Danielle tried to make herself as invisible as possible as she walked on alone towards the stage. She could not draw much more power as she did before (thinking that Jay blocked her from the additional supply she took from him before) and was fading in and out of existence, as seen from the human eye. However, she was able to get to the stage with little problem, trying to find out where exactly the mutants had been hiding. Nobody was concerned with her location much longer for now, choosing the remaining parts of the town as their playground and the lingering people walking their victims, human or mutant. There was no discrimination this time, which made Danielle wonder what Ellis would make of it once he heard of it.
Oh, he wouldn't care. Senator Ellis isn't going to care about a few more lives, just as long as he can run around and do what he wants to.
That much Danielle was sure on. However, as she thought of how she was going to proceed, she was also thinking that she was sure that being the distraction and then having Logan grab her wasn't much fun either. Roger's men were all around her too, readying for the time they would need to rescue those people under the stage. She watched them in the background, seeing them inch together and mingling with those left behind that hardly paid attention, maybe pushing back a few that got too rowdy. While Danielle saw some fighting, she was sure that she was the only person the others outside would see that was standing out. That made it much more exciting than standing back and watching it all happen from afar.
Cautiously, she approached the stage, walking around it a few times to find some human-sized hole or hidden entranceway underneath it. Danielle found nothing and stopped behind, suddenly surprised to see Nightcrawler pop up in front of her. He reached for her, touching her body in an embrace and making them both disappear. Before Danielle knew it, she was engulfed in darkness, seeing flashes of light and what seemed like a million set of eyes on her. She was dizzy and nauseous from the ride though, pushing all of those feeling back in order to be clearheaded.
"Hello?" she called out, knowing only Nightcrawler to be nearby her. "Hello? Who's here?"
Voices were raised in hushed tones. Many of them quieted down as soon as they saw footsteps in the lights around them. Breathing in stale air and the scent of fear, Danielle scanned around with her mind, trying to find maybe Jean or Ororo, maybe to get them to round everyone up and get out. She passed Matthew, which was a relief, and Jubilee, who was as petulant as ever. She soon reached Jean, which surprised the telepath. Danielle felt her jump and hit her head against the wood, which merited some stifled laughter from Ororo. It caught Jean's attention though and that was what mattered the most to Danielle.
Jean? What's happened? Why are you all here? Danielle didn't dare intrude on the others' thoughts and knew this was the easiest route.
Jean licked her dry lips, gauging what Danielle knew before answering. Senator Ellis and his…well, his cronies…went after us. You didn't hear the speech, did you?
No, I didn't. Danielle was ashamed in not paying attention and didn't want to tell Jean what she was doing.
Well, he called upon everyone to take revenge upon the mutants for what they supposedly did. He claimed that they started this war, prompting our enemies to make the strike, and the humans needed to finish it off overseas and at home. He's proposing everything, from mutant tests to push them out of the job force, making separate mutant schools unlike ours and killing those who join the military.
Jay…oh, my God, Jean, they're going to kill him. They're going to find out he's a mutant!
Danielle, pull yourself together! Jay can take care of himself, I'm sure, so don't worry. We have other worries now. This isn't a game anymore. Senator Ellis just started a riot in Salem Center and your brother is heading overseas. To answer your question, we all gathered here, little by little. Matthew managed to build over the hole we made to get through and Nightcrawler grabs anyone I sense is nearby.
That's how you found me a few minutes ago.
Other than I can feel you and your aura a mile away.
I was nearby most of the time anyway, Jean. You could have connected to me instead of being unavailable when I tried to communicate with you.
And you were lost before I knew it and we could not use our powers, for fear someone would see or hear us. What happened to you, Danielle? Storm and I looked everywhere for you before this started and were afraid someone killed you.
Danielle sighed. You don't want to know. I'll talk later. Now, there's men out there, people who are willing to get us out of here.
Don't tell me Roger is out there.
Logan too.
Now, Jean sighed. All right. What's the plan?
Well, now that Nightcrawler can take people in and out, I think he can do the same again. One at a time, he can get people out and Roger's men can lead them out of town or even back to the school.
Distractions?
It was supposed to be me before a certain someone took away the fun. Now, Logan is going to wonder where I am.
I'll work on it with Storm.
Danielle seemed reassured, but there was still an uneasy feeling inside of her. She did not notice it throughout the chase out and back with Roger, however persistent it was. Instead, to dispel it, she turned to Nightcrawler. He was chatting with someone in German, so fast that Danielle did not understand it (neither did the recipient, she saw). She learned it as a younger child, when her grandmother was alive and refused to speak English, and was seeing the opportunity. She interjected gently into the conversation, asking Nightcrawler in German if he can help.
"What do you need?" Nightcrawler asked in the same language.
"Roger's men are out there, waiting for us," Danielle continued as everyone stared at her in confusion, wondering what was being said. "I need you to transport everyone out of here. They'll grab each person and escort them to safety."
"You promise?" Nightcrawler's dark eyes shone at Danielle with such trust. "You promise me that there's men out there, to take us out of there?"
"I do," Danielle replied fervently, switching back to English so that others would understand her. "They're waiting for me actually. With your help, we can get everyone out of here, one at a time, and escape back to the school or to the homes the rest of them belong to. Ok?"
Danielle put a hand out, to establish trust. Nightcrawler took it, grinning. Then, he picked the nearest person to him, disappeared quickly, and reappeared a few minutes later. The look on his face showed Danielle that the plan was working. From there, she watched as he took one person at a time and came back to bring another outside. From a distance, Danielle heard the sound of thunder and saw lightning flash. While she knew that Ororo could only work the weather for so long, she also sensed that the riot was slowing down and that they would be able to leave unmolested.
Finally, it was down to her, Jean and Ororo. While the storm receded as naturally as Ororo could make it, Nightcrawler came back, now soaked to the skin with water. He grabbed Ororo first on Danielle's prompt (Ororo even gave her a face of complaint before going) and then came back for Jean, who was about to beg to be last before leaving with him. Finally, after waiting an anxious five minutes, Nightcrawler came back under the stage, but his face easily betrayed that something had happened. He motioned to Danielle in frantic motions.
"What?" Danielle asked in German. "What's happening?"
"We have no time," Nightcrawler replied in the same language. "We must go."
Before Danielle could say another word, she was back outside. She tried standing up, feeling cramped from staying in the same cramped position for a long time, and found herself on the ground again, rolling around to avoid trampling feet, seeing it as frantic people trying to escape something horrible. She did not know how it happened or why or even where Nightcrawler had disappeared off to. All she knew was that the rioting had slowed down, but then had started right back up again a short time ago. Something had sparked the final phase of Ellis' work before it would truly end. All she needed to do was break from it.
Struggling to get up, Danielle rolled over one last time and pressed her body against the stage, hoping to make herself invisible. She succeeded (thanking Jay, wherever he was now), getting up and climbing the stairs to where the podium stood. Ducking when she heard some gunfire, she checked the immediate area from her position on the wooden floor. From the left, she saw that some businesses had been burning in a blaze, one that she knew Roger did not start (the color and feel was different). To the right, the others were being looted and glass was being littered all over the streets and sidewalks. Below, there was too much for her to comprehend, too many people to process in her mind. In her heart, she started realizing that this was no game, like Jean said. This was for real…and she was a living target.
Suddenly, someone grabbed her from behind. Danielle immediately struggled, kicking and screaming as she sensed the maleficent presence, becoming visible as she attempted to disable her attacker. He turned her right around, his grin looking almost delicious to see her, the tongue licking the ruby red mouth with delight. His hands locked onto Danielle's wrists, swinging her around like a rag doll to a nearby pole holding an American flag and leaving her exposed as her back stayed against the shaft. His knee went to her abdomen area, holding her in place tighter than the wrist lock, and shoved. It caused Danielle to almost keel over in pain, but she held on, instead sucking on her breath to never give the man satisfaction.
"Let me go!" Danielle yelled to forget about the pain, twisting one way and managing to get the knee off of her. "Go to hell!"
Tipping the man off balance and his hands loosened from her wrists, Danielle managed to start running away and tried to become invisible once more, although the man had been able to find her before. Before she got far though, the man grabbed her from behind, holding her ankle on his hands and pulling her back.
"Nobody tells a man he can't have what he wants," the attacker declared, finally grabbing Danielle and turning her around before holding her by the shoulders.
Unexpectedly, three large silver tips went through the man's chest, paralyzing him as blood dripped down his shirt and started choking him. He let go of Danielle, allowing her to freefall backwards and land on her back. She observed the whole action as if it were a movie, seeing the victor pull the blades from the man's chest and emerging triumphant from the fight from behind. Danielle could not be happier to see Logan as he retracted his claws, taking his outstretched hand and feeling his tug to run, down the stairs and past the new anarchy that erupted in town.
Dodging the instantaneous danger as Danielle obeyed the silent command, Logan passed the fires on the left and headed to the first major intersection in Salem Center, taking a right and pulling Danielle into one of the local bakeries. He looked around quickly, seeing nothing except a mess and the back doorway. He ushered Danielle right through without her complaining about being controlled, directing her to the stairs. They went up, passing the few floors of apartments above the store, and headed towards the lone exit on the roof, seeing the town as they did before and choosing not to fight it anymore. Immediately, before he allowed Danielle to look any further, Logan guided her to the edge, towards the next building.
"Jump," Logan ordered harshly.
Danielle looked up and then down to the ground, seeing what Logan was telling her to do. "I…I can't."
"You have to," Logan said sternly. "Jump to the next one or die."
Shaking, Danielle took Logan's hand and climbed up to the ledge and looked down at the street once more. "Can you throw me?"
"Got no throwing arm, but I sure as hell can try," Logan confirmed.
It wasn't reassuring, but Danielle had no choice. She knew that she could not make the jump from the bakery to whatever the next building was, even though it seemed like a short hop. There was no chance she would make it. Falling to her death some stories down was not her idea of the end of her life, although she had control over that and possibly would give into the light that always beckoned to her. She had a great fear of being high above the ground too, something she was not ready to admit to Logan just yet.
Taking a deep breath, Logan grabbed Danielle quickly and tossed her as hard as he could over the small distance. He watched as she landed on the other side, rolling against cement as her face scraped and her hands turned raw from the friction burn. Then, taking some running steps backwards as Danielle stood up and moved to one side, he propelled himself forward, using the ledge as a springboard to get to the other side as well. Just as he was halfway across though, he heard a shot, knowing that it was too late to turn back. Feeling the bullet run through his head until it reached the back of his skull, Logan felt the rapid healing powers knit himself back together, although it was hardly a perfect scene as he skidded to a stop near Danielle's feet, groaning as he laid on his stomach and spilled some blood.
The eleven year old was terrified. "Logan?!" she screamed, kneeling before the older mutant and shaking his shoulders that were covered in the red substance. "Logan, please don't be dead yet. I need you. Logan?!"
"Not…dead yet," Logan whispered, getting onto his back and cracking his neck, pushing Danielle's amateur ministrations aside. The bullet popped itself out of his forehead, which seemed to fright Danielle even more.
"Oh, my God," she said, soon repeating the phrase over and over again, much louder than the last time. "Oh, my God! Oh, my God!"
Logan had no time for the hysterics, knowing that they were going to be followed once more. He got up without appearing damaged in any way, shaking his head free from the last of the pain, and took Danielle by the shoulders, shaking them to get some sense into her. By then, the kid was trembling so hard that her knees were buckling and she was about to collapse. Logan had to resist the temptation to slap it out of her, realizing for the first time he was now treating her like an adult and not the child that she really was. He could not afford to take away her childhood, especially at a time like this.
You're too late. Her childhood was ruined long before you came into the picture.
The thought chilled Logan, but not enough to immobilize him into fear. "We gotta get out of here," he said, echoing the sentiment until Danielle stopped her moaning and paid attention to him. "Just listen to me. We'll get back to the school. I promise you."
"Jean and Storm and Matthew and Nightcrawler?" Danielle asked in a whisper, feeling the tears wanting to come down and forcing them not to. "Will they be there?"
"I can't promise you that, kid, but I sure hope they are." Loan ached for a cigar that was in his pocket, but had no time to smoke, feeling the heavy weight of Danielle already on his shoulders. "That's the price of war, kid. You win some and you lose some. Sometimes, it gets tricky and the good guys will lose and the bad will win. It's not a movie or some shitty TV show. It's real life. That's what you need to cope with though. You can't let it consume you and you can't let it win. Got it?"
Danielle nodded, still feeling the unease settle deeper into her body.
"Good." Logan nodded too. "Let's get out of here."