Here is the next chapter, rather quickly, I might add. At least, for me, it's a quick update. Reason is, it was going to be part of chapter 27 but then I cut it off so I could finish editing and update sooner. Of course, the downside is it's a short update, about half the size of the last several chapters.
Anonymous Julie, thanks for reviewing, I appreciate it and I'm glad you enjoy the story. You should really register on the site. It's free, easy, and convenient. Then you can leave signed reviews, get personal responses, make a list of favorites, and get direct email alerts when your favorite stories are updated. The emails also have a link directly to the story, so you don't even have to go and search.
Freegirl, thanks for so faithfully reviewing.
People, we are rapidly closing the plot of X-Men 2, and I am not entirely sure where this story should go. I have a few ideas, but nothing is set in stone or published yet. Anyone, feel free to pm me or say in a review what you think the next unit of the story should be.
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Wesley's boots slammed into the roof of the elevator, sending a shock through the nerves of his legs. He quickly grabbed the shotgun off his back and aimed it down. The weapon-mounted light revealed a triangle shaped hatch cut in the elevator, three feet wide. He jumped down, flashing the light ahead of him. The door was hacked off, revealing a pitch-black hallway.
"Come'on!" Logan shouted. "I know where we are! We can still make it!" Wesley moved cautiously towards where the voice came from.
"How can you see?" He asked. "And, why is the power's off on this level?" He had a creeping feeling something was going to leap out of the darkness and grab him; the fact that the shotgun was empty did nothing to alleviate that fear.
"I don't need light to find my way," Logan said. Wesley caught up with him as he was hacking a door down. "I think that cerebro they made, it required tons of power to run, so they shut off everything in the lower levels." Logan stepped back.
"Can't slice the door?" Wesley asked. Logan kicked the center, and the door collapsed into neatly cut chunks. Logan ran through, claws still out. Wesley followed.
"Some things never change!" Logan said, running towards the far side of the room, which, unlike the hallway, had backup lights glowing softly, illuminating the room enough to see. There were racks along one wall, full of rifles, pistols, submachine guns, and several 40mm grenade launchers, neatly sealed in airtight storage bags, protected from time and humidity. Below them were shelves packed with sealed ammo cans, labeled things like 5.56x45mm, SS190 5.7x28mm, along with other equipment. Wesley recognized several storage cases of night vision goggles, each unit worth at least two thousand dollars. He paused, awed by the huge amounts of expensive weaponry and gear. In the middle of the room were snowmobiles, ATV's, and several jeeps, which Logan was running towards.
"Can we-?" Wesley began, taking a slow step.
"No!" Logan bellowed, dragging a snowmobile to the large, closed doors, then hacking an exit. Daylight flooded in through the new gap, along with bitterly cold air. They were near the shore of the lake, in an armory/motor pool. Logan had probably succeeded in saving both their lives.
"But it's-"
"You got a free combat shotgun, be happy with that and get over here!" Logan yelled, heaving the snowmobile through the crude exit and setting it down in the snow. Wesley ran after him, groaning at the thought of the small fortune worth of weapons and gear he was leaving behind. Logan turned the key in ignition and the craft's engine revved to life as Wesley jumped on the back.
"Hang on!" He warned. The snowmobile shot forward, taking down along the shoreline of the frozen lake.
"Blackbird, come in, do you read us?" Wesley shouted over the wind and the engine. Logan had the snowmobile going around fifty miles an hour, fast enough to make him nervous.
"We hear you, did you find a way out?" Scott asked.
"Yeah, we're on the shore of the lake below the dam, heading… south, I think! Are you airborne?" Wesley said.
"We are airborne." Scott said. "We'll fly by and have Kurt pick you guys up. Get going, it could take us a minute to find you. Blackbird out."
"They're going to fly by and pick us up." Wesley said to Logan.
"Pick us up as in land or 'BAMFing us up ?" Logan shot back.
"The latter!" Wesley said.
"Just for once, I would like to board that jet using my own two feet!" Logan replied. Wesley laughed, then glanced back. They were three-quarters of a mile or so away from the base, and he thought he could see the blackbird a few miles up in the sky, cruising towards them.
"Oh, this is bad," Wesley said solemnly. "Now I'm glad I didn't stop to grab guns."
"What, what's wrong?" Logan asked, the wind howling in his ears.
KA-BOOM!
The base simply disintegrated, in the purist sense of the word. Chunks of rubble the size of cars were hurled into the air and out of sight. A wave of heat hit them both, making them realize…
"Brace for-" Logan started to say, when they were both thrown forward off the snowmobile, a roar in their ears.
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"They crashed!" Jubilee wailed, pointing. "Right there!"
"I saw, I saw!" Scott replied tersely. "You saw where they landed, right, Kurt?" He asked, hurling the Blackbird forward, avoiding rubble. The fact that the jet was still airborne despite the enormous concussion wave was a testament to his piloting skill.
"Ja! I just need to be a little closer!" Kurt said.
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Logan staggered to his feet, ears ringing loudly, head pounding, as he looked back towards the base. It was gone, just debris left. The sky had taken on a gray hue from the dust and smoke, making the area look like a warzone. He wondered what the secret service was telling the President right now. First several million people collapse and almost die, then a military compound blew up.
"Kid?" He yellowed weakly. The aches started fading, along with the ringing in his ears, as his healing factor worked. Logan turned around a few times. The snowmobile was crashed into a tree, looking totaled. He spotted Wesley lying on the ground, a dozen feet off.
"Junior, you okay?" Logan called, walking over to him. He grumbled something unintelligible.
"What?" Logan asked, standing next to him. The guy looked like he was in one piece.
"Do… I… look okay?" Wesley moaned, still on the ground. His thick kevlar vest had cushioned the impact somewhat, but the armor was made to help people survive firefights, not car accidents.
"What hurts?" Logan questioned.
"Everything." Wesley said, groaning.
"Can you move your hands and feet?" Logan asked neutrally.
"I already checked, my neck isn't broken." Wesley said, holding a hand up weakly. Logan took it and pulled the man to his feet.
"Oh, hey." Logan said, trotting a few yards off and picking something up. "You dropped your souvenir!" The tactical shotgun didn't seem worse for the wear, unlike its owner. Wesley accepted it back, mumbling a thank you.
BAMF! Kurt suddenly materialized from nowhere. "Now boarding flight 25, soon to be flooded lakeshore to New York!" He said. He grabbed Logan's arm and took Wesley's hand as well.
"Full power to teleporters, Scotty!" The bodyguard joked weakly.
"Aye aye, sir!" Kurt replied, trying to mimic a Scottish accent. Wolverine laughed.
BAMF!
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BAMF!
They were suddenly in midair, several thousand feet above the ground, the blackbird around fifty feet away.
"You missed!" Logan bellowed. "How could you miss?!"
BAMF!
All three landed in aisle between the rows of seats, and the students applauded. Kurt immediately stood and took a bow, enjoying the moment.
"What… was that?" Logan asked shakily.
"I had to be able to see inside the jet or I could teleport into someone." Kurt said. "You understand, ja?"
"Good to see you two still standing." Scott said. "I saw the snowmobile flip over and throw you guys off."
"It wasn't that bad." Wesley said, moving gingerly, his entire body feeling like a bruise.
"With Wolvie's heavy metal butt weighing the thing down, you mean!" Jubilee, grinning. "Imagine if you'd been on that thing alone! You'd a been thrown into a tree fifty feet away!"
"No kidding." Remy said. He slapped a hand on Wesley's back, making him wince. "I was starting to get nervous!"
"Thank you both for coming to rescue myself and Scott." Charles said warmly to Logan and Wesley. "We need to get to the School, then to Washington, as soon as possible, though. These events are about to make an impact on the entire nation, I fear."
"What happened to Stryker?" Rogue asked. The question hung in the air for a moment.
"He's dead." Wesley said. "His remains were incinerated in the blast, no doubt." He didn't feel any need to elaborate that he himself had personally executed the Colonel, as no evidence of that now existed. He sat down next to Logan, letting out a breath tiredly.
"If everyone could a seat, we'll make best speed possible back to WestChester." Scott said. "Remy will be mixing then passing out hot cocoa and rolls." He said to the younger students. Gambit rolled his eyes, but made his way to the small sink and cabinets in the back of the jet.
You killed Stryker, I take it? Jean asked Wesley, using telepathy.
The government wouldn't have, I guarantee you that. Wesley shot back.
Wesley did what he felt was necessary, Charles broke in, speaking to both Jean and Wesley. That should be enough for us.
I was merely asking, Jean said neutrally. This was a war. I understand that the enemy cannot be allowed to go free.
My apologies for snapping, Wesley said, rubbing his forehead. I'm just a bit stressed.
I understand, believe me. Jean said. We all need a looong vacation after this. Wesley smiled at that, then glanced at Logan next to him. The man was staring out the window, not speaking.
"Think she survived?" Logan asked quietly. It took Wesley a moment to realize what he meant. His female duplicate.
"Undoubtedly." Wesley said, whispering, so only Logan could hear him. "She probably knew the base was rigged to detonate. She could've even slipped right past us, when I was unconscious from cerebro and you were still hiking back from where Magneto threw you." He seemed a little comforted.
"How'd it go?" Jubilee asked, sitting down in front of the two. "Sounded intense from the radio chatter."
"Well enough." Wesley said. "We won, and lived to say it. That's always a good thing. Of course, sometimes just surviving is a victory."
"Why the heck didn't you tell me you could see the future?" Jubilee said irately, suddenly changing tones and topics. "You ask me out to dinner and a movie but don't even mention you know what people will do before they do it?" Logan chuckled.
"I didn't know what you would say when I asked," Wesley said honestly, "and, it's like telling people how fast you can do a pistol target course or rappel down a five story building. If people want to know, they'll ask."
"Fine." Jubilee said, pretending to be exasperated. "I'll let you live this time."
"Very gracious of you," Wesley said, faking seriousness. "Otherwise my tombstone would read, 'Here lies Wesley Judson, survivor of armed home invasion by multiple perpetrators, Ex-Navy Seamen, private security contractor under ARGUS inc, killed by an angry teenage girl.' That'd be an inglorious ending."
"What'd you do in the Navy?" Jubilee asked curiously.
"I was a Seamen in Law Enforcement and Security." Wesley said. "Seamen equals Private in Army and Marines. I was basically a navy cop, policing the sailors. Thankfully, the training was worth something, since I just about did it for free."
"How much did you make?" She asked.
"Just a little bit above nothing." Wesley said. "I was a grunt, I'm sad to say. Made about thirteen grand a year, pathetic. As soon as my enlistment was over, I was out of there. You're either in the military for the training or because you love your country. The pay is lousy."
"You didn't know that before you signed up?" Logan asked, chuckling. Wesley sighed and continued on.
"Anyway, I got out, joined up with ARGUS, and have been working with them for three years. At first I just guarded low-level importance locations, like laboratories and warehouses with sensitive materials. Now I also get assigned as part of security details for moderately important VIP's." Wesley said. "My pay's thirty-eight thousand a year before taxes. Pretty good, I think."
"Wait, we forgot something." Rogue suddenly spoke up. She looked towards the back of the jet. "Remy? How exactly did you get to that base before we did?" The Cajun laughed sheepishly.
"Well?" She asked. "What happened?"
"Well, just make sure the none of kids don't open a certain closet back at the school, the one with the chair and broomstick holding it shut." Gambit said. "I caught a ride to the base with the good Colonel and his men, dressed as one of his men, and there wasn't any Army Navy Surplus store nearby to buy a uniform."
"Yuck!" Jubilee said, making a face. Rogue had a cross between disgust and shock on her face. Logan rolled his eyes.
"Oh, don't worry, he's still alive." Remy said. "I think. Probably."
"What'll we tell the repair crews?" Logan wondered.
"What, there's damage at the school?" Jean asked.
"Some bullet holes here and there, along with doors blasted down with breaching charges." Logan said, shrugging. "Could be worse." There was silence for a moment.
"That's the last time we leave you in charge." Scott muttered.
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Well, there's chapter 28. I hope you liked it, please leave a review. Oh, and Wesley's talk about the Navy, what he did and such? I actually researched to get that information, looking up careers, enlistment times, pay grades, and such. I thought I'd give a little more about his background.
