A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update, and sorry this is such a long
chapter~~~ I won't be able to update again 'till Friday because of JUMP,
but I promise to update then!!! Enjoy~~
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Intense heat beat down on him from all sides, making his work even more unbearable. Sweat dripped from his hairline down his dust covered face, into the curve of his neck, and then trickled down his back where his thin cotton shirt was plastered to his skin. "This is lame," he finally spoke up, causing the others to look up from their labor of shifting rock. "Let's make it a bit easier." His eyes rolled up into his head, fists clenched, and the ground began to shake, shifting the rocks easily from the cave entrance.
"Nice thinking, Lance!" An angelic voice called out.
Praise coming from Kitty was like praise coming from God himself, Lance smiled and the ground began to shake more violently.
"Yo, Shakedown! Watch the quakes!" Scott yelled frantically.
Anger taking place of happiness, Lance lost control of the strength of his tremors. Rock shifted from the cliff, raining down from the mixed assemble of X-men and Brotherhood members.
"Everyone, into the cave!" Scot spoke as the brave leader that he was.
Everyone sprinted to the cave, everyone but Kitty who hovered anxiously. "Lance, come on!" But her words were lost in the tumulus roar of falling rocks. "Lance!" She screamed as rocks fell around her, piling on top of one another, burying her in the slide.
The scream of his girlfriend was enough to jar him from his trance. "Kitty!" He ran to the pile of rocks and began shifting them anxiously. "Kitty! Phase!"
"I-I can't!" came the terrified reply, muffled by a wall of sandstone.
"I'm gonna shake it."
"Hurry! They're crushing me!"
Petrified, Lance tried to shake the ground, but something was wrong, he couldn't get the earth to quake! Not even a tiny tremor!
"Lance!" Kitty screamed her last scream.
"No!" With power he never knew he had, Lance yanked the rocks from the pile until his sweetheart fell out into his lap.
"Lance," she breathed, and then her eyes closed ineradicably.
"No," he sobbed, clutching her limp body to his chest. "No!"
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"Where is she?" Lance stormed into the Institute the next morning.
Amara and Bobby looked up from their bowls of cereal as Roberto and Rahne stopped mid-conversation, surprised at this sudden outburst. Amara slid out of her chair, standing to face Lance. "If you mean Kitty she's still sleeping. The Professor moved her out of the infirmary, but said she's still too weak to be in school."
"Thanks," Lance gave her a lopsided grin, then bounded out of the kitchen. Sprinting up the carpeted stairs, he passed a startled looking Scott who questioned, "Alvers?" But Lance did not stop to talk, instead, he shoved passed Scott, continuing his way to Kitty's room.
Pausing in front of her door, he took a deep breath then knocked softly, pushing the odor slightly open. Sunlight streamed through the cracks between the violet curtains, leaving enough light to reveal a slipshod room, crammed with two beds; one left unmade, clothes sprawled across it along with a mess of forgotten schoolwork, but in the other bed; lay a pale Kitty, looking as fragile as a China doll among the rippling covers.
Pulling a chair out from under one of the overflowing desks, Lance took Kitty's hand in his own, and gazing at the sight of is love sleeping peacefully, he let the silent tears spill gently down his coarse cheeks, for once not bothering to hide them.
"Lance?" A weary voice questioned.
Hastening to wipe the remaining tears off his face, Lance favored Kitty with a sheepish grin, "Hey Kit."
"What are you doing here?"
"What, not happy to see me?"
"I'm always happy to see you, I'm just confused. It's not everyday you open your eyes to see a handsome face staring back at you."
Kitty thought she could detect a faint blush in Lance's rough cheeks. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you, but I had to see you."
"Why? Is something wrong?" she asked anxiously.
"Nah, not really, I just had this nightmare. . . "
"Tell me."
"You're going to think I'm crazy and paranoid."
She laughed fondly, "I already think you're crazy, tell me about the dream Lance, maybe I can help."
He sighed, but explained his dream to her anyways, carefully avoiding eye contact with her out of fear that he'd see a concerned or terrified face staring back at him. Finishing his painful tale, Lance nervously glanced up at Kitty's chalk-white face.
"It just felt so real, I had to make sure that you were all right." He gave her an apologetic smile.
"Y-you said that both you and I couldn't use our powers?" Kitty's voice came out in a high-pitched squeak.
"Yeah, why? Kitty, is something wrong?" He questioned uneasily.
"N-no, well, yes. . .Jean, Kurt, and I have all had dreams like that," she hesitated and then spilled the whole story to Lance. ". . . and the Professor said to tell him if we had any more dreams, and now you've had a dream, and. . . oh, Lance! I'm scared!" Tears threatened to spill down her cheeks.
"Shh, Kitty," he climbed onto her bed, enveloping his arms around her quivering form, "I'll never let anything happen to you, I promise, I could never ever let anything happen to you.
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Rain seemed to pour into the deepening fog, casting an eerie feeling over the long-since used cemetery. Heavy clouds filled the sky, blocking out the full moon and twinkling stars that should be blanketing the dark. "What am I doing here?" Jean inquired herself.
"I zink I can answer zat."
Peering into the fog, Jean saw a slender shape approaching. "How did you do that?"
"I can read you zoughts, Jean Grey, much like you could read mine, if I let you. Perhaps you should have listened more to your friend, Mr. Summers." The girl replied as she emerged from the shadows.
"Who are you? What do you want?" Jean took a step backwards, a sense of dread filling her.
"Some call me Tantalus. But I believe ze question is what do you want, Jean Grey?" The girl cocked her head to the side, sending her shimmering veil of black hair into a fit of frenzied ripples.
"What do you mean, what do I want?"
"Perhaps I should rephrase my question, forgive me, who do you want?"
"What?"
Tantalus gestured to Jean's right side where two figures were bound to a tall pillar, a mass of blonde hair protruding from the left of the pillar, while shaggy brown hair could be seen on the right. "Scott? Duncan?"
"Yes, it is ze two boys. Now, which do you choose?"
"Which do I choose?"
"You cannot have both, for which is your love deeper?"
"Who are you to do this? I should not have to make a choice to please you!" Jean regained her haughty composure.
"Very well, zen both must die." With a swipe of Tantalus' unmarred hand, the bonds fell away and the two boys feel from their positions atop the pillar. "You cannot have both, Jean Grey, only one you may save. Now choose."
"I will not let them die!" Jean connected with her telekinesis, trying to save the two boys, and it seemed to work momentarily, for they both hovered in the air, but it soon failed and they sped to the dampened ground. "No! Why won't it work?"
Tantalus laughed, "You have no powers here, Jean Grey, and now you won't have your love to save you!" She yelled as the two boys hit the ground, the sound of bones cracking echoing through the air.
"No!" Jean ran to Scott, lifting his hand off the moistened ground, "Scott, answer me, are you all right?"
"Interesting," Tantalus mused, "you choose ze mutant you ignore over your normal boyfriend." She giggled.
"Jean?" Scott murmured.
"Yes, I'm here, you're going to be ok, I won't leave you Scott."
"Jean, I love y- " Scott's body shuddered as he gasped, then his hand fell limply against her lap.
"No. . . no!"
"Jean? Jean, wake up!" A hand shook her roughly.
"Scott?" Jean's eyes cracked open. "Oh, Scott!" Her body crumpled against him, and burying her head in his chest she began to sob.
"Shh, Jean, don't cry. Everything's going to be alright, I'm here." He rocked her back and forth, trying to calm her jittery nerves.
"Oh, Scott, I thought I'd lost you!" She choked out between sobs.
"You're never going to lose me, Jean, I would never leave you." He promised her.
As he continued to rock her, Jean's sobs began to lessen, and she thought she heard him murmur under his breath, "I love you too much to ever leave you."
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Intense heat beat down on him from all sides, making his work even more unbearable. Sweat dripped from his hairline down his dust covered face, into the curve of his neck, and then trickled down his back where his thin cotton shirt was plastered to his skin. "This is lame," he finally spoke up, causing the others to look up from their labor of shifting rock. "Let's make it a bit easier." His eyes rolled up into his head, fists clenched, and the ground began to shake, shifting the rocks easily from the cave entrance.
"Nice thinking, Lance!" An angelic voice called out.
Praise coming from Kitty was like praise coming from God himself, Lance smiled and the ground began to shake more violently.
"Yo, Shakedown! Watch the quakes!" Scott yelled frantically.
Anger taking place of happiness, Lance lost control of the strength of his tremors. Rock shifted from the cliff, raining down from the mixed assemble of X-men and Brotherhood members.
"Everyone, into the cave!" Scot spoke as the brave leader that he was.
Everyone sprinted to the cave, everyone but Kitty who hovered anxiously. "Lance, come on!" But her words were lost in the tumulus roar of falling rocks. "Lance!" She screamed as rocks fell around her, piling on top of one another, burying her in the slide.
The scream of his girlfriend was enough to jar him from his trance. "Kitty!" He ran to the pile of rocks and began shifting them anxiously. "Kitty! Phase!"
"I-I can't!" came the terrified reply, muffled by a wall of sandstone.
"I'm gonna shake it."
"Hurry! They're crushing me!"
Petrified, Lance tried to shake the ground, but something was wrong, he couldn't get the earth to quake! Not even a tiny tremor!
"Lance!" Kitty screamed her last scream.
"No!" With power he never knew he had, Lance yanked the rocks from the pile until his sweetheart fell out into his lap.
"Lance," she breathed, and then her eyes closed ineradicably.
"No," he sobbed, clutching her limp body to his chest. "No!"
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"Where is she?" Lance stormed into the Institute the next morning.
Amara and Bobby looked up from their bowls of cereal as Roberto and Rahne stopped mid-conversation, surprised at this sudden outburst. Amara slid out of her chair, standing to face Lance. "If you mean Kitty she's still sleeping. The Professor moved her out of the infirmary, but said she's still too weak to be in school."
"Thanks," Lance gave her a lopsided grin, then bounded out of the kitchen. Sprinting up the carpeted stairs, he passed a startled looking Scott who questioned, "Alvers?" But Lance did not stop to talk, instead, he shoved passed Scott, continuing his way to Kitty's room.
Pausing in front of her door, he took a deep breath then knocked softly, pushing the odor slightly open. Sunlight streamed through the cracks between the violet curtains, leaving enough light to reveal a slipshod room, crammed with two beds; one left unmade, clothes sprawled across it along with a mess of forgotten schoolwork, but in the other bed; lay a pale Kitty, looking as fragile as a China doll among the rippling covers.
Pulling a chair out from under one of the overflowing desks, Lance took Kitty's hand in his own, and gazing at the sight of is love sleeping peacefully, he let the silent tears spill gently down his coarse cheeks, for once not bothering to hide them.
"Lance?" A weary voice questioned.
Hastening to wipe the remaining tears off his face, Lance favored Kitty with a sheepish grin, "Hey Kit."
"What are you doing here?"
"What, not happy to see me?"
"I'm always happy to see you, I'm just confused. It's not everyday you open your eyes to see a handsome face staring back at you."
Kitty thought she could detect a faint blush in Lance's rough cheeks. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you, but I had to see you."
"Why? Is something wrong?" she asked anxiously.
"Nah, not really, I just had this nightmare. . . "
"Tell me."
"You're going to think I'm crazy and paranoid."
She laughed fondly, "I already think you're crazy, tell me about the dream Lance, maybe I can help."
He sighed, but explained his dream to her anyways, carefully avoiding eye contact with her out of fear that he'd see a concerned or terrified face staring back at him. Finishing his painful tale, Lance nervously glanced up at Kitty's chalk-white face.
"It just felt so real, I had to make sure that you were all right." He gave her an apologetic smile.
"Y-you said that both you and I couldn't use our powers?" Kitty's voice came out in a high-pitched squeak.
"Yeah, why? Kitty, is something wrong?" He questioned uneasily.
"N-no, well, yes. . .Jean, Kurt, and I have all had dreams like that," she hesitated and then spilled the whole story to Lance. ". . . and the Professor said to tell him if we had any more dreams, and now you've had a dream, and. . . oh, Lance! I'm scared!" Tears threatened to spill down her cheeks.
"Shh, Kitty," he climbed onto her bed, enveloping his arms around her quivering form, "I'll never let anything happen to you, I promise, I could never ever let anything happen to you.
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Rain seemed to pour into the deepening fog, casting an eerie feeling over the long-since used cemetery. Heavy clouds filled the sky, blocking out the full moon and twinkling stars that should be blanketing the dark. "What am I doing here?" Jean inquired herself.
"I zink I can answer zat."
Peering into the fog, Jean saw a slender shape approaching. "How did you do that?"
"I can read you zoughts, Jean Grey, much like you could read mine, if I let you. Perhaps you should have listened more to your friend, Mr. Summers." The girl replied as she emerged from the shadows.
"Who are you? What do you want?" Jean took a step backwards, a sense of dread filling her.
"Some call me Tantalus. But I believe ze question is what do you want, Jean Grey?" The girl cocked her head to the side, sending her shimmering veil of black hair into a fit of frenzied ripples.
"What do you mean, what do I want?"
"Perhaps I should rephrase my question, forgive me, who do you want?"
"What?"
Tantalus gestured to Jean's right side where two figures were bound to a tall pillar, a mass of blonde hair protruding from the left of the pillar, while shaggy brown hair could be seen on the right. "Scott? Duncan?"
"Yes, it is ze two boys. Now, which do you choose?"
"Which do I choose?"
"You cannot have both, for which is your love deeper?"
"Who are you to do this? I should not have to make a choice to please you!" Jean regained her haughty composure.
"Very well, zen both must die." With a swipe of Tantalus' unmarred hand, the bonds fell away and the two boys feel from their positions atop the pillar. "You cannot have both, Jean Grey, only one you may save. Now choose."
"I will not let them die!" Jean connected with her telekinesis, trying to save the two boys, and it seemed to work momentarily, for they both hovered in the air, but it soon failed and they sped to the dampened ground. "No! Why won't it work?"
Tantalus laughed, "You have no powers here, Jean Grey, and now you won't have your love to save you!" She yelled as the two boys hit the ground, the sound of bones cracking echoing through the air.
"No!" Jean ran to Scott, lifting his hand off the moistened ground, "Scott, answer me, are you all right?"
"Interesting," Tantalus mused, "you choose ze mutant you ignore over your normal boyfriend." She giggled.
"Jean?" Scott murmured.
"Yes, I'm here, you're going to be ok, I won't leave you Scott."
"Jean, I love y- " Scott's body shuddered as he gasped, then his hand fell limply against her lap.
"No. . . no!"
"Jean? Jean, wake up!" A hand shook her roughly.
"Scott?" Jean's eyes cracked open. "Oh, Scott!" Her body crumpled against him, and burying her head in his chest she began to sob.
"Shh, Jean, don't cry. Everything's going to be alright, I'm here." He rocked her back and forth, trying to calm her jittery nerves.
"Oh, Scott, I thought I'd lost you!" She choked out between sobs.
"You're never going to lose me, Jean, I would never leave you." He promised her.
As he continued to rock her, Jean's sobs began to lessen, and she thought she heard him murmur under his breath, "I love you too much to ever leave you."
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