the Mercedes, an angry expression on his face. With Xavier being K.O. he had woken up again.
"What´s going on here?! I demand an explana-"
Storm crashed into him and together they slid over the ground. The white-haired woman ignored the gasping guy under her, jumped up and sent a bright bolt of lightening in the direction of Toad, missing him only by a few inches.

Sabretooth and Mystique had cornered Wolverine who growled at them, swinging his blades.
Suddenly a bolt of red lightening shot from the corner of the hangar in which Scott had landed earlier. It hit Sabretooth who roared and turned to the other, almost forgotten opponent, while Mystique began to kick the crap out of Wolverine.

By now the hangar smelled as if a furry animal had been fried in it.
A big furry animal.

Wolverine was still in trouble, but Storm and Cyclops were handling their opponents pretty well.

Outside the jet was landing on the lawn.
Only moments later Jean was running down the ramp, followed by Rogue and Jason.
With relief I saw that Xavier began to stir again.

Magneto gasped, then cried out.
"Mystique! You had her and let her go again?! Do I have to do everything here?!"

He stamped in the direction of the newcomers.
Jean stopped and rised her arms, but with no more than a flick of Magneto´s finger, one of the water barrels in the corner leapt right at her, knocking her over. There was a loud bang when the barrel hit the ground next to the woman and burst open. Water splashed everywhere and ran down the ramp. Unimpressed Magneto walked through the stream, his eyes fixed on Rogue.

The two teenagers stopped in horror and moved backwards when Magneto passed by their unconscious teacher.

An opening.

Almost without thinking I let the screwdriver fly. It went straight for Magneto´s right shoulder. Hard to reach an object sticking out at this particular spot. He´d be distracted for quite a while.

Or so I thought.

-----ooooo-----

It was a perfect shot, considering the circumstances.
Not too strong, so the screwdriver wouldn´t spin around in mid-air; not too weak, so it wouldn´t bounce back off its destination.
Perfect aim too, even with this unbalanced piece of metal.

The mistake in this concept only came to my mind when Magneto whirled around and held one hand up – stopping the tool right in front of his chest.

Metal, right.
I´d just tried to fight the Master of Magnetism with a piece of metal.
How dumb can a single person be?

Without moving a muscle I watched as the screwdriver turned around and shot back towards me, stopping only a few inches in front of my heart.

The embarrassment was almost greater than my fear.
Even before Magneto opened his mouth I felt like disappearing into a hole in the ground.

"Did nobody tell you about my mutation, young homo sapiens?"

Funny enough, I couldn´t remember anybody telling me. Another piece of information that had found its way into my mind on its own – only seconds after I´d have needed it, of course.

Blast!

Now I was about to get stabbed for this delay.

Jason and Rogue were standing still at the upper part of the ramp, unsure of what to do.
Even if Professor Xavier had been completely awake he wouldn´t have been able to stop Magneto from getting the kids (or rather "Marie", whom the leader of the brotherhood was obviously after) – the helmet would have prevented it. But maybe this moment of distraction would buy them some time, for all it was worth.

I forced myself to move my gaze upwards and meet Magneto´s.
Pay attention to what the weapon is doing – but pay more to the eyes of its holder.

Where did THIS…? Uh…never mind…

Though he wasn´t really "holding" the screwdriver Magneto sure had control over the object. Searching his face for an expression that might indicate he was going to let the tool leap into my chest I frantically slapped my mind for information.
Now would be a perfect time for this "Bronx"-thing to come up. Help was never more urgently needed!

Nothing, no new piece of memory, no feeling of knowledge concerning assassins´ training.

Damn!

But wasn´t there a blue-ish glow in the corner right next to the ramp?
Storm is probably building up some new lightning.

"Erik! Don´t-" a voice at my left side croaked.
Magneto walked a few steps down the ramp again, the screwdriver hovered nearer.
The blue glowing in the corner got stronger, almost forming a circle – and there was this odd déjà-vu-feeling again...

"Oh Charles, you won´t even let mutants defend themselves! Can´t you see your whole concept is going to destroy your children someday?"
He stood still again, his rising hand pulling the screwdriver back as if he was drawing a bow.

Suddenly I felt calmness overcoming me. A quiet tune was humming at the corner of my mind and the trembling of my hands stopped. If this was my fate I would meet it – but certainly not without doing everything possible to change it first!

Magneto waited for Xavier to say something, then rised his hand for the gesture that would kill me.

Wolverine had Mystique pinned to the ground and Scott and Jean were hunting Toad and Sabretooth through the hangar..At least the kids are out of reach...
Xavier only needs a few more seconds to regain full consciousness, then he´ll be able to stop the fights...


Like a rabbit caught in a car´s lights I watched Magneto´s hand stopping in mid air.
Then – quick as a snake - the palm shot out and I whirled to the side, unable to get out of the way of the pointy instrument, but just in time to protect my heart.
The screwdriver drilled into my left arm up to the handle. I collapsed onto the wet ground and heard myself crying out.

The real pain only came seconds later, but was so intense I nearly fainted.
Panting and sobbing I rolled onto the right arm and pulled my knees to my chest. Around the trunk of the Mercedes I could see disappointment and anger in Magneto´s face.

And something else.

Behind him, there was more of the blue-ish glow.
I liked the look of it.
It looked…peacefully somehow.
Like a lake seen from above.

Oh shit, I was beginning to hallucinate from the pain.

It made my vision blur...or did it?

Something leapt out of the blue circle behind Magneto. I watched the man being hit by what seemed to be a solid rock.
A blue rock.

Somehow I got to my feet and swayed around the Mercedes. Leaning against the side of the car I blinked until my eyes focused onto the blue…thing on top of the man with the black helmet.
It raised its head, all red-glowing eyes and growling like a chainsaw.

Holding my arm, feeling warm blood dribbling down my elbow I whispered the name of the furious creature.

"Bronx."

-----ooooo-----

There was a buzzing sound in my head when the barrier broke and the memories returned like a huge tidal wave. Whimpering I sank to my knees and held my forehead, that throbbed as if it was about to explode.

Something pressed against my right shoulder and a wet tongue went over my face, pushing the hand away. Eyes without pupils were watching me attentively, the twitching nose taking in smells of blood and sweat and fear.

"Bronx." I repeated in a low voice, touching his muzzle, the horns, just making sure he was really here. Then I rested my head against the neck of the gargoyle and – broke into tears.

Talk about embarrassment: I never cry. As a rule. And now I was doing just that.
In public.

Damn!
But I couldn´t stop.

There he was, my old pal – alive and wailing like a puppy. Last time I´d seen him it had been in a Psi-Corps laboratory.
They´d caught him because he wanted to help me – not for the first time.
No wonder Bester had chosen his name to seal the gate in my mind – he´d probably thought I´d never see my blue buddy again.

Bet he´d tried everything to make sure I wouldn´t.

When I´d calmed down a little I looked up. The fight was pretty much over, with everyone staring at the unusual invader and his uncontrollably sobbing friend.
I wiped my eyes and got up.

The scenery had changed again:
Jean had raised the roaring Sabretooth to the ceiling and was holding him there with her telekinetic powers, Wolverine had come around the corner, half-carrying an unconscious Mystique, and Cyclops and Storm were busy binding Toad´s hands and feet together. Rogue and Jason were walking down the ramp, carefully stepping around the motionless Magneto.
The girl was the first one finding her voice again.
"What is this?"

Despite the pain in my arm I patted the blue gargoyle affectionately.
"His name is Bronx. He´s a gargoyle."

The sound of rubber wheels on the stone ground indicated that Professor Xavier had regained full consciousness.
"What a remarkable companion. So it was his name that had locked your memories away."

The creature in question was already turning his head to an fro, absorbing all the new and exiting smells of the people around him.
Briefly I wondered if mutants smelled differently from other humans, but was distracted by the increasing pain in my upper arm.

A strong hand grabbed my shoulder and ripped it off.
Actually it only removed the screwdriver, but it sure felt like the whole arm coming off in the process.
Cursing I struggled to my feet again, fighting for breath.
"You know, you should consider a career as a nurse, professor. With your acting in such a gentle and sensible manner."

He smiled, dropped the bloody screwdriver and handed me a clean handkerchief to press onto the wound.
"I might ask Jean if there´s a job vacancy. Now I suggest you go with her and get patched up. We can talk afterwards."

But "Fate" had other plans - bloody son-of-a-bitch!

-----ooooo-----

Suddenly the Mercedes moved to the side and crashed into another car.
Everybody turned around.

Magneto had managed to get to his feet. Apparently Bronx´ attack had only knocked him out for a few minutes. He still looked a bit…worn, but his eyes were clearing quickly. The Mercedes was lifted up by an invisible hand and hovered over our heads, spinning madly.

Xavier wheeled nearer to the ramp.
"Erik, it´s over. Please stop fighting, before more people get hurt."

Magneto´s gaze wandered to me, then Bronx, rested on Jason´s frightened face and stopped on Rogue´s, who was kneeling next to the panting gargoyle on the wet ground, not daring to move.

"I´ll…" he swayed and his eyes were clouding again, "I´ll never stop…figh…". Then he stumbled and once more collapsed onto the stony ramp.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion.

I heard a few cries, saw Sabretooth dropping from the ceiling when Jean quickly moved her concentration from him to the falling car, but realised she wouldn´t be able to hold the heavy object, at least not long enough for everybody to get away.

Before I could as much as formulate a conscious thought, reflex had opened a part of my mind that wasn´t fully trained yet – but fully operational nevertheless.
The blue circle opened within an instant and spread over the people in the puddle under the falling car.
Jason had pulled Rogue away from the danger zone, but Xavier, Wolverine, Mystique and I were still under the spinning vehicle.
From the corner of an eye I saw Wolverine throwing the motionless Mystique in Storm´s direction and leaping in the opposite one, undoubtly to save the professor and me.

Not a chance.
Even with his enhanced abilities he´d be too slow.

The blue circle closed around me and I felt the familiar sensation of the dimension slide.

[Where to?]

I don´t care. Somewhere save.

-----ooooo-----

Only seconds later I slid out of the portal, crashed into a grey wall and fell back, landing right on my butt.
Speaking of "elegant"! At least I hit the wall with my good arm.

An instant later a growling man´s shoulder was pressed into my injured one with incredible force and darkness clouded my senses.
Far away I could hear a familiar voice shouting my name and someone else calling for a security team.

"Over here. Slowly." the familiar voice ordered. Then I felt something touching the wound and the man added with a sigh,
"Why always this arm, for heaven´s sake?!"

-----ooooo-----

End (of Part 6)


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