Stephen woke up alone in his bed. Emily's aura was gone, but then he had known it would be. He waited until she was somewhere on the first floor before glancing over at the time. It was 12:30AM.
Outside the Sanctum, Stephen heard a car pull up. A door of the vehicle opened, then closed, and the metallic sound echoed across the stillness outside. He stared at the ceiling as he felt Emily dart inside her Uber. The car drove away, and she was gone.
He waited in bed, unable to sleep until close to 1:30AM when he finally sat up. He put his face in his hands and allowed the tears to fall for what was about to happen to his lover, his friend. The grief ripped through him like a tsunami. He let it drown him, washing away the doubts he'd had from the moment he'd saved her life in that explosion. He had wanted to push her away that fateful day, had tried to push her away, but instead had let his feelings win out over self-control. Now the selfishness of his actions ate away at him. It fed his guilt at what he was about to let happen. When his emotions finally steadied, he pulled himself to his feet and got dressed.
Stephen slowly made his way to the first floor. He met Wong on the stairs. The librarian sorcerer must have just gotten back from Kamar Taj. Wong climbed up to greet him, trudging in his own tired cadence.
"I can't wait to get some sleep." Wong muttered. He flashed a jovial grin at Stephen.
Stephen didn't return his mirth.
Wong stopped. He studied Stephen's face, and his good-natural humor died. "What's wrong?"
"Emily's gone."
"Gone?" Wong frowned and followed Stephen back down the stairs to the first floor. "Gone where?"
"She's been taken by Brian Lawrence." Stephen knew his tone sounded matter-of-fact, almost indifferent. But he couldn't let any emotion in. Not now.
Wong grabbed his arm. "How? What happened?"
"She went back to her office to get her personal belongings. Brian was waiting for her."
"How do you know…?"
Stephen shot a look of anguish at Wong. His friend gazed at the floor, nodded.
"What happens now?" Wong asked.
"Now?" Stephen broke eye contact. He didn't know if he had the strength to handle Wong's trepidation, especially when he could barely hold back his own. "Now I hope that the suffering that's about to happen tonight isn't in vain."
Wong might have had more questions, but Stephen couldn't face the barrage. Nor could he ask his friend for help. He turned his back on Wong and opened a gateway into Charles Xavier's office. Stephen stepped through.
The professor's personal workspace was still, bathed in darkness and solitude. Stephen had no idea if Charles was asleep, but he knew conjuring a gateway inside the X-mansion would have certainly set off several telepathic alerts. So, he stood in the silence. And waited.
Jean Grey came in first. The door flew open, her hands bright with her telekinetic power. Stephen held up his hands in a sign of surrender, and she lowered her defenses.
"Stephen?" She walked inside, glancing around her in suspicion, as if expecting a trick. Considering how many beings Stephen had met who could shape-shift, he didn't blame her. "What are you doing here?"
"A friend of mine has been kidnapped. She carries the mutant gene. If Charles is sleeping, could you please wake him? He knows what's about to happen."
Jean gave him another curious look before leaving the room.
Stephen paced the office for a few minutes. It was hard to find the patience waiting for the inevitable. And this wasn't the first time he'd had to stand back and allow events to unfold as they were meant to. Finally, he forced himself to sit in one of the chairs in front of Charles's desk. An antique clock ticked off the seconds from somewhere on the other side of the room. How much longer did Stephen have? And in the end, would it even matter?
"Stephen." Charles Xavier rolled into his office. Both Jean Grey and her husband Scott Summers were right behind him. "I take it this is the night?"
Stephen nodded. He didn't trust himself to speak.
"Very well."
Scott Summers stepped away from the professor. His eyes scrutinized Stephen's face. "What's going on?"
Stephen stood to his feet. "A good friend of mine named Emily Graham has been taken against her will by a man named Brian Lawrence. Last week, I discovered that he oversees several facilities that are responsible for the experimentation of humans carrying the mutant gene. Emily has been there for about fifteen minutes now."
Charles's face echoed Stephen's calm, but Scott sucked in a quick breath of alarm.
"I can summon a team," Scott said, quickly taking charge. "Me, Jean, Storm…"
Stephen shook his head. "No. When we go, it will be just you, Charles, and me. And you can stay behind if you would like to."
Scott bristled at that last statement. "Like hell I will!"
"It will be just the three of us," Stephen reiterated. "No one else can come."
"But the larger the team, the greater our chances of getting her back before they can hurt her." Scott turned to the professor. "This doesn't make sense. We always take a team."
Charles studied Stephen's face for a moment. Whatever he saw there made him look down in sorrow. "Do as Stephen says," Charles ordered.
Scott glanced back at Jean. The exchanged quiet mummers before kissing and touching one another's face. As they stood together, physically and emotionally connected, Stephen wondered what secrets they shared in their mutual silence, tucked away inside their own secret world. He looked away.
Jean gave Scott one last farewell peck before leaving. "Good luck," she said.
Charles nodded to her. "Thank you, Jean. You're in charge while I'm gone."
The door to Charles's office closed, but no one spoke. The seconds ticked by, and with each one, Scott Summers shifted his weight in restless anticipation. Stephen watched the X-man's impatience, understood the need for Scott to do something, to act. But Stephen wouldn't echo his restlessness.
After a few minutes, Scott broke the silence. "Why are we still standing here? We need to get moving." He turned to Stephen. "Do you know where we can find this facility?"
"Yes," Stephen said.
"Okay, great!" Scott hurried to the door. "Let's go."
"Not yet."
Scott jerked his head in Stephen's direction. Though Stephen couldn't see Scott's eyes through the visor, he could tell the X-man was becoming agitated. "We shouldn't just be standing around doing nothing. This is a rescue mission, isn't it?"
Stephen nodded.
"Then, let's get out of here." Scott headed to the door.
"No," Stephen said.
Scott's jaw dropped in astonishment. "I thought this woman was a friend of yours."
Stephen cringed at Scott's tone. He had used the word friend to describe Emily simply because he hadn't known what term to give her that could encompass everything she had become to him in such a short time. Now, the term felt woefully inadequate. "She is."
"Then why are we waiting?" Scott marched right up to Stephen. "I've read about how people with the X-gene are experimented on. Do you want her to die?"
"She's not going to die."
Scott turned to Charles. "Professor…"
Charles held up his hand. Scott backed down, but Stephen could tell it was only out of trust for his mentor. The room became still.
"It must be difficult," Charles whispered to Stephen in the silence. "Seeing the future and trying to follow a prescribed path."
Stephen nodded. Tears filled his eyes.
"I stopped trying to control events years ago," the professor continued.
Stephen didn't reply.
"You never did tell me why," Charles said. "You told me there would be a night where this would happen, but you never gave me any details. What did you see?"
"Emily can dissolve inter-dimensional spells, can break through any powers if her will is strong enough. Even illusions from the fear lords aren't too much for her within a confined space, but after tonight…" Stephen hung his head. The rest of his words caught in his throat. "This has to happen. If it doesn't, this world won't be fully protected against what's coming."
Scott cursed. He stepped inside Stephen's personal space and slammed his hand up against Stephen's chest. "We don't just let innocent people get tortured!"
Stephen had had enough. He twisted Scott's hand and shoved him against the nearest wall. "You may protect people, Scott Summers, but I protect worlds. You think it doesn't kill me to know what's happening, how much she's going to suffer?" He blinked back his tears. He wasn't about to let the X-man see his doubts, or his pain. "Sometimes people have to suffer for the greater good. We have to wait. We will wait. And if you don't like it, then go back to bed." He let go.
Scott glanced at the professor and then back at Stephen in turn. His shoulders slumped in defeat. "For how long?"
Stephen didn't trust his voice. When he finally spoke, the words almost caught in his throat. "It won't be long now," he said.