The plan, insofar as there was one, was this: Begin with everyone ignoring Shaw and then gradually taunt him up to the point where he either burst into flame from sheer ridicule or tried to kill me, whichever came first. And I would make sure I was the one he wanted to kill, since I already had a head start in that direction and I could shield myself. My field was up around me and I was ready. Alex's role was to divert Shaw's attack, while Angel was to counterattack at the worst moment for him. Then Darwin would jump him, Hank at the ready with needle in hand and a big dose in the syringe.
However, while I can shield all right, any impact and I go flying like someone kicked a hamster's exercise ball, me being the hamster. The Admin wing's facing wall stopped me, and then Shaw brought it down on me, burying me under several tons of concrete, glass, and rebar. It was too heavy to shift off, too heavy to keep holding all of it up off of me, so I gradually shrank my shield down, easing the rubble down on my limbs, tense and alert to any sudden shifts it made. All I concentrated on was keeping the area around my head clear, and making sure the breath wasn't crushed out of my lungs. That and not having a panic attack, as this was pretty much a ready-made situation for having one. Powerless, ignorant of what was going on up there—had we won? Had Shaw won? Yeah, I was on the edge and then some.
But a panic attack would destroy my concentration, which would mean death for sure, so I staved it off by telling myself someone would dig me out, if not the kids to rescue me, then Shaw, to make sure I was dead. Someone would dig for me, all I had to do was wait and there was no way I would suffocate, no more than if I were swimming, I could keep going on this much air four times longer than anyone else, ten times longer.
I don't know how long it took, but after a while I could hear digging, and then one of Sean's screams, then more digging, and another scream (Sean was sonically pulverizing the bigger chunks of wall,) and another round of digging. Then I could hear some voices, and stuff shifted, dust and gravel sifting through, and a big piece moved, the air got fresher and then Darwin shouted, "She's here!"
"Oh, God, oh, God, is she alive?" Raven sobbed, and I tried to say, 'Yes, I'm okay,', but my mouth was too dry and wouldn't work. It was all right, though, because in another moment, he had picked me up and carried me back in to what remained of the Rec room, where he put me on the sofa.
Raven threw herself down next to me, hugging me and weeping. "You're bleeding! Hank, she's bleeding, fix it. Fix it right now," she pleaded.
"Water?" I rasped out, while Hank looked me over, picked a few bits of glass out of my leg, (making me hiss and grind my teeth with pain) then set about disinfecting the scrapes and scratches. Somebody, Angel, I think, gave me some wonderful wet cold water that was the most delicious I had ever tasted.
"Thank you, Angel. Thank you all—Did we get him? Did we get Shaw?"
"Yeah," Logan said. "We got him and two others. A guy that looks like the devil and a long-haired pretty boy."
Azazel and Riptide, both. "Alive?" I asked.
"Yeah. For now." he replied. "The devil's got a dislocated jaw and the pretty boy has two broken wrists."
"Make sure they can't get away. Keep them tranked," I instructed. I could feel a panic attack hanging over me, waiting to descend like a cloud of crows on a carcass, but I had to hang on just a little longer, a little longer, this was too important. "But Shaw you have to treat different. If he can move at all, if he can move a finger, he'll build his power back up. Make it so he can't move. Like me under the wall."
"You want us to bury him alive?" Darwin asked.
"No, he has to stay alive for now. Has anyone heard from Erik and the others?" I asked. That faraway, tunnely icy feeling was tugging at me. Just a little longer.
"No," Hank said, "but all the phone lines are down and the relay tower's melted." He dabbed mercurochrome on another scrape. "All your injuries seem to be superficial."
"I'm sorry to put you to all this trouble. Oh. Oh! Mr. Black. He was hiding in his restroom. I have to tell him it's all clear—," I tried to get up but my legs had no intention of going anywhere right then and for that matter, I was missing some pieces. "Where are my prostheses?"
"Somewhere under the wall, and you're not going anywhere," Raven got bossy at me. "I'll tell him."
"He was supposed to wait for me to say 'Lycopodium'." I remembered.
"Then I'll say 'Lycopodium' with your voice." she said, and she went off.
"Okay—You have to make sure Shaw can't move at all," I repeated to no one in particular. "But I can't come up with any ideas how right now."
"I got a few of my own, don't worry." Darwin said. "Alex, Sean, let's get some shovels. Remember those mud pits in the obstacle course?"
"I think I'm about done for, for right now, but, Hank," I said, "That stupid ugly helmet Shaw was wearing. The bucket."
"I've got it," he said. "It's in my lab, and it's very secure. When I have a moment, I plan to study it—."
"No," I said, "Don't study it. Destroy it. Crush it and melt it down or dissolve it in acid. It's important. You cannot imagine how important. If you meant what you said about considering me your equal at all, you will do it. Now. Promise me. Promise me you will." I wanted to say, don't let Erik get his hands on it, don't let him even see it, but that would have led to him asking awkward questions, and I was not up to concocting a good explanation at that moment.
"All right. I will, I promise." he said, peering at me over his glasses with all the intense sincerity he possessed.
And then I had my panic attack, and it was a big one.
A/N: Joon-Yi did not suffer any spinal injuries under the wall, she's just in shock. Maybe nobody will wind up suffering any spinal injuries the way this is going! And yes, this is a supershort short one, but it's an important transition for the next one, when Erik, Charles and Moira return.
