The X-Men all gathered in Professor Xavier's office upon noticing Taryn's absence – The Professor, Storm, Logan, Warren, Rogue, Piotr, Kitty, and, off more to the side, Bobby.
'Taryn wouldn't just pick and up leave, especially not with Pyro!" Warren said quite heatedly, a demeanor that most of the room's other occupants were unaccustomed to, coming from him.
Bobby was the first to speak up. "Well, it's not like we've got any other leads—"
"Why aren't we looking for her?" Warren interrupted.
"Listen, you think we'd be sitting around here makin' small talk if we had any idea where to start looking?" Logan said, standing up in front of Warren and attempting to stare him down.
Suddenly, Professor Xavier, who had been seated quietly, put his head up – only his eyes were glassy, a symptom, they knew, of him channeling the consciousness of another. He spoke, and the rest of them listened intently:
"I have your students. They will be returned to you in one piece, provided that I receive Juno's full cooperation."
And with that single statement, the Professor's eyes returned to normal.
"Corbin McGarridy," he said in a hushed voice. "He was a student here for a short period of time, until we found that his personal beliefs on mutant rights did not coalesce with the principles of this school—"
"So, he's like Magneto?" Rogue asked.
"Worse."
Everyone turned to look at the figure in the doorway – an old man in a cape and suit, with a familiar helmet clutched under his arm.
"Speak of the devil." Logan growled under his breath.
"I believe –" Magneto interrupted, striding into the room almost regally, "in doing what is necessary to defend our kind. Drop Force, however, is an advocate of more preventative measures."
"So what do you propose we do?" Storm asked, crossing her arms skeptically. They were all obviously wary of any sort of cooperation with Magneto.
"Find them." He replied simply.
"Oh, well this discussion was productive!" Rogue snapped sarcastically.
"Gravity." Magneto said, ignoring Rogue's outburst. "Much like magnetism—"
"You know, Taryn was the only one of us who was into all that physics stuff," Bobby said, "So how about you put this in human speak, for the ones who don't understand."
"Gravitational pull," Magneto said in an annoyed tone, as though he were speaking to a five-year-old, "is like a magnetic field in the sense that it is strongest at two opposing poles. Balance is retained by drawing each pole in an opposite direction. However," he paused, glancing around poignantly, making sure none of them intended to interrupt, "If one force were to overpower the other – you could comprehend the gravity of that situation, I would hope."
"…Taryn's at the North Pole?" Kitty said. Magneto rolled his eyes condescendingly.
"I highly doubt it." He said. "Or we'd have a bit of a challenge thawing the girl out—"
"You're on the right track, Kitty," Xavier said reassuringly. "Corbin brought them as far North as possible, after finding that there was no location in the South which suited his purpose—"
"That doesn't explain why Pyro had to go along for the ride." Warren said gruffly.
"I don't think that matters." Rogue said. In all honesty, she was beginning to think that Warren was obnoxious, snobbish, and extremely overbearing. "We worry about getting them back first. Both of them."
"So who do we take?" Logan said.
"I'm going." Came a pandemonium of voice, resounding from all the younger inhabitants of the room.
"Oh, no, no, no." Logan said. "We don't need a whole damn brigade with us for a search and rescue—"
"Well, what do you expect us to do?" Bobby said.
"Yeah," Rogue said, leaving Bobby quite surprise that she was affirming what he'd said, "My roommate's out there, and I know if the tables were turned, she'd be out lookin' for me."
Logan looked around at the group of teenagers, then at Storm and Professor Xavier, who showed no sign of objection whatsoever; he sighed in resignation. "Suit up, then. Five minutes -- chop, chop!"
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John woke up, still in the damp, freezing cold cell, to see Taryn standing beneath the window, trying to focus her powers on something up above.
"What are you doing?" he asked groggily. Taryn had always been a morning person.
"If I get the bars on that window bent far down enough, they'll disconnect from the top, and maybe the opening'll be big enough to squeeze out through –"
"And then what, have a snowball fight?" Johm snapped sarcastically. Taryn turned around and glared at him
"Then maybe we'll stand a chance of being found." She snapped. "Those bars are adamantium. If we can get past them, the Professor may be able to pick up our location.
John shut up. She'd actually thought this through. Like always, he thought. He went over to her and grabbed her wrist – she was straining herself to hard for it being so early. "You're practically frozen in here." He said, shaking his head, 'Are you really gonna risk turning into a fucking popsicle out there?"
"I freeze to death either way," Taryn said, rubbing her arms and trying to heat herself with friction after John reminded her just how cold it was. "If anything, I'll die quicker out there –"
"Don't talk about that." John snapped uncomfortably. At that moment, Taryn managed to bend the bars so far back that they snapped, landing on the ground next to her with a clang. However, they hadn't bent far down enough, leaving frozen, jagged spires of metal blocking the way out. She look at John, who understood perfectly. He pulled out his lighter, then pulled Taryn close to him, covering her with his arm. "Keep covered, alright?" he said, silently reveling in the fact that, at his word, Taryn moved closer to him, pressing against his chest. He felt like a good guy for once, With a brief grin, he flicked open his lighter and sent a large burst of flame through the window.
After a good amount of time, he stopped the barrage and reluctantly let Taryn from under his arm. She looked up and grinned – the bars had completely melted away, leaving an open window just the right size to get through.
"C'mon, you first!" she said, pushing forward. She levitated him upwards, and his climbed through the hole. Once she was sure he had gotten through safely, Taryn lifted herself and went through as well.
Unfortunately, John hadn't moved away from the hole, and she ended up plowing right into his back. They both tumbled over and landed off of the window ledge and into the snow, with John tangled up on top of Taryn.
"Cozy." He said with a smirk. Taryn rolled her eyes, but still smiled.
"Alright, move your ass," she laughed, shoving him upward, only to find that he wouldn't move. Instead, he just stared at her.
"One kiss." He said simply. "C'mon, live a little. One kiss, and if we live through this, I'll throw in the towel."
Taryn looked at him skeptically, but found she couldn't resist the chance. What's the harm in it if I end up dying out here anyway?
She took her face in her frail, cold hands and pulled it to hers, giving a sound, yet surprisingly chaste kiss on the lips. Then, she let go and looked at him – and realize that after granting his request for one kiss, she wanted nothing more than to kiss him again. She shook her head forcefully and shoved him off, getting to her feet.
"You have no idea how bad you confuse me." She said.
"So…where do we go?" John asked. He wasn't going to press her any further – more for his own sake, because he knew how she got when she was angry.
"Let's try over there," Taryn said, gesturing to a cluster of large ice mounds on the other side of a frozen lake. She and John began walking. "I wonder why Drop Force never came back after last night?"
"Maybe he was just waiting to see if he could starve you into submission/" John suggested. Taryn looked at him, smirked, and rolled her eyes.
Same old John…
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Meanwhile, the jet was finally drawing farther north – Professor Xavier had picked up on two brain signals in the Far North, and had directed them where to go.
"You sure she's here?" Warren said, staring out the window.
"The Professor said they were in the vicinity." Storm said shortly.
"They're on the move." The Professor said, then suddenly, "Storm, fly lower."
"What? We might be seen—"
"Fly lower." He repeated. Storm did as she was told. "Don't fly too high here. The jet may overheat—"
"It appears that McGarridy has found away to put his plan into action without your lost lamb's assistance." Magneto said snidely. "Where did you track him to when you channeled him?"
The Professor paused, then a look of apprehension – almost terror – crossed his face. "Jamaica Bay…"
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A/N's
So, readers, does anyone remember the significance of Jamaica Bay:wink:
I have some fun stuff planned for our friends in the next few chapters. But it might get a little confusing, so read the next chapter VERY carefully, especially at the end.
