August 18, 1992
"-and David wasn't about to let that go," Kurt said.
David shook his head and laughed. Next to him Sharon raised her eyebrows and grinned.
"So what did you do?" she asked.
David threw his hands up. He felt a little exasperated, but there was something rather amusing about the situation. It felt very comfortable, very normal. It was just the four of them at a table at a small restaurant, the food almost finished off, telling stories about their childhood.
"I launched myself at him," David said, "A teacher had to pull me off."
"Isn't Jaime twice your age?" Sharon asked.
"He wasn't that much older," David said, "Besides, he'd also just infuriated a boy who had lofty ideals of chivalry and what his duty was towards his brother. I guess I went a little crazy."
"It makes sense to me. I would've hit him," Amanda said.
Kurt turned his head a little in Amanda's direction, his eyes both touched and surprised. David smiled at the absolute certainty in her tone. It appeared that Kurt's girlfriend didn't quite share his pacifistic ideals.
"Well so would I," Sharon said, "I'm just surprised you did it immediately after he said that. I would've though you'd have thought about it for a bit first."
"I didn't get thoughtful until I was a little older," David said, "By all rights I should've gotten the tar beaten out of me, but I think that I caught Jaime by surprise."
"It certainly gave you some experience for when you got older," Sharon said.
Amanda shook her head and took a sip of her soda. Sharon finished up the last of her fries and then started picking them off David's plate. He decided not to stop her: he wasn't even hungry. Kurt noticed though and looked over at David. David just shrugged.
David went to pick up his soda, but noticed that the liquid inside of the glass was trembling. He frowned and looked at it a little closer. Suddenly the crockery began rattling, as well as the ground. Everyone in the restaurant was starting to notice as the tremors got stronger and stronger.
"What on earth?" Sharon said.
Feeling strange, David got up and looked out the window.
"There aren't any...what's the word...fault lines in Boston, right?" Amanda said.
"Not that I know of," Kurt said, "David?"
He didn't answer. People were standing on the curb, pointing in the sky and taking pictures. Others were running, and David felt something in his heart sink. At the same time he felt the same strange adrenaline that had once led him to drive a car across state lines with a bleeding thief in the back.
"We have to get out of here," David said, "Now."
"Why, what's happening?" Amanda said.
"Nothing good," David said.
Sharon and Kurt got up at once. Amanda still seemed confused, but she followed Kurt. David grabbed Sharon's hand. He knew her father had taught her how to defend herself, but he didn't know just how much. At least he knew that Kurt was combat ready.
As they left the restaurant he saw understanding light up in Kurt and Sharon's eyes as they passed the people on the curb. They knew enough about catastrophes to know it was never good when people were taking pictures.
The ground was still vibrating in an ominous way, a way that made chills run up David's back. Something big was happening, but he wasn't going to stay for the show. He knew it was better to run and then find out more on the evening news.
There were throngs of people in the street. David couldn't believe that they didn't feel the urge to get out of there.
"Don't just stare at it!" he shouted, "Get out of here!"
Only a few people spared him a glance. David thought about the X-men's evacuation plans, but he knew that he had to get Amanda out of there first. She was a civilian, and really, Sharon's mutation wouldn't be much use in their situation.
He thought about where the car was, about how long it would take to get them there. It would be a good idea to have Kurt teleport them, but there were too many people. They couldn't risk Kurt accidentally taking someone else with them.
He could hear Amanda talking in hushed whispers to Kurt. She didn't understand, not really. She was moving though, and he was grateful for that. He supposed that it was the only thing he could really ask for. Amanda hadn't been raised in the eye of a hurricane like they had.
However, David did glance up and behind him for a few seconds. He had to get an idea of what they were running from, if it was even possible to get away in time. If it wasn't he knew that he should just risk having Kurt teleport them away.
He stopped, his hand still wound around Sharon's.
"David?" she asked, "What's-?"
"It's the Blackbird," he said.
Sharon stared at him, her eyes wide. David saw Kurt stop and David felt his heart pound, something cold and terrible behind his eyes.
"It's the damn Blackbird," he said.
Kurt turned and looked. The Blackbird twirled in the sky, at least one of its engines out. There was still some power in its engines or it would have already crashed, but the way it was twirling wasn't good. David had seen enough simulations to know that.
It wobbled back and forth, trying to get its flight pattern back under control. If something wasn't done, then he could tell that it would crash soon. David gripped Sharon's hand tighter, watching as the plane that her father had built careened out of control.
Oh my. It looks like your friends are going to die, rather horribly. This would be the second time this month, wouldn't it? Your kind really should avoid flying.
The voices, which had been mercifully silent lately, seemed to flare up in full force. David gritted his teeth. His spare hand slowly rose to his temple. He closed his hand, reaching out. It was all he could do.
Jean?
It was the only person he could think to contact. She must be in the Blackbird. He wasn't sure if the others had the necessary psychic abilities to hear him, not with the way his head hurt. He waited for a few seconds and pushed out a stronger signal.
Jean!
There was a pause, but he could feel her mind.
David? Now's not really the time-
I'm in the square below the plane right now, he thought, What's happening? Can you get the systems back online?
It doesn't look good, Jean thought, We're trying to make an emergency landing, but I don't think that we have enough power. We tried diverting the cloaking device to the engines, but that didn't work.
David swallowed and opened his eyes. He could see the flames spurting out of the Blackbird's engines, like a falling star through the sky.
Maybe...between you and me...
He could almost hear Jean take a sharp breath through their connection.
David...I'm not sure that's a good idea, she thought
I'm not sure that there are any better ideas.
When her next thoughts came through they sounded defeated.
You're right. Are you ready? she asked.
As ready as I can be.
David forced his eyes to open wide. He put one of his hands out. He could feel the Blackbird, feel its terrible but inevitable momentum. Kurt and Sharon were saying things, and David knew that his grip on Sharon's hand was tightening. It was becoming difficult to feel anything but the Blackbird, and he needed to stay grounded.
Objects with their own momentum, especially big objects, were difficult to control. There were forces at work that went beyond normal, theoretical physics, and David had never been very good with physics. Just feeling the Blackbird was difficult enough.
Death to the freaks!
The voices felt clear, vicious and cutting. Each time they spoke it was like hearing them for the first time, the hatred so pure. David could feel his hold slipping. He tried desperately to regain his grip, to stop a force that seemed determined to bowl him over.
He felt another connection, something strengthening his hold. David felt the momentum lessening on the Blackbird, and he concentrated. Jean was helping him, lending her strength to his. It burned through their connection, a slow burn that was giving an iron to their work. The voices fell silent as David concentrated.
As he watched the Blackbird had stopped falling through the sky, although he could feel it resisting him. Natural forces were trying to have their way with the machine, stubbornly refusing to give any ground.
David took another breath. Warm blood dripped from his nose and his knees felt weak. Even his grip on Sharon's hand was loosening. It was only him and the Blackbird as it started to slow down to the momentum of a top, spinning its final rotations before it collapsed.
A stray thought occurred to him, one that he had to voice.
"Kurt," he whispered, "get everyone out of the square."
He saw a flash of black smoke, but he had to keep his eye on the Blackbird. David felt terrible, but the job was only half done. He began lowering his fingers, feeling the Blackbird move with them, inch by inch through the sky.
His knees buckled beneath them. Sharon caught him before he fell to the ground, but he could feel the Blackbird fall with them. He forced his hand out again, trying to regain control. He caught it at the last moment, his breath coming in ragged gasps.
Jean was faltering too, but he could feel her determination. His blood was on his lips, dripping onto his shirt and pants. When the Blackbird approached the square David's vision was blurry. It felt as though he were carrying the plane, every pound of weight pressing his shoulders onto the ground.
Jean was still coming through, and the Blackbird was lowering gently. He could feel her weakening on her end, as though the brilliant fire he'd felt earlier was somehow dying. David forced himself to look at the square, to see if the plane would land on anyone if he set it down.
There was no one: Kurt had done his job. David lowered his hand and set the Blackbird down. He smiled as he let his arm fall limply by his side. The pressure released and David felt lighter than he had in his life. Sound and vision began returning and David wiped some of the blood off of his face.
"David?" Sharon asked.
Kurt teleported in front of him. Amanda stood off to the side, her eyes wide and her lower lip moving wordlessly. They were all concerned, and he couldn't blame them. David forced himself to speak, to tell him that things were alright.
"'m fine," he mumbled.
"You are most definitely not fine," Sharon snapped.
David jerked his head towards the Blackbird.
"Kurt," he asked.
His brother nodded, understanding. Kurt looked over at Amanda, who still looked uncertain. His brother touched her cheek for a moment before teleporting up to the door of the Blackbird. David watched him try to get the door open as Sharon helped him up.
David got to his feet when Scott came out, helping Jean. Ororo was right behind them, followed by a man David had never seen. Scott looked at Kurt strangely before moving over to David, his face set.
"David, Sharon, Kurt," he said, "What are you doing here?"
"They were taking me home," Sharon said.
"Via Boston?" Scott said.
"Uncle Scott, this really isn't the place," Kurt said, looking nervously at Amanda.
Scott sighed heavily.
"You're right," he said, "We need to block off the area-"
"That won't be necessary."
A woman with fur over her body walked up to them, followed by several soldiers. She gave them an amused look.
"That was quite a show you put on," she said.
She flexed her claws.
"Ready for the encore?" she asked.