Chapter 14
The jet was tucked easily out of the way in a clearing. It was hidden on three sides by a rock cliff. Fog acted as cover.
Mystique stood next to the camp fire, night had fallen and brought a chill with it. She didn't really feel the cold that much but she shivered.
Nightcrawler was crouched nearby, watching her intently. She didn't care.
"They say you can imitate anybody? Even their voice?"
She turned to face him and replied in his voice "Even their voice."
He smiled at her "So why not stay disguised all the time?" he asked "You know...look like everyone else."
For a moment she felt offended by the question. But then she looked over at Sherlock before answering "Because we shouldn't have to." she turned back to face him and he smiled at her answer.
Sherlock stared hard at the fire. The heat felt good. She felt so cold. She hated to admit it but she knew John had been right. If Storm and Jean hadn't arrived, she probably would have ended up killing someone. She was loosing control. Whenever she felt particularly angry, or under immense pressure, or scarily stressed, she started to loose control. It was happening all over again. It had started gradually but now it was getting much, much worse. She needed to find the Professor and get him to help her. When she lost control she always ended feeling weak and ill. She had an inclination that something was going to happen when they had reached Bobby's house. Which is why she'd had enough sense to pick up an orange. The extra vitamins usually helped the recovery process. She felt scared. She had no idea what was going to happen and she couldn't risk loosing control again. There might not always be someone to save her.
Jean watched Sherlock carefully. With some help from Logan, Bobby, Rogue and John had filled Jean and Storm in on what had happened at Bobby's parent's. Jean recognised the signs. She saw that Sherlock was loosing control. Jean knew Sherlock would usually have been able to easily get rid of both of the missiles that had been following. But Jean had needed to step in and help with just one of them. It was fair to say that Jean was getting worried about Sherlock. Last time this had happened the Professor had been there to help her regain control. Jean knew she wasn't anywhere near powerful enough to have any affect. They needed to find the Professor. And soon.
Logan knew Sherlock was blaming herself for the damage done to the jet. Sherlock was powerful, yet she had clearly struggled. He knew Jean had helped destroy the first missile. He only had a vague memory of the last time he'd seen her loose control. It hadn't been pleasant. Not even he had been able to stop her. He'd noticed the changes already. They were running out of time.
Mystique watched Sherlock. Sherlock was sat by the fire, the orange flicker causing her skin to adopt an eerie glow. Mystique had seen the colour changes in Sherlock's eyes. She'd seen the way they kept changing. No matter how hard Sherlock seemed to try she could never seem to get them to stay the same colour. And her skin kept changing to a deep blue then back again. Mystique had seen the symptoms before. She recognized it as a sign that Sherlock was loosing control. She had no idea what Sherlock would do but she knew she didn't want to be around when it happened.