A.N. Hope everyone enjoyed the holidays! Sorry it took longer than normal, but it's here, the next chapter! Enjoy! R&R, RR!
Disclaimer: Not my characters, just entertainment!
Chapter 35
"Rahne, what's wrong-" She snapped at him, her growl becoming louder and fiercer. He jumped back towards Jubilee, now knowing that Rahne meant business. Rahne now took slow steps towards them then leapt powerfully for them...
She flew through the air towards them. Jubilee's reaction was one of pure instinct. She threw her hands up in front of her and closed her eyes. Bright lights shot out from her open palms straight for Rahne. Roberto tried to shield his eyes from the fireworks but squinted through to see what was happening to Rahne.
The fireworks worked as they struck Rahne hard, blasting her sideways into the corridor wall, leaving a sizeable dent in the plaster, before she fell to the ground.
"Rahne!" Roberto shouted, springing forwards to see if she was alright. Jubilee stood frozen, looking at what she had done to her friend. Roberto reached to feel her pulse through the fur and heard her breathing steadily. "She's unconscious." He told Jubilee as he fired up as Sunspot to carry the sleeping wolf to the infirmary. "Go find Mr. McCoy, tell him we're coming-"
"Why didn't she transform back?" Jubilee asked quietly. Sunspot stopped talking to take in her point. He looked at Rahne. It was true; whenever she had been knocked out before, which was a regular occurrence in this place, she always transformed back from Wolfsbane to Rahne.
"Find Hank... Now..." He told her soberly, as he moved to carry Rahne to the nearest elevator.
oOo
Sizzle, sizzle. Cl-Clang! Chop, chop! Fizzzz...
The different sounds mingled together like the soundtrack to a busy restaurant kitchen. Sam was boiling and stewing different things on the burner, watching and balancing his time expertly between each thing going and not letting anything burn. Tabitha was chopping and mixing a salad and Amara was frying different kinds of potato treats in the frying pan that was being heated by the palm of her hand as the stove was overcrowded and Bobby made some iced drinks for everyone. Piotr was setting the table around two people sat at it who were not allowed to move.
Jamie and Kitty sat side by side at the dining table forced to watch the busy kitchen. The two unconsciously mirrored one another's poses; both had their heads resting on their arms that were folded in front of them - chins only inches away from the surface of the kitchen table, their mouths buried in their sleeves. Piotr looked at the dancing pairs of eyes watching everyone in the kitchen move about, both pairs wearing a frown. He shook his head and smiled at the innocence of it - it almost reminded him of his family back home, before he learned that he was a mutant.
Kitty's eyes went to Piotr, wondering why he looked like he was in on some joke that she missed. But she soon stopped wondering what he was thinking and instead started to appreciate that he looked happy. Forge walked into the kitchen behind Piotr and took a seat at the table, deciding not to overcrowd the food preparation area with any more bodies. Kitty raised her head and looked over to him when he seated himself.
"So, like, what's happening? We didn't get much information from Kurt earlier." Forge inhaled a deep breath before responding but Jamie's eyes suddenly darted up to the silent television screen in the corner of the room.
"Ey! 'S ebber fork!" Jamie cried out into his sleeve, muffling his speech enough to cause confusion for the others. Kitty, along with everyone but Forge, looked at Jamie.
"What was that?" Kitty asked as Jamie raised his head and pointed at the TV. He was about to repeat himself when Forge spoke up first.
"Hey, it's Webber Torque!" Forge exclaimed for him. Jamie rolled his eyes to him.
"That's what I said!" He told him indignantly. Kitty ignored this comment as now all eyes were on the TV screen. Bobby quickly searched for the remote control to turn up the volume.
"Webber Tor- Arcade?!" Kitty turned to Forge, now having correctly identifying the young man on the screen.
Forge eyes never left the screen as he tried to read the headline on the red banner under the video feed: 'Torque Announces Plans for rEvolutionary New Game'. It looked like a press release from 'Action Torque Games', Arcade's company. Behind the female newscaster in the corner of the screen, they could make out a sharply dressed Webber Torque, along with some other members of the company standing front and centre of a large podium carrying the company logo on the front, and many body guards in the background. Bobby found the remote and the volume was turned up just in time to catch the rest of the announcement.
"...Games announced the launch of its 'revolutionary' new game, 'Evolution Danger', a controversial new online game that allegedly will allow players to choose to play as humans or mutants. The game has already sparked new debates among minority groups and reignited old debates regarding video game censorship and the mutant problem. 'Action Torque Games' claims that the game has only a mild violence content which is clearly highlighted for their product and although they don't believe that product stirs any political or moral corruptions, the product does not reflect the views and opinions of 'Action Torque Games'."
The video behind the newscaster had expanded to take up the rest of the screen so Arcade could be clearly made out. As the newscaster finished her speech the video shrunk back again and Kitty started to squint at the bodyguards littered around the back of the shot.
"'Evolution Danger' is set to launch for October and, despite certain controversy, it is fast becoming the most anticipated online game of the year." The female newscaster finished her report looking to her colleague.
"I guess there's no such thing as bad publicity, June?" The male newscaster at the same desk asked her with a smile.
"Indeed there isn't, Bill." She finished with a laugh handing over to her co-anchor to lead into his story as Bobby turned the volume down. Forge noticed that people around the room had tensed.
"Uhm, what am I missing here? Do we not like Webber?" Forge asked uncertainly. Eyes darted back and forth between people as Kitty got up to take the remote from Bobby and pause the live TV; she started to rewind it to check something. Bobby was to respond, now that the remote had been usurped.
"Am, how do you know Arcade?" Bobby asked him before answering Forge's question.
"I did some work on his first few games in MIT. The gig paid well." He answered him, unsure of the territory. He didn't notice that Tabitha suddenly decided to take the seat right next to him until she spoke up.
"Really? How well?" Tabitha enquired as she shamelessly draped an arm over the back of Forge's chair, which was noticed with a grin by a few people in the room, but not by Forge.
"Well enough, but this was before he started making the big bucks." Tabitha swiftly removed her arm as Forge pressed on. "Wasn't he in school with some of you?"
"Yeah, he dropped out to work on his games shortly after our, uhm, little 'gathering'." Forge's raised eyebrows silently asked for the story to be continued. Bobby scratched the back of his head before filling in the blanks in his story. "He kinda hacked into Cerebro and set off the Danger Room thinking it was all just a video game."
"What?! I worked with that dude for months and the little fink never mentioned it!" Forge exclaimed as Amara quickly formed a theory.
"Maybe he didn't mention it because he figured out it wasn't a video game?" Nearly all eyes went to Amara; Kitty was still fiddling with the playback. "Well, he thought it was a game at the time but what if when the cat was let out of the bag that we were mutants, maybe he put two and two together?" Tabitha agreed.
"Yeah, think about it; if he really thought it was a game - wouldn't he have been bragging about it to you?" Forge thought about and thought it would be best to agree.
"Probably." He shrugged, but Tabitha wasn't convinced.
"Did he know that you had any connections at the Institute?" She asked, angling her head for his response. He started to shake his head when Kitty zoomed in on part of the screen and gasped.
"Lance?!" Kitty exclaimed having zoomed in closely on one of two smaller bodyguards in the collective background.
"What?!" Several people reacted at the same time - taking the attention off Forge. "Omigod, it is Lance!"
"And Pietro!" Jamie shouted and pointed at the person next to Lance in the picture. The pair of them were almost unrecognisable, being dressed so well. Everyone in the room had a foreboding feeling.
"This can't be good." Sam said to the quiet room. "We gotta tell the Professor." Bobby, Amara and Jamie nodded and exited the room to deliver the message as Kitty stood dumbstruck wondering what Lance was up to. Sam and Tabitha put away the food for later as Forge was left staring at the table top, deep in thought. Piotr stood behind him, eyes slowly going between the screen, Kitty and Forge.
oOo
Laura kept watching the cards flick from one hand to the other. She couldn't see the point in such idle fidgeting except with the hope for an intimidating appearance. She stood still, disciplined. Anyone who was really a danger in her experience was typically a silent threat. Laura tensed upon hearing movement; purely reactive to her stance, Gambit also went on guard. Laura raised an eyebrow to him as Logan pulled aside the curtain around Rogue, himself and Xavier.
Gambit relaxed now that he understood that she only flinched because she heard Wolverine moving, but he still didn't put his cards away.
"Better safe den sorry, petite." He addressed Laura's stare. She really didn't like this guy, and didn't even care enough to growl in response. Logan walked out between them.
"She could take you out inside of three seconds, Cajun." Logan factually told Gambit then turned to Laura. "Show me your claws." Laura frowned at the request but lifted her right hand to him anyway and extended two claws from their housing in her arm.
Snikt!
He nodded.
"Retract 'em." He ordered watching her knuckles closely. She hesitated but did as he asked.
Un-snikt!
The two cuts on her knuckles healed extraordinarily fast. Her healing factor was fully operational. Logan nodded.
"Good. How do you feel?" He asked as she now figured out what he was trying to gauge. She straightened her posture.
"I feel ready." She told him. The Beast observed these proceedings from a few feet back by Duncan Matthews and approached them out of earshot of Scott and the unconscious Jean.
"Her body successfully eliminated all traces of the toxin, according to her blood work earlier. However, I would still advise caution." Laura rolled her eyes at the mollycoddling. Xavier addressed Laura directly.
"The poisonous powder that was used on you in Rochester was from a muta-toxin found in a drink called Powr-8, except this was much more concentrated for use as a crude and unsuccessful weapon; it harmed everyone who came in contact with it. Now, they have managed to refine it for use as a weapon by means of darts and injections. They are calling it LDX. It is highly potent and highly dangerous."
Gambit was confused at the word 'refine'.
"How did they refine it?" Gambit asked the room the dark question. Logan chose to answer it.
"They've been testing it on people." Logan replied succinctly. Gambit, once more, didn't like the choice of words.
"People?" He asked as he, Laura and the Beast waited for the clarification.
"Humans and mutants." Laura was the only one of the three of them that was not shocked by the answer. She had witnessed how far people were willing to go for research and knew that logically it made sense. If someone wanted to introduce this as an Anti-Mutant weapon, then they would have to test it on Mutants to gauge the lethal dose but also ensure that the dose would not kill humans if they were caught in the crossfire, well, if Human supremacy was the objective.
"The disappearances..." Hank breathed. Xavier nodded solemnly.
"Yes, it seems there are ways to alert these people of suspect mutants," Xavier briefly looked at the still Duncan Matthews behind him, "by such youth organisations that Mr. Matthews here was involved in, which would be followed by disappearances or, more accurately, kidnappings and arson." These topics were very heavy to digest, so Xavier gave it a moment to settle.
"We have gained some insight on these operations from Brad Saunders, Guy Spears' assistant. I am hopeful that we will be able to stop these people or at the very least - save as many would-be-victims as possible." He addressed Laura again. "It is a dangerous mission; however, I am confident that the healing factors, which you and Logan possess, will give you the ability to fight off the poison if it should come to that." Laura stood tall but Xavier couldn't help but pick up the memory of the absolute agony that the poison caused her when she had been exposed to it.
"When do we leave?" Was all she asked them, her voice as tough as nails.
Bamf!
Kurt appeared by Rogue's bedside directly blocking Laura's view of Rogue - he didn't trust her one bit. He looked to Logan.
"Storm has the jet ready." Logan nodded and walked out of the room, followed closely by Laura.
Not long after they left, Jubilee ran in frantically shouting things about Rahne. She quickly grabbed Hank and pulled him towards the door just as Sunspot walked past the blasted out windows carrying the wolf. Gambit quickly jumped through the non-window to help, leaving Kurt with Rogue and Scott with Jean. Duncan Matthews had no one.
oOo
He followed the corridor to the hangar. He didn't know why he left the kitchen to head there, but his feet brought him there unconsciously. That wasn't true. He knew what he was doing. He had been watching her pace in the kitchen, worried for her friends and pupils in the infirmary, all the while, no one telling her what she should really have been focusing on. What he didn't know was why Logan or the Beast hadn't said anything to her yet. Did they not think it was a matter of urgency or had they simply put the life of one person aside while they attend to others?
He reached the entrance to the hangar and heard the deafening sound of the X-jet firing up different pitches and vibrations as part of the start-up sequence. The steps descended on the ramp as Storm appeared on them and floated down, letting the jet warm up for Logan and Laura.
She floated down almost as far as the door when she spotted him staring at her from the doorway. She landed in front of him gracefully, concern etched in her face as a response to his troubled look.
"Ray! Is something wrong?!" She asked him loudly as she approached him.
"I..." Ray started but felt a hand on his shoulder that stopped him. Logan and Laura appeared behind him, the hand belonging to Logan as Laura continued on and headed for the jet. Ray turned to look at Logan, silently asking if he should tell Ororo what they learned about Evan and the poison. Logan nodded with an uncharacteristic pat on the shoulder.
"The jet is ready! Where are we going?!" Ororo shouted to Logan over the sound of the jet.
"We," Logan indicated to himself and Laura as he walked towards the plane, "are headin' south!" Storm frowned at him indicating that she was annoyed being asked to start the jet when she wasn't going. She wasn't a valet. Logan sighed a low and rumbled sigh. "I wanted to have a word with ya before we left, but Sparky there looks like he wanted to do that!"
Ray wasn't going to be able to back out of it, thanks to Logan. Ororo turned as Logan entered the jet and faced Ray. Under her scrutiny, he only hesitated for a moment before he thought it best to not dance around the topic.
"I was talking to Evan!" He told her straight out. Her face reacted to the statement, quickly displaying surprise.
"When?!" She stepped forwards quickly to attempt to get the information faster as the Jet taking off behind her almost drowned Ray out.
"Me, Hank, Logan and Jamie went to see the Morlocks, while you were in L.A.." Ray told her quickly in the silence that followed the jet taking off and the hangar doors closing.
"Why?" She asked simple, one-worded questions as her brain could not process anything more complex given the topic of conversation. Worry for Evan always seemed to diminish her capacity to think straight.
"We went to find out what their cure was for the toxin in the Spears Sports drink, to see if we could use it against that powdered poison that Laura had thrown on her in Rochester."
"And the injection pens Rahne discovered in L.A.." Ororo agreed that it would be useful. "Well, what did you find? What was the cure?"
"Well, that's just it. It manages the symptoms but it's not a cure." Ray told her in no uncertain terms, but she when she tried to understand what he was saying she kept drawing impossible conclusions which just increased her confusion.
"So, what are you saying? Evan's still poisoned?!" Storm asked trying to control the level of volume and pitch in her voice and stay calm but was finding it increasingly difficult. All Ray could do was nod but Ororo wouldn't accept it. "No, he would have said something to me or to someone here." Ray shook his head slowly from side to side.
"He would never want you to worry about him; he wouldn't want anyone to worry about him." Ray said to her. "He'd never ask for it himself, but he needs help. Like, I dunno, an intervention or something?"
Ororo started move towards Ray. He didn't recognise the look in her eyes. She reached for the control panel next to the door that was situated behind him. She pressed a few buttons. Ray had no idea what was going on until he heard hangar doors to the waterfall opening with the sound of straining metal, flooding the hangar with the thunderous sound of crushing water.
"Wait, what're you going to do?!" Ray shouted over the noise to her as she backed away from him.
"I am going to bring him home!" She shouted like a regal announcement. She had had enough of Evan's games, she should have brought him home long before now. From what Ray could see as she floated up into the air before him, she was upset, worried, angry and determined; all things that would go against her if she was trying to bring Evan home. She was too emotional to be thinking straight, the only thing she would accomplish would be driving Evan further away and that was the last thing any of them wanted.
"Wait!" He shouted to her but she ignored him as gusts flew up around her, guiding her straight out of the hangar doors to Evan. Ray silently cursed to himself. He turned and started in a flat out run to the garage to follow her on wheels.
End of Chapter 35
A.N. So what questions do we have this week? Did this chapter clarify anything for anyone? Did it complicate things further? Let me know what you think! ~Rí
Oh, and sorry for making everyone wait so long for this one. Major drama on ice just before christmas. Had a timpiste (car accident) on black ice; no one was hurt thank goodness and it was the ice's fault. The car was hit and got a fair bit damaged so I had to spend alot of time sorting that out - still sorting it out in fact. Meh, it's all good - just wish the weather would improve.
So, leave me a review to cheer me up over the car! c",) Hee, hee; talk about emotional exploitation! ;)