Part 51 - Energy
Only three left.
That's what Kari kept thinking as they walked, staring at the ground blankly, watching their own shuffling feet.
Out of the "original five", she had called them, there were only three left. Her, John, and Kitty. Once long ago, they had all sat upon the bleachers just outside the school, laughing and enjoying a good time.
A few months later, John was traitor, and Bobby and Rogue had been murdered. And Kari was no longer a mutant. A she imagined herself sitting on the bleachers with all of her friends, back when Bobby and Rogue were together, Kitty was a hyperactive little girl, and John was as anti-social as ever, she couldn't help thinking, Little did we know.
She looked over and saw John fiddling with his left hand. Looking closer, she saw he was playing with a small black glove. She looked at her hand, and then back at his, noticing it was her missing glove.
"You kept it," she said out of the blue, looking back at the ground. He snapped his head up, as though some one had come up behind him and screamed in his ear. He looked down at the glove and dropped both hands at his sides.
"Yeah, I did," he said simply. He looked ahead, and Kari caught that he was trying to avoid eye contact.
They were trying to find their way back to the X-Jet after physically having to drag Kitty away from Bobby as he lay there. They were now pretty much walking in complete silence, and Kitty was in front with Storm's hands comfortingly set on her shoulders to keep her steady as she walked. Kari and John lagged behind, dragging their feet. Kari felt the need to keep near him, and he felt the need to keep away from the rest of the group.
It was not long before John went to the resort of pulling out his lighter, and flicking the top back and forth to keep himself calm. Soon Kari was walking in step with the clicks, a slow pace, but it kept her mind focused. On what, she wasn't sure, but it kept her from thinking about anything else.
"There it is!" Scott announced. Everyone exchanged glances for a split second and continued towards the jet.
"LOGAN!" some one called. Everyone looked around before Storm pointed up, and Kari nearly leapt for joy. Warren came gliding down, slightly unsteadily, but he made it nonetheless. His wings were bloody, and some feathers were missing. The rest of his body was bruised, and he looked pale, but that didn't stop Kari from running and throwing her arms around him. He staggered for a moment and then steadied himself, returning the hug before letting her go.
"What happened to you?" Jean asked.
"Long story," Warren answered with an exhausted breath.
"What happened to Crevan?" John asked immediately, making everyone fall silent. Warren looked at him, almost reluctantly.
"I don't know. After you two ran off I never saw him again. He knocked me unconscious."
"So he could still be around?" Kari asked quickly.
"Meaning we should get on the jet and head for Washington," Scott translated, motioning for everyone to board. There was a murmur of agreement among everyone, and they all moved onto the jet. It took Kari a few seconds to realize John was still standing outside. She stood on the ramp and looked back at him. He pulled Kari's glove off of his hand, walked up to her, and put it in her hand. She stared at him.
"You guys go to Washington, I'll try to keep these guys here as long as I can."
"John —"
"How long is it going to take for you to realize you can't argue with me?" he asked, turning around and walking down the ramp. He didn't realize Kari had followed him until he turned back around and saw her face not even a foot away.
"How long is it going to take for YOU to realize you can't just walk away every time?" she shot back. She grabbed his hand and put the glove back over his fingers.
"You told me you wanted to stop hating me," she said in a matter-of-fact tone.
"You're making me right now."
"Explain that," she said simply, crossing her arms.
"Look, I just want to make sure that Magneto and Crevan don't get to you right away. If you stall that, and I can't keep them behind, then I'll hate you for getting yourself killed."
"You don't know that," she interrupted. She stared skeptically as John grabbed her arm and walked with her back up the ramp, stopping right in front of the entrance.
"I know you aren't exactly one of…'us'…anymore, but that doesn't change the fact Magneto has no reason to come after you. Not to mention Crevan. If he is still out there, I want to know where so I know that he's nowhere near you."
"I don't want him to catch up with you either, what makes you think he won't kill YOU as well?" Kari shot back.
"Can you just trust me?"
"Have I EVER trusted you?"
"There's a first for everything," he said with a casual shrug, "Besides, you have my jacket."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Kari practically screamed.
"I don't know. But you have it. And you kept it all this time. What does that tell you?"
"That I'm obsessive?" she answered sarcastically.
"Good girl," he whispered with a smile.
"John —"
"Hey, trust me. I'll find you again. Chances are Magneto will head after you soon, and I'll go with him."
"THEN what?"
"I'll tell you when we get there."
Kari sighed, half in anger, and John pulled her into a hug. After releasing her, he looked onto the jet.
"You guys make it to Washington as fast as you can, Magneto's heading to target the president the first chance he gets." He walked around Kari and went up to the cockpit, leaning over Jean's seat, making her jump.
"There's a on old run down laboratory on this island outside Annapolis. Magneto wants to kidnap the president and take him there," he explained, tapping a few coordinates into the computer. Jean looked at Storm, who gave a silent sigh and looked back at John.
"He has some sort of base there as well, he built it a while ago. The laboratory was scheduled for demolition a while back, but he found some one to buy the property and save it. I don't remember the guy's name, but they worked together for a while, and were conducting some experiment there. Now he's holding the virus there, with some way of administering to the entire US, mostly through water mains. If you can keep the president away from there, you probably have a chance of intercepting the Brotherhood. Their main path is hear, so my suggestion would be to fly alongside that path and search for a bit, if nothing turns up, go ahead and get to the president. After that, your only choice is to do your best to protect him."
Everyone stared and when John stood up, he didn't notice Kari looking over his shoulder. He turned around and gave her a quick kiss before hurrying off the jet calling, "Good luck!"
Kari stood there speechless while Jean and Storm looked up at her. She looked down at them, and they exchanged glances.
"What?" she asked.
They made as if they were about to laugh before turning around in their chairs and firing up the engines.
"What?" she repeated.
"He seems energetic," Logan muttered with a snicker. Kari turned and made sure she smacked him over his head before sitting in her seat as the jet took off.
