Chapter 18

The Manor that hid the base of the X-Men was in a combination of buzz of excitement and quiet curiosity as the more experienced students and two teachers returned with two strangers in tow. There were stings and scuffs that were normally accompanied by battle, but other than that their unconscious and unresponsive state was truly curious and alarming. Their breathing was haggard and they struggled to breath. As soon as the X-Jet had landed, Storm ordered that the two ladies to be taken to the infirmary, where they were promptly hooked up to oxygen machines and other important medical equipment. Beast walked past the two girls, gently clutched in his hand was a vial that was filled with remnants of the colored smoke that incapacitated the two newcomers.

"Are they, like, gonna be okay?" Kitty asked as she took it upon herself to soak a cloth in water and to wet the brow of the two girls. They thrashed in their sleep, which didn't help their breathing one bit.

"I'm not sure, Kitty." Storm admitted as she took a second cloth and dabbed it gently on the brow of the one named Gargoyle.

"We need to hook them up to some sedatives," Beast ordered as he moved into the main infirmary with two I.V. drip bags and lines. Kurt assisted him in hooking it up, and almost as soon as the line was hooked up into the girls' arms, both of them relaxed, though their breathing was still painful to listen to. Scott arrived a moment later with Professor Xavier in tow.

"Now, go over it again, Scott." Xavier asked. "One more time."

"Jean got a psychic distress signal, but they were more coordinates than anything. So, we took the initiative and followed them, only to find these two," the young boy gestured to the unconscious girls with a wave of his hand, "fighting a strange creature. But we didn't get a chance to intervene. He fled as soon as we arrived and the only thing left behind were these two."

Charles hummed in thought as he examined the two closely. His eyes were clouded in worry as he examined the two figures, watching as they continued to labor with their breathing that was only temporarily helped by the machines.

"Let me know if their condition changes, for the better or worse."

"Yes, Professor." The group muttered in unison.

Before leaving, Charles wheeled over to the one dressed in blue and placed his hand on her forehead. He only placed it on there for a moment before yanking it back as though burned. Everyone glanced at him worriedly as he rolled himself back.

"Charles…?" Storm hesitated.

"Her mind is in turmoil… such turmoil…." He muttered. The man was silent for a moment before turning around and leaving the room.

The remaining occupants glanced at each other in speculation before returning to what they were doing. Storm and Kitty made sure to keep the two girls cool before Kitty had to leave to do homework. One by one the teenagers filed out of the room, leaving only Storm and Beast. Storm debated leaving the room herself, if only to go and prepare dinner for the dozens of hungry teens that were no doubt coming home back to the mansion in droves. But something made her stay, something kept her eyes on the two girls.

"Storm, why don't you go and help get supper started? I've got everything under control here."

The dark-skinned woman turned towards Hank; her eyebrows perked up in questioning. "Are you sure?"

"I'll give you a shout if I need anything, though I have a feeling that they won't give me too much trouble."

Despite herself, Storm quirked a smile before heading out of the infirmary. She took her time, making her way through the expansive hallways and into the manor-proper. Storm greeted and smiled at that those that she crossed paths with as she walked through the hallways, until she arrived at her room. The woman sighed heavily as she removed and hung up her X-man uniform and changed into her civilian clothes. Now that she was no longer Storm, but Ororo, she made her way to the kitchen. In her mind, she debated what she would make for dinner.

Ororo shuddered as she remembered the three-night pizza massacre. Oh, the horror…

Maybe they would prefer meatloaf? She entered the kitchen and started to look through the cabinets. There were some ingredients for gumbo, but to make the rue would take too long and the kids would get antsy. No, she needed something that could be made quickly and in abundance.

As she opened the fridge, her eyes lit up with options. There were a lot of frozen rolls and something that Kurt wanted to try: Cordon Bleu. There were enough cordon bleus for the entirety of the manor. It was a good enough choice as any, she supposed, as she pulled out multiple items from the fridge.

Frozen assorted fruit, some green beans, an entire two boxes of cordon bleus, and two bags of frozen rolls, all of the items going to last three seconds with all the hungry mouths. But for the hour and a half that it took for the food to make, Ororo allowed herself to relax as she moved about, pulling this bowl and that pan and whatever she could think of that would be needed at dinner time. While she toiled over the oven, Jean walked in, absently reading a book that was probably assigned to her. Ororo smiled to herself as she watched the young red head about to walk into the kitchen, her nose stuck deep into the book, bumping about the room like a Roomba. She blushed every time, before quickly returning to her book.

She reached out blindly for a chair. Ororo smiled as the young girl sat down at the table, calmly reading her book as though there wasn't another care in the world that she had. The older mutant turned her eyes away from Jean to the stove where she continued to fret over dinner. It was only when there was a pained gasp and the sound of something clattering to the ground did she turn her attention that way. She turned around, her powers ready to be activated, only to stopped when she saw it was still Jean, but this time, the red-head was bent over, clutching her head as if in pain, her book on the ground. Ororo went forward to help the poor girl, only to be shoved back by an invisible blast of telepathic power. Her back hit the counter, sending pain throughout her back like a lightning rod.

For a moment, her vision flickered. But she staved off unconsciousness, if only because her instincts to help her student flared to life at that instant. She struggled to get to her feet, but managed to do so in time to intercept another student from entering the kitchen so he wouldn't get hurt. Jean was now doubled over on the floor, her head cradled in her hands and wailing in pain.

"Go get the Professor!" Ororo ordered the student. When he stayed, frozen in the door, she shouted, "Now!"

Startled, the student ran off. Ororo pushed forward, toward Jean, though it felt like she was moving through an invisible barrier of molasses. Eventually, after what felt like hours of pushing through the protective barrier that Jean had subconsciously erected, Ororo made it to the young girl. There were tears that were running down her scrunched-up face. Thankfully, when the weather witch embraced the young girl, Jean's pain seemed to ease a little. The kitchen settled as the telepath's power receded a bit. Unfortunately, tears continued to run down the girl's face as she continued to sob in pain.

"Jean? Jean! What's going on?" Ororo tried to get the girl to look up but Jean didn't want to cooperate, continuing to hold her head in her hands and muttering something under her breath. Her eyes glanced up frantically, sighing when she spotted the student she sent to fetch the professor. But she tensed when she saw that he was alone. "Well? Where is the Professor?"

"He's having the same problem!" The student proclaimed.

Her heart shuddered. "What?!"

"Gah!" Jean gasped, sitting straight up. Though she still gasped, trying to reclaim her heartbeat, Jean's eyes were finally clear of pain. Just like in the heat of battle, Ororo turned her gaze back to Jean, quickly scooting to her aid.

"Jean? Can you hear me?"

"I'm fine." The red-head answered softly. Jean's eyes were clouded but they grew clearer by the second. Ororo sighed in relief, until Logan appeared, looking as frantic and panicked as she felt.

"You two, get your asses to the medical wing. Now!" With that, he was off.

Ororo spared Jean a curious glance before helping the girl to her feet. Jean was a bit unsteady, but she expected that. The two mutants made their way down to the infirmary, where Logan and the Professor had beaten them. Beast was hobbling around the room with the help of Kitty as the machines that were hooked up to the young girls went off rapidly.

"Dr. McCoy, what's going on?" Ororo demanded.

"I don't know! One moment they were fine but then the next-"

His sentence was cut off by the Professor and Jean doubling over in pain and gasping. It lasted just a few seconds, and they glanced back up, the Professor's eyes were wide.

"They're calling out to us…" he whispered. Everyone glanced at each other, confused.

"What're you talking about Chuck?" Logan demanded.

"These two…mentally, they're calling out. Subconsciously." Charles rolled over to the one donned in blue. He gently placed a hand over the girl's uncowed forehead, his eyes closing in concentration and his breathing even. For the briefest moment of there was serenity on the elder telepath's face, but it was soon overclouded by a furrowed brow and beads of sweat running down his forehead.

He jerked his hand back, his eyes shooting open. He was pale, so much so that Ororo was afraid that he was about to pass out.

"Chuck? What happened?"

The bald-headed man didn't answer.

Ororo moved forward. "Charles? Are you alright?"

"They're mind is….in utter turmoil. Fear clouds their mind and keeps them in unconsciousness." Charles glanced at McCoy. "Do you think you could find an antidote?"

"I can certainly try."

"Jean."

The red-headed girl snapped to attention. "Yes, professor?"

"We're going to have to do what we can to keep the fear at bay while Hank works on the antidote."

Beast nodded in compliance and while Jean looked a little apprehensive, she nodded firmly. Ororo smiled.

"What do you have us to do, Professor?" Ororo asked.

"Learn all you can about the mutant that attacked these two." Charles ordered. "In order to defeat our enemy, we need to understand him. And that means find out who he is and where he comes from. Storm and Wolverine will be in charge of that."

"Of course," Logan hummed, with strange restraint.

"Take whoever you like but be careful. This mutant is obviously powerful and dangerous."

"Don't worry, Charles. We'll be alright."

Xavier nodded, gesturing for Jean to take her place at the head of the one with winged girl. Ororo watched as the two telepaths took simultaneous deep breaths before placing four fingers, two on each hand, on the sides of their heads. Their postures changed, going from relaxed to rigid in a few seconds as they tumbled downward into strangers' minds.

Ororo prayed that whatever they found, they could handle.

She turned towards Logan. "Assemble a small force. We've got some investigating to do."