Disclaimer: Not mine, so please don't sue. Unless you want my love, because that is all I own. Besides socks.
Chapter 14
Magneto was waiting for them in the hanger bay.
"Nine people to face just one woman?" Gambit said shaking his head, "Hardly seems fair."
Scott shook his head, "You don't know Emma. Besides, you aren't going."
"What? How come?"
"How come? You just spent the last 6 hours fighting for your life."
"So? I got better."
"The Lab equipment didn't."
Magneto took a step in between the two brothers; something, the family relation, that had surprised even him. "I believe that he should come with us." He held out the pieces of plastic that he and others had been working on since his arrival. "I am not certain if these will work against Miss Frost. If they don't block out her telepathy, Gambit will come in most useful."
"Why's that?"
Gambit grinned as he tapped his temple, "Telepaths can't read my mind."
"That's because he doesn't have one," Bobby murmured from behind him.
Rogue suppressed a laugh, "So what's the plan?"
Magneto looked around the hanger, "We don't know how many mutants she may have under her control. She may have an army of her own."
Cyclops nodded at Magneto, taking over the briefing, "We'll break into teams, look out for Emma, don't use any more force than necessary. There may innocent people down there. The same goes for Emma, we don't know if she's doing this under her own power or not. Cerebro spotted her at the top of the Empire State Building."
"Romantic."
"Kitty, you, Angel and Colossus will be on crowd control. We are going to clear that roof as soon as possible. Bobby, I'm leaving Magneto in your hands. Watch his back, and ice him if he so much as makes a move against us."
Bobby grinned, "Right Boss."
"Rogue, you and Gambit are going to be on stand by. Help secure the area, but be on alert, if these sensors of Magneto's don't work, it will be up to you two to bring Emma down, as well as possibly the rest of us. Wolverine you get to distract her. I'm going to try to talk to her."
They looked up when Moira cleared her throat. "And I'll prep the lab in case this doesn't work. Mr. LeBeau, I suggest you rein in your powers for the next 12 hours, until your body fully adapts to the energy output. Ororo has just left to go to the airport to pick up our new arrivals. Are you sure that it's wise leaving the children unattended?"
"You're with them, and Hank. If anything foreign comes within a mile of the parameter we'll be notified. You're as safe as you can be."
She handed Scott a stopped vile, "Here, if you need it, this will disorientate her. I'm not sure for how long, but it may be enough to break through whatever hold Onslaught has on her." She turned to go, "Oh and Rogue, try not to touch anybody."
Scott looked from the retreating figure to those under his charge, "Alright everyone, remember that this isn't a training exercise, I want everyone sharp, safe and on alert. Let's go!"
He led the way into the X-Jet, behind him Peter and Bobby shared a grin with Kitty. "Our fearless leader has returned!"
--
Rogue sat beside Gambit after noticing the pout he wore.
"What's wrong?"
"He's treating me like a child."
"I hate to break it to you, but since you woke up, that's exactly how you've been acting. Besides, he's just worried. He doesn't want to lose you."
Gambit rolled his eyes, "Right."
Ahead of them Bobby was going over strategies with Kitty, who was leading those charged with clearing the roof.
Gambit watched them for a moment before nudging Rogue. "He likes her. It's written all over his stupid face."
She grinned at him before nodding towards the seat beside Kitty, "Pete likes her too."
"He'd rip her in half."
"Shh!" She said even as she broke into a laugh. Her smile quickly fell, and she inhaled deeply. "I'm nervous; I've never been in the field before, not like this."
"You'll do great, you're with me."
"Why did you come back?"
"Truthfully?" She nodded, "Because I was half passed out drunk when Scott and Stormy found me. I couldn't really argue my way out of it."
"Gambit..."
He shrugged, "You wanted the truth."
"Okay then, why did you stay after you sobered up? Was it just so you could get your powers?"
"Part of it."
"And the rest of it?"
"Don't know. This entire situation isn't going how it should. I never thought I would be helping in a fight against a man I don't even know with people who don't trust me; I never thought I would discover a family that I never knew I was lost from; and I never thought I would discover you."
She rolled her eyes. "Come on Gambit, stop trying to sweet talk me. It won't work."
"And why is that?"
"We're too different?" His expression told her that he didn't believe her. She shook her head before trying again. "Because I can't touch and you lie. How about that?" Shaking her head she unfastened her seat belt and moved up towards the front, beside where Logan sat.
"Gumbo giving you a hard time?"
She shrugged, "He thinks everything's a joke."
"He's a dick. It runs in his family."
"You're not helping."
"I'm not trying to. Look Kid, you've always done what you felt you needed to do, regardless of what anyone else thinks. It'll be the same with him."
"What do you think of him?"
"I think he's a cocky dick."
"Besides that."
He shrugged, "I don't. That's all I need."
"Everyone get ready," Cyclops said from the front, "We're coming down."
They landed nearby. With the ship cloaked, they looked around.
"Angel, I want you to take a fly by, let's see how many people are there." He looked up at the Empire State building, "What we need is a way to get Wolverine up there in a way that will distract Emma, and allow us enough time to get the people out safely."
Colossus smiled, "I could throw him."
"Oh hell no."
Cyclops looked over his shoulder. "Iceman, how's your sledding these days?" He nodded upwards, towards the top of the building. "Can you do it?"
Bobby grinned; it was days like these that he loved being a mutant, "Oh yeah."
"Can you take anyone with you?"
"I wouldn't tempt the weight capacity with anyone heavier than Kitty."
"Take her. Rogue, I want you and Angel to drop Wolverine in." He looked to Colossus and Gambit, "That leaves us on foot. Colossus, stay close to Magneto and watch him until Bobby can."
Angel swooped back down, "She's up there alright. She looks alone. There are twenty or so civilians up there as well."
"Okay. Give us a head start, and then make your move."
--
Logan hated to fly, ever since he could remember his stomach turned at heights. Watching as Angel helped Rogue get airborne didn't ease his mind. Sometimes, he almost wished he could die.
Iceman stood with Shadowcat, the girl clutching to him, partially phasing to reduce her body weight. With a nod the youth donned his ice armor and started to create a sort of slide underneath him that lifted them into the air.
That left him.
Together, Rogue and Angel grabbed onto him and flew towards the top of the building. Through the windows he could see people gathered, looking at the scene outside.
Then the alarm went off, and people started to evacuate.
He had never been to the Empire State building, granted, he had never gone to the Statue of Liberty either until he went with the X-Men on the rescue mission. Who would have thought that being a hero also allowed you to see the city's sights?
Right then, he was seeing Emma.
He had admired her from the moment that they had met. She was beautiful and strong and almost untouchable. Not in the same way as Rogue, but rather in a way that almost dared you to try to touch her. And right then she was sitting on a bench, facing away from them, so that he could see her side on, the wind blowing her scent straight towards him.
She turned her head, and smiled.
Above him, Angel screamed and fell.
Logan jerked, as Rogue alone was left to hold him aloft. That knowledge made him hate flying all the more.
Quickly Rogue brought him to the ledge of the building and let him go, with an easy six foot drop to the roof's surface before swooping and diving after the falling mutant, hoping against hope that she was faster than gravity.
"Angel's down," she called into her headset during the decent, "Repeat, Angel is down."
He was getting nearer; she was closing in, almost able to grab him.
But so was the ground.
Willing herself forward she managed to grab him: first by a foot, then by an arm, and then under his shoulders, between his wings. And then, as she had done before, she threw her weight against her momentum, hoping for an easy stop.
She managed to slow.
Then she hit the ground. Luckily a car broke her fall. And she had broken Angel's.
In more pain than she would have liked her invulnerability to allow, and ignoring the blaring of the car's alarm, she rolled herself and Angel to the ground.
In her arms he was thrashing around, screaming in pain, murmurs about his wings leaving his lips. He started to claw at his back, tears streaming down his face.
"How is he?" Wolverine's voice asked. He sounded winded.
"I think he's hallucinating."
"Emma's telepathy." She heard Magneto's voice say.
She could hear Wolverine growl, "Get back up here; we need all the mutant power we can get."
"I'm on my way." She tried to fly. Willing it, jumping, heck, she even thought a happy thought or two. But no such luck. She was hoofing it.
The elevators were locked off, due to the alarm. She was forced to take the stairs. There was silence when she got to the roof. A telltale sign of anything involving the X-Men was that silence was always bad.
She ran through the doors: before her lay the X-Men, and civilians. Most were unconscious, and many were wounded. In the middle of it all was Gambit, half laying, rubbing the back of his neck, Wolverine, starting to wake up, and Emma, wearing Magneto's helmet and holding onto an unconscious Cyclops.
"What did I miss?"
--
I hope this part was worth the wait. I'll have the next part up in a couple days. And hopefully will be back on a regular schedule by the weekend.
Please R&R.