Chapter 26 – Impulses
The Hellfire Club, New York.
The Inner Circle was gathered around the table in the Club's conference room. As promised, the Black Queen had found a substitute for Harry Leland as the Black Bishop.
"Shaw, Pierce, Frost… I'd like you to meet Jason Wyngarde," Selene introduced the skinny man to her associates.
"It's an honor to be considered for your circle," Wyngarde stood up from his seat to address the trio.
The Black King studied the man from head to toe and scoffed. "This weakling is your choice of Bishop, Selene? Tell me why I shouldn't just strangle the life out of him with my bare hands?"
"Because maybe your hands are no more," Jason responded, smirking as Shaw's eyes widened in despair.
"My hands! They're gone!" The Black King screamed in agony. "What have you done to me, you idiot?" He was about to stand up from his chair when the White Queen placed her hand against his chest.
"Relax, Sebastian. It's just a mental illusion. Your hands are fine," she explained, turning to look at Wyngarde's face. "Remarkable, darling. Your illusions look quite real. But are you skillful enough to trick a telepath?"
"You tell me," he said, and soon Frost let out a cry. Her blonde hair had become grey and opaque, and her skin was suddenly covered in wrinkles. She looked old, and Jason even made her believe she suffered from backache. The pain was palpable.
"That would be enough," Selene told him. In the blink of an eye, Shaw's hands grew back and Emma looked young again.
The White Queen gasped. "Your skills are… impressive."
"Thank you," Jason bowed his head in her direction.
"How long can you keep up the illusions?" Donald Pierce asked.
"As long as I'm concentrating. And once I impregnate the images inside one's mind, I can keep the deception on even during my sleep. That's why I'm known as the Mastermind," he said without modesty.
"Fine. You've proved your value, Wyngarde," the Black King declared, standing up to raise his glass. His associates followed his motions. "I, the Black King, hereby proclaim you, Jason Wyngarde, the new Black Bishop of the Hellfire Club's Inner Circle."
"Long live the new Bishop," the other three spoke in unison. Mastermind smiled with greed in his eyes.
"I hope your illusions work against the X-Men, Black Bishop," Shaw said. "I've just spoken to Robert Kelly. The president has given him carte blanche regarding the mutant matter. The senator wants the 'cure' released to the rest of the country on January 1st."
"We haven't heard from the X-Men in days, and tomorrow's already New Year's Eve. Why are you so worried, Sebastian?"
"Do not underestimate Xavier's team, Pierce. As soon as we start spreading the 'cure' into the water again, they will come for us."
"I'll have Havok and Polaris ready for them," the White Queen affirmed, "but your abilities may come in handy against Xavier, Wyngarde."
"I'll do my best," Mastermind replied.
"The Inner Circle expects nothing less from its members," Shaw declared and exited the room. Frost and Pierce went after him.
The Black Queen and the Black Bishop were left alone. He addressed her.
"I'm in great debt with you, Selene. You have my word I will repay your trust."
"I know you will, and sooner than you think," she replied, throwing a picture over the table. "This is Jean Grey, a powerful telekinetic and telepath. She and her baby daughter are associated with the X-Men."
Wyngarde picked up the photo and studied it with appreciation. "Pretty thing. I'd love to play with her head."
"Good, because that's exactly what you're going to do," Selene said.
"What about Xavier? I thought I was supposed to focus on the old man. The White Queen said-"
"Forget the White Queen, or any of the other Inner Circle's members. You work for me now."
Mastermind nodded. "All right. What would you have me do?"
"You're going to separate Grey from her baby. Do whatever you like with the woman, as long as you bring her alive to me," the Black Queen explained, and a small smile appeared on her face. "In the end, I will have both mother and daughter."
Asteroid M, Somewhere in the Earth's Orbit.
"It's done," Magneto declared as he finished assembling the last of five conduits.
"Finally," Forge replied, wiping sweat off his forehead. They had been working on the new conduits for three days, extracting metal from the asteroid to build the devices. During the manufacturing, though, Magnus would often excuse himself and disappear into his chambers, only to return after a few minutes looking strong and well-rested. Xavier suspected his old friend was suffering from physical and power exhaustion, and that his right-hand man, Fabian Cortez, was the reason for that.
"This is remarkable, Erik. What took us months to create, you have replicated in days," Charles complimented.
"As much as I'd love to claim credit for myself, Forge is the man behind the invention. I've just reproduced it," Magneto told them humbly.
"In record time," Cortez noted. "Your powers are really impressive, my lord."
Amelia Voght rolled her eyes. Fabian's ass kissing was getting old.
"Well, we have five devices, one for each of zhe US regions - West, Midwest, Southwest, Southeast and Northeast. We can cover zhem all at zhe same time now," Nightcrawler pondered. "But who would power each one of zhe devices?"
"Due to the nature of their powers, Voght and Storm would be the best choices," Magnus proposed. "And if we could insert a metal component into the antidote's molecule, I could very well command the other conduits."
"Erik, you can't be seriously considering controlling three devices at the same time," Xavier said with worry.
"Polaris could help operate them… That is, if we evah manage to find her," Rogue suggested.
"Have you all gone insane? You're acting as if we're ready to strike. In case your memories are failing you, I'll remind you that we don't have any antidote to fill those damn devices with!" Ororo yelled in frustration.
Charles wheeled toward his student. He held her hand in his. "Storm… Ororo. I realize how hard the situation regarding the missing X-Men is for you. Believe me, it's hard for all of us. But I know Hank McCoy better than any of you, and I'm positive he wouldn't leave the mansion without at least one antidote sample," Xavier told her.
"But professor… Beast might be dead."
"I refuse to accept that. I refuse to accept that any of my students is dead. And since I know that Hank and the others are alive, I'm going to assume they have sought refuge under Dr. McTaggert's roof. And Moira's laboratory has all the technology we need to produce more samples."
"What does this mean, professor?"
"It means, Jubilee, that as soon as Magneto feels strong again, he's going to transport us back to Earth… to Muir Island."
Erik glanced at Cortez and nodded in agreement. "Very well. Voght, Cortez and I are going to join the X-Men in this enterprise. Frenzy, you'll be in charge of Asteroid M during our absence. As for the rest of the acolytes, anyone who wishes to come along and help in this particular mission is more than welcome."
Colossus raised his hand. "I'd like to go, tovarich Magneto. My powers could be useful to you," he said, staring at Xavier.
"Thank you," the older man smiled.
"Then get ready, all of you," Magnus ordered. "We leave in one hour."
Edinburgh, Scotland.
It was December 30th when the five X-Men finally arrived in Scotland. They had followed Cyclops' itinerary strictly, boarding different trains that took them from London to Cambridge, Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh at last.
Jean and Warren had barely spoken to each other during the trip. Angel had searched for the redhead several times to try to explain why he had showed Logan's pictures to her, but she had made sure to always look busy or stay close to someone else -usually Scott- in order to avoid him.
This time, Bobby was the one keeping her company. He had sat beside her in the train all the way from Manchester, seeking romantic advice. Three nights ago, in Camden Town, he and Hank had met two girls - a young waitress named Zelda and her best friend, Vera. Iceman had fallen head over heels for the first one, and was determined to push his buddy Beast towards the second. Bobby's night had turned out incredibly well - he and Zelda had exchanged not only phone numbers, but also a memorable goodbye kiss.
"What do you think, Jean? Should I text her again? I mean, it's been more than six hours since we've last talked. She should have replied to my message by now," the young mutant asked over his shoulder while carrying his and Jean's bags out of the wagon.
"I'd wait a little longer, Bobby. You said the girl's a waitress in a hip pub. She's probably too busy to respond now," the telepath reasoned. It was pouring heavily and she stretched the stroller's canopy over her daughter's small body before descending the stairs to the platform.
Bobby opened an umbrella and held it over Jean's head. "You think so? But what if… What if she's not interested?"
"Are you nuts? Not interested in a sweet guy like you? That would mean this Zelda girl's crazy, and you'd be better off without her," the woman winked at him.
"Thanks," Iceman smiled and offered Jean his arm. A few meters ahead of them, Scott, Nathan, Hank and Warren had also just stepped out of the train and were jogging towards the station's main building. Cyclops quickly turned his head and signaled for Bobby and Jean to follow them inside.
Once under the station's roof, Beast consulted a city map fixated on the wall. "My dear friends, I am happy to inform you that our much yearned for hotel is within a walking distance."
Warren grimaced. "No way, Hank. It's raining cats and dogs, and we've got two babies along. We should get a taxi," he proposed, glancing at Jean to seek her approval. However, the woman wasn't looking at him, or at any of them for that matter. Her eyes were warily scanning the station, and her face bore an odd frown. "Jean? Jean, is everything all right?" The blonde asked.
His question prompted the other three men to look at the redhead. "You're okay, Jean?" Scott mimicked Angel's concern.
"I'm fine, I just… I'm sensing someone… in great distress," the woman squeezed her eyes shut and concentrated. "I think… I think it's a mutant…" Her green eyes suddenly widened. "A child! There's a mutant child in danger somewhere around us!"
"Where?" Angel questioned, his eagle eyes scanning their surroundings.
The telepath closed her eyes again. "Platform eleven," she answered with dread in her voice. "It's a girl. She's surrounded by five men!"
Cyclops unfastened the baby carrier from his chest and placed Nate on Jean's arms. "Stay here with the children," he told her. "Use telekinesis to protect them if you have." Then he turned to the other three. "Beast, Iceman, cover the grounds with me. Angel, take off and see if you can spot the attackers."
"But what about our 'undercover status'?" Warren asked.
"A mutant child is in danger. Screw undercover," Cyclops said and ran towards the platform after Bobby and Hank.
'I'll make sure no one looks up. Go,' Jean sent into her best friend's mind.
'Okay,' Angel unceremoniously dropped his trench coat to the floor and commanded his wings to lift him up.
Beast's agility made sure he was the first X-Man to arrive at platform eleven. He was taken aback by the sight of a frightened girl covered in brown fur crouching on the empty rails under the rain. Five fully grown men with baseball clubs and metal pipes had encircled her. Her wolf-like ears and tail were pointing upwards, and she was trying to scare the bullies away by showing them her sharp teeth.
"Good evening, gentlemen. Is this platform 9 3/4? Could you tell me what time the next train to Hogwarts is expected to leave?" Hank asked, turning off his image inducer.
"Look, another freaking mutant!" One of the attackers said.
"He looks like an animal too. Maybe this is a zoo, and we pissed off the wolf's father," another man replied in mockery and plunged towards McCoy with his club.
"I find it quite disturbing that five legitimate sons of Britain do not find in themselves the necessity to comment my brilliant anecdote," Beast declared as he ripped the weapon out of the man's hands and used it to hit him in the head.
"I bet these dudes aren't the sharpest tools in the shed," Iceman said as he touched a puddle and froze all the rainwater that was splattered on the ground. His action was followed by a sequence of red blasts that hit another three assaulters on the chest, sending them stumbling and falling over the slippery railings. Bobby finished the job by securing the men's arms against the floor with a thick layer of ice.
The fifth and last attacker, however, had snuck behind the girl. He had a heavy pipe raised above his head and was ready to strike the mutant.
"Don't even think about it," Angel warned as he dove towards the aggressor and held the weapon firmly in his right hand. With his left, he captured the man by the neck and lifted him off the floor. The assaulter kicked his feet in the air as he tried to break free from Warren's strangling, to no avail. After about forty seconds, he became unconscious. Angel descended from the sky and landed on the rails, throwing the pipe and its owner on the ground.
Meanwhile, Beast was carefully approaching the girl. "Are you all right, my young friend?"
She nodded timidly.
"What's your name?"
"Rahne," the girl answered, recoiling as Hank got closer.
"That's a beautiful name, Rahne. Do you know what it means?" He asked, and she shook her head negatively. "It means 'counseling'. You must be a pretty good friend to have around," Beast smiled kindly.
"I don't know. I don't have any friends," she replied, shaking her upper body and sending water droplets everywhere.
"How old are you? Where are your parents?" Cyclops inquired, mentally cursing the people who had left such a young mutant wandering around the city alone.
"Ten," Rahne said in a low tone, "and I'm an orphan."
Scott didn't know what to respond to that. Angel intervened.
"I'm sorry to hear about your mom and dad, kiddo. Who takes care of you?" He asked, his wings flapping behind him to get rid of the water.
"Reverend Craig," she replied, and her mouth fell agape. "Are your wings real, mister? Are you an angel?"
"They're pretty real, but I don't think that having them makes me an angel. What about you? Are you a real wolf?" The blonde smiled, kneeling before her to caress the fur behind her ear.
"Nah. I'm just a kid who looks like one," she explained, changing to her human form - a short redhead girl with freckles and dark green eyes. Warren thought she looked even younger now.
"My friends, it would be wiser if we continued our interview elsewhere," Hank suggested. "Her clothes are shredded, and it's getting colder and darker."
"Beast's right. We have to take her to safety before she gets sick. Besides, we don't know how long Jean will be able to keep us telepathically shielded from curious eyes," Cyclops reasoned.
"Tell me kiddo, where do you and Reverend Craig live?" Warren asked and saw the girl pointing up to a church's tower. "That's your home? Okay, it's not too far," he contemplated and addressed the girl again. "Rahne, how would you like if an angel took you home?"
"I'd love to, Mr. Angel!"
"Let's go then," the blonde cupped the child in his arms. "I'll meet you guys at the hotel's rooftop. Please be so kind and bring me my trench coat so I can sneak fast and unnoticed into my room. My wings could really use a hot bubble bath after this much rain."
"You mean your thousand dollar Burberry coat? I'll bring it to you right after I take it to a stroll in the park," Iceman teased him.
"Be careful," Cyclops said before Angel took off, receiving a nod from the winged man in return. He looked around and noticed that Bobby had also frozen the five men's legs to the grounds. He smiled. "Good teamwork, X-Men. Let's find Jean and the babies and get out of here."
xxxxx
No cab was willing to stop for the three soaked mutants, so they had to walk the four blocks to the hotel under Edinburgh's heavy rain. Jean trailed along after them, pushing Rachel's stroller and holding Nathan strapped against her chest, while Scott, Hank and Bobby carried the bags. She had tried to share the umbrella, but the three X-Men had vehemently refused her offer. Thus, when they arrived at the hotel, the redhead was the only one whose clothes were dry. She entered the lobby to check them in while her friends tried to dry themselves under the entrance's awning. All the while, both babies slept peacefully.
However, it was taking her too long to talk to the hotel clerk, and Cyclops decided to come inside and see if she needed help.
"Is there something wrong?" He asked from behind.
"They can't find our reservations," Jean explained, sounding frustrated. "And they're saying the hotel is fully booked."
"Damn!" Scott mumbled, his mind already trying to work up a solution. "Excuse me, mister. My wife and I have booked a room for the night, and so have my friends and my brother-in-law. The reservations were made five days ago," he said. "Do you mind checking our names again?"
"I apologize, sir, but the system does not accuse any bookings for the Kirbys, Byrnes or Lees," the clerk answered. "I've checked it twice."
"Please, mister. We've been traveling with two babies under the rain. My husband and our friends are completely soaked. We understand that there was some kind of misunderstanding regarding our accommodations, but we would really, really appreciate if you could find us other rooms," Jean pleaded, batting her eyelashes and using her sweetest tone.
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Kirby, but as I've told you, we don't have any rooms left."
'Would it help if we slipped a fifty pound note into his hand?' Scott asked her mentally.
'Well, Warren's the one with the cash, and he's not here. Plus, this is not fair,' Jean replied. 'I might have a better idea… you'll have to play along, though,' she thought to her 'husband' and addressed the clerk again. "Oh, this is a real shame. I thought this hotel was baby friendly but clearly it isn't," she narrowed her eyes at the man and turned to Scott. "Honey, Rachel's diapers are probably dirty. I'm sure an uncaring place like this doesn't have a baby changer, so just lay her on that green velvet sofa and change her diapers, would you?" She asked him a bit too loudly.
"But I'm all wet from the rain, sweetheart. I can't sit on that couch, or I'll ruin it," he replied. "Plus, where would I throw the dirty diaper?"
Jean placed her hands on her hips. "Really, Scott? How many more excuses will you make up so you don't have to help me with the kids, huh? Is it so hard to change a freaking diaper? Huh? Really! I'm sick of having to do everything on my own!" She was almost yelling at him now, still standing in the check in line. An old woman who was standing behind them stared at the clock in annoyance and mumbled something to her husband about the crazy redhead mother.
"Mrs. Kirby, I'm afraid I will need to ask you to step aside of the queue," the clerk said.
Jean's head spun towards the man. "Can't you see I'm having a conversation with my husband?" She hissed angrily. "What kind of hotel is this, where a woman with two babies is not granted priority service? I'm going to post a huge complain on Trip Advisor, no stars at all for you!" The redhead threatened. She had to hold back a grin when the hotel manager appeared behind the reception desk.
"I'll take it from here, Mark," the older man told the clerk. "May I help you, madam?"
"Yes! Just find my family a room, for Christ's sake," she shouted and hit her right palm against the counter. She then looked over her shoulder. "Why are you still standing behind me, Scott? I told you to go change our daughter's diapers!"
The clerk, who had been standing right beside the manager, looked to and fro between Jean and Scott and panicked. "Mam, there's no need to use the couch for that. There's a perfectly good baby changer in the toi-"
"Are you trying to teach me how to take care of my daughter?" The telepath was almost climbing over the desk. The clerk gave a step back, and Jean looked down at Nathan. "Oh great! Now you've woken up my son. Do you know how loud he can get?" She glimpsed at her watch. "Perfect! It's dinner time already, which means my swollen boobs will have quite an audience," she glanced around the lobby, noticing that she already had a big audience.
'Jean, what are you doing? Nate's still sleeping,' Cyclops spoke in her head.
'Not in the clerk's and manager's mind, he isn't. To them, your son's screaming like a little banshee,' the woman explained, making the X-Man shake his head in amusement.
The redhead unstrapped Nathan from her chest and handed the boy to his dad. Then she started unbuttoning her coat. The hotel manager quickly slipped into the adjoining staff's room and soon returned with three keys. "Mrs. Kirby, I've found your reservations - Kirbys, Byrnes and Lee, three suites, one in the second and two in the fifth floor. I apologize for the misunderstanding. Please go to your rooms now. And please, please change your daughter and feed your son inside the room."
"Oh, so you're not fully booked, huh? Good for you," Jean said and yanked the keys from his hand. "I don't need to remind you that we need two cribs in our room."
"We'll bring them up to you in no time," the manager rapidly stated.
"That easy, huh? We'll see. Let's go, Scott," the woman spun in her shoes and started pushing Rachel's stroller towards the lift. Cyclops motioned for Bobby and Hank to come inside the lobby, but before he could turn around to follow Jean, the clerk held his arm.
"I advise you to ditch her in the highlands and flee while you can, Mr. Kirby."
xxxxx
"He really said that?" Jean asked, laughing out loud while nursing Rachel on the queen-size bed.
"He did. I think you got poor Mark really impressed," Cyclops laughed back, recalling the clerk's reaction to Jean's fake temper tantrum. He had to admit that her crazy-wife number had turned out to be very effective. Scott, Jean and the babies had been resting in their suite for a few hours now, and the adults even chose to use room service to order dinner. Warren, Bobby and Hank had invited them to come along and enjoy one night out in the city, but the two parents had refused to leave the hotel room - after so many train trips, their children were exhausted.
"You mean I've probably ruined his idea of marriage for life," she chuckled. "I'm not really that crazy, you know?"
"Hmm, I'm not so sure… For a moment I really thought you wanted me to change Rachel's diapers," he regarded her with a lopsided grin. Scott had showered and was now dressed in a plain white shirt and navy sweatpants. He had also bathed and fed Nathan, who was currently sleeping in the crib in the small adjoining room.
"No, you didn't," the telepath shook her head and smiled. "Not on an expensive velvet couch!"
"Yeah. That gave me a hint you were bluffing."
Jean sniffed the air. "Speaking of diapers…"
"Here, give Rach to me," Scott approached her and offered. "I'll make her burp and change her while you shower."
"Am I stinking that bad?" The woman carefully handed him the baby and smelled her shirt's sleeve.
"That's not what I meant!" He replied, holding the asleep girl against his chest and caressing her back.
"Good for you, Mr. Kirby," the redhead teased as she shuffled the inside her bag for a sleeping shirt. "And you do owe me a change of diapers," she winked at him and disappeared into the bathroom.
Jean took a quick shower. When she reentered the room, she noticed that Scott had already put her daughter to sleep in the second crib. She kissed Rach and Nate goodnight and stepped into the main bedroom.
Scott looked troubled. "This room only has one bed. You take it, I'll sleep on the floor," he said.
"No, you won't. The bed's big enough, we can share it," the woman proposed. "Unless you think I'm still smelling bad."
"I never said that!" Cyclops let out an exasperated sigh, but noticed that Jean was smirking. "Oh, you witch!"
She sat on the same spot where she had been feeding Rachel and checked the gash on her left thigh. "Shit. It's bleeding again," she cursed and tried to clean the wound.
Scott looked at her in concern. "Should we call Hank and ask him to give it a look?"
"No, I don't want to disturb him. I can take care of this," she told him, but was having a hard time examining the wound since it was located on the posterolateral aspect of her thigh.
"Sure you can't. Let me take a look," he offered, sitting beside her on the mattress. He took the gauze and antiseptic spray from her hand and started tending to the wound. "You have a loose stitch," Scott explained, trying not to look at the curve of her ass under the long shirt, and not to focus on the smoothness of her skin under his palms.
Jean, for her turn, rested her head against the headboard while putting all her efforts into avoiding enjoying the touch of his assertive fingers on her thigh. She forced herself to think of something else. "Saving that poor girl in the train station today… that was an impressive display of teamwork. You should be proud of yourself, Scott," she said.
"We should," he corrected her, his eyes quickly glimpsing at hers.
The redhead raised an eyebrow. "I remained safely put under the station's roof while you and the guys did all the work under a dreadful rain."
"That kid would've been dead if you hadn't sensed her distress, Jean," Scott reasoned, pressing the bandage against her thigh. "Pass me the micropore tape."
She handed him the tape. "But my telepathy was acting almost by itself. It's not like I was actively searching for mutants in danger or anything," she explained. "You should get the credit, Scott. The X-Men work in perfect synchrony under Cyclops' leadership."
He shook his head. "Let's just agree that the five of us played an equal part in Rahne's rescuing. How about that?"
"Fair enough," the woman replied, bending her upper body forward to check on his work.
Scott finished bandaging her leg and turned his head to the side. He found himself with his face only a few inches apart from Jean's. In an impulse, he placed his right palm against her nape and pressed his lips against hers. A brief moment later, he let go of her.
"I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"
Scott never finished his sentence. Jean leaped towards him and kissed his lips again, using both her hands to cup his face and opening her mouth to invite his tongue in. Scott moved on the bed to kneel in front of her and put his hands around her back, bringing her closer; he almost felt weak as her voluptuous body pressed against his. She momentarily broke the kiss to take his t-shirt off, and soon after, his hands found the hem of her shirt and did likewise. They kissed again, and when their naked bodies met, a shiver ran down both their spines. Jean pulled Scott on top of her as she laid down on the mattress. His mouth traveled down from her mouth to her jawline and neck while her fingers moved up from his torso to sink into his hair. Scott's right hand trailed over the sensitive skin of Jean's left breast and waist, and she had to suppress a moan when his fingers found their way under her panties.
A/N: Oh yes, ladies and gentlemen. The sexual tension is finally over. Or is it?
Can I hope for some reviews?