Star wept as she rose ever further into the sky. She had been overwhelmed by the thoughts and emotions of the thousands of people surrounding her and she had instinctively reached out to those people for the power she needed to block them out. But it was a vicious spiral. The further she reached, the more minds impinged upon her and the more power she needed. The closer they were, the more energy, life force, she stole from them. So she removed herself.
This had happened before, only she had not been strong enough to escape the cage. Instead, she had killed them, bleeding them of their life force relentlessly, unable to stop. The Doctor had been perversely pleased. It had been necessary to replace the dozen or so lab techs and guards she had killed, but what did that matter, he thought, his experiment was going so well. Star cried bitterly as she remembered. She had listened to the Doctor's thoughts, utterly unable to block him. She was the first of his creations to survive the virtual metamorphosis from child to adult.
"A pity, really," he'd said to the new lab tech at his side. "Unless we perfect that psi-dampener I'll never be able to breed them." He looked at her, watching him. "Ah, well. I suppose I can always clone the successful ones, can't I?" He laughed. "Start this one on inhibitors in six months. That should give her body time to stabilize. Until then, this section is to be completely off limits. All feedings are to be handled remotely, is that understood?"
"Yes, sir." The tech made a note on the pad he carried.
"If anyone has a problem with the order, remind them of what happened to your predecessors."
"Yes, sir." They left the room, the tech looking back only once.
Star understood the remembered conversation now. She had read everything in Professor Xavier's extensive library, and all of Beast's medical texts. Without the daily dose of inhibitors, her body had returned to its natural chemical balance which, somehow, triggered the loss of her painfully developed shields which, in turn, triggered the deadly assault. She had felt the people around her beginning to collapse, their minds fading. First the police and the bailiff, then Wolverine. Then others in the next room, including Professor Xavier and Jubilee. She'd felt another familiar mind go dark as her power reached Rogue. Her clothing burst into flames as she sought to go ever higher, trying desperately to outdistance her own mind. At last, as she gasped for breath in the thinning atmosphere, the voices faded from her mind. She could not stay here long. She dared not descend.
"Logan, can you hear me?" The Professor's voice seemed to come from a distance. "Logan?"
"C'mon, Wolvie. Ya gotta be okay." With a great effort, Wolverine opened his eyes. Jubilee was sitting on the floor, bending over him. He looked past her to the Professor and Rogue. He groaned and closed his eyes.
"Wolverine?" Jubilee said anxiously.
"S'okay, darlin'," he said, cautiously opening his eyes again. "I just ain't had a headache this bad in...well, longer 'n I can remember." Rogue offered him her hand and he gingerly got to his feet.
"Where's Star?" she asked him. He indicated the hole in the ceiling.
"Ya mean somebody took her?" Jubilee asked.
"No, darlin'. She left under her own steam."
"Oh, great. Just what this family needs, another flyer!"
"Jubilee!"
"I'm sorry, Rogue. I didn't mean anything, its just that you and Storm flit about where ever you want to go, and you guys won't even let me drive."
"Rogue, will you try to find her? I'll contact Jean and have her send Storm to help you."
"'Course, Professor."
"Rogue."
"Yeah, Wolverine?"
"Be careful when ya find 'er. She was glowing white hot when she lit outta here." Rogue nodded.
"Jubilee."
"Yeah?" Rogue tossed her the keys to the van.
"Way cool!" Rogue disappeared through the hole in the ceiling, to begin her search for Star.
"Jean."
"Yes Professor?"
"We have lost Star. Rogue is looking for her. Will you ask Storm to help her?"
"Of course."
"Try to sense her, Jean. I am somewhat weakened and can not find her."
"Yes, Professor." He felt her concern but knew she would wait for an explanation.
"Professor?"
"Yes, Jubilee?"
"What happened? I mean," Jubilee gestured around the courtroom, filled with unmoving bodies. "How come they're all knocked out but you and me and Rogue weren't?"
"When I felt Star lose control I was, somewhat, able to protect you and Rogue. Familiar minds are easier to shield. Wolverine, you were too close to her."
"No kiddin'."
"Are they gonna be okay?" Jubilee asked.
"I believe so. Those furthest from the, uh, center, should recover first."
"Shouldn't we be goin'?"
"Of course, Wolverine." Professor Xavier and Jubilee left through the open door. Wolverine saw the broken bracelet lying on the floor and paused to scoop it up. He put it in his shirt pocket and followed.
Storm hurried out of the mansion and into the sky. Gambit watched warily. Whenever Storm was in a hurry, it usually meant trouble. Beast followed a moment later and stood, watching Storm disappear into the blue sky.
"Trouble, mon amie?" Gambit asked.
"Of course." Beast sighed. "We seem to have ... misplaced ... Star."
"'Misplaced'."
"Mmm."
"De others okay?"
"Apparently. Jean reports the Professor, Wolverine and Jubilee are returning."
"Why Wolverine not lookin' for de petite?"
"Star seems to have chosen a vertical egress."
"She went up?"
"Yes."
"Another one." Gambit muttered under his breath.
"It does seem to be a mode of transportation favored by the females of the Xavier household." Beast looked skyward once more, then turned and went back inside, leaving Gambit alone on the porch once more.
Star was growing cold and it was becoming harder to breath. She was running out of time. By successfully closing her mind to the many voices below, she had also cut off the flow of power which had sustained her. She had to find a haven. Now. She allowed herself to fall to a level where she could breath more easily, then she began to search for the Xavier mansion. The X-Men had helped her before, perhaps they could help her now.
Far below, Storm and Rogue searched, neither believing an out of control child could rise so high. Storm used her power to search for a heat source in the clouds. She found a trace, which she and Rogue tried to follow, but it was too faint, fading too quickly in the brisk winds.
At last Star sensed the familiar resonance of the place she had begun to consider home in the last few weeks. With her powers rapidly failing her, she plummeted ground ward.
"Jean, can you find her?" Scott asked gently.
"No. I can't sense her at all." She opened her eyes and looked up at Cyclops. "Either she has completely closed off her mind, or..." she paused.
"Or what, Jean?"
"Or the child is dead, Scott."
"Dear Lord."
Star could feel the world fading around her. With the last of the energy garnered from the unwitting population of the city below her, she redirected her fall toward home. Too late. Her world went dark. And she fell.
Rogue and Storm searched the heavens for their missing charge, moving outward on opposite arms of a spiral, with the city at its center. Rogue caught a flicker of movement and paused in her flight. It was Star. She was falling. And she was too far away!
"Storm!" she cried, pointing. Storm whirled at Rogue's cry. She saw Star and called upon the powers of the winds. But it was too far even for her powers. The two X-Men watched helplessly while the girl fell, both rushing to aid her, but knowing their assistance would arrive too late.
Jean gasped. The house rang with a terrific crash.
"What?" Cyclops leaped to his feet at the sound.
"Scott, its Star! I felt her, but she was too close. I couldn't stop her fall!"
Gambit was still on the porch when Star slammed into the roof of the mansion. An instant later she fell to the roof of the porch. Her limp and battered body rolled off the roof and fell, almost leisurely, to drop into the well manicured flowers almost at Gambit's feet. He stared at her for a moment, then leaped over the railing to land at her side. He knelt beside her and gently brushed aside her hair. He felt the throb of her pulse in her throat. It was slow and weak. He had never touched a living being as cold as this girl. Her skin was blue. He took his shirt off and carefully placed it over her. The scorched fragments of her own clothing offered her no protection. Beast and Cyclops burst from the house, followed closely by Jean.
"Here!" he called. "She hurt bad, mes amies." Beast gently checked her for spinal injuries before turning her to her back, exposing her shattered left arm.
"Let's get her inside," he said. "I can see what else she has broken more easily in the dispensary." Gambit started to lift her, but Beast stopped him.
"Jean, can you immobilize that arm?" Jean nodded. Gambit carefully picked her up while Jean prevented her broken arm from moving. Cyclops held the door open as Gambit climbed the stairs, followed by Jean and Beast. Star's head rested on Gambit's bare shoulder, her cheek against his skin.
"Hey, Beast. She warmin' back up."
Storm and Rogue swooped to a landing on the porch, hurrying to follow the others. Jean stumbled, then fell to her knees. Scott reached to help her, then fell himself. Gambit half turned, then his knees buckled. He twisted, trying not to fall on the broken body he carried, unaware that she was the cause of his sudden weakness. Beast collapsed, then Storm and Rogue slumped. In moments, Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters was silent.
Star opened her eyes. She was confused, disoriented. Her last memory had been of falling, now she was lying on a tiled floor, the warmth of another person next to her. She tried to lift herself, but her left arm wasn't working and when she bumped the tile with it pain flooded through her. She drew her knees up to her chest and knelt on the floor, her forehead resting on the cool tile, her injured arm across her chest. She fought against passing out. In a few moments, she felt she could try to sit up again. She pushed herself up with her good arm, keeping the other cradled against her body. She looked around and realized that she was surrounded by the bodies of the X-Men.
"No, please, no," she moaned. "Not again. Not my friends." She could still feel them in her mind. She had not killed them. Not yet. She had to get away from them. She could feel them weakening more and more the longer she stayed close to them. Her awareness of Gambit ... flickered. He was dying. She had been closest to him and had drained him more heavily than the others. She knew she couldn't get far enough away to break the connection in time to save him. Desperately, she tried to reverse the energy flow. She placed her hand on his bare chest and willed the life energy she had stolen back into him. His presence in her mind steadied, then brightened. The others continued to grow dimmer. Gambit groaned. Then he opened his eyes and looked up at her.
"Mon petite, what you do?" he asked weakly, his hand seeking hers. She snatched her hand away. Moving on her knees and her good hand, she crawled toward the door. Gambit turned over with a painful effort. Star had reached the door. She pulled herself to her feet, using the sturdy door frame for support.
"Chere, wait," he called to her, pushing himself to his knees. She looked back at him, tears in her eyes, then pushed herself away from the door frame, staggering across the porch until she reached the stair rail, where she clung for a moment. Gambit gained his feet behind her, but when he tried to follow he stumbled over Cyclops' outstretched arm and went down heavily. He got to his knees again, but was unable to go any further. He could only watch as she stumbled down the stairs to the lawn, then walked, weaving drunkenly, across the manicured grass to the woods surrounding the mansion. In only a few steps, she had disappeared into the gloom under the trees. He sank back on his heels, staring after her for a moment. Then he turned to his companions. He crawled from one to another and determined that each was alive, though none of them showed any sign of rousing. He returned to Rogue's side and leaned his back against the still open door.
"Chere," he said to her unresponsive form. "If anybody pick now to attack, we be sittin' ducks."
Star stumbled deeper into the woods. She was cold and pulled tight the shirt Gambit had wrapped around her. Her arm hurt almost unbearably, but she was aware of other injuries. She didn't know how she had been hurt, but, as Wolverine would have said, she'd done a good job of it. In addition to the broken arm, she thought her ribs were probably broken, her knee had swollen to the point that it wouldn't bend and would barely support her weight. There was also a large bruise spreading on her abdomen. She knew she couldn't go much further, but she didn't know if she was far enough to put the X-Men out of danger. So she kept going, hobbling from one tree to the next, leaning more heavily on each. She leaned against one tree for several minutes before trying to go on. When she pushed away from the tree, her legs crumpled beneath her and she fell, landing on her broken arm. White hot pain flowed through her for an instant before being replaced by a merciful darkness.
"All right, Wolvie," Jubilee said as she pulled the van into the drive to the mansion. "We're here, you can ungrit your teeth."
"I don't think so." He answered, looking toward the house.
"Huh?"
"What is it, Wolverine?" The Professor asked from the rear of the van.
"Don't know, but I c'n see Gambit sittin' in the door and I think, yeah, Rogue's lying on the floor behind him. Lot o' blood, too."
"I do not sense any hostile thought patterns," Xavier told him. He opened the door of the van before Jubilee had brought the vehicle to a stop. "You two stay here." He closed the van door quietly then bounded up the steps, his claws extended. He crouched next to Gambit, who lifted his head at Wolverine's approach.
"Glad to see you, mon amie. Don' t'ink I could stand off a kitten right now."
"What gives?"
"Don' know. We bringin' de petite inside, an' ever't'ing go dark. If dis a new weapon, nobody followin' up."
"You found Star?"
"She find us." Someone groaned and Gambit turned his head. "Dey all alive, mon amie. You best go find de girl. She broke up real bad."
"Where?" Gambit pointed toward the trees.
"'Bout half hour ago." Wolverine retracted his claws and turned back to the van. He opened the side door and leaned in.
"Star's been here. I don't smell nobody else."
"The others?"
"Gambit says they're all alive. I gotta find the kid. The Cajun says she's hurt."
"Wolverine, that might not be wise. She is obviously unable to control her powers and, as you have seen, she can be a danger even to you."
"Yeah, well, I ain't never been known for wise decisions." He turned to Jubilee, listening wide eyed from the front seat.
"Darlin', you an' the Prof get inside an' see what ya can do for them. I'll be right back." He moved around the van and quickly crossed the yard, looking for the exact place Star had entered the woods. It wasn't hard to find, she'd left a blood trail a blind man could have followed. He followed her trail for nearly fifteen minutes. He didn't know how anyone could still be alive after losing that much blood, much less keep moving. His nostrils flared as he caught a familiar scent. Gambit? He stepped around yet another tree, this one smeared more heavily with blood than the last, and saw Star. She lay on her right side, her arm extended over her head, trying to pull herself along, pushing weakly with one leg. She had Gambit's shirt around her.
"Star," he said, straightening up from a crouch. She turned her head to look at him,
"Stay away from me," she said, frantically clutching a tree root and pulling herself away from him.
"Star, I ain't gonna hurt ya, darlin'."
"But I might hurt you. Please stay away."
"Can't do that, kid. You're hurt bad an' I gotta get ya back where we can take care of ya."
"No! I can't go back. I hurt them all. Nearly killed Gambit," she stopped trying to pull away from him. "Too many people. Too many voices. Couldn't shut 'em out."
"You didn't kill anybody, darlin'. Gambit was the only one awake when we got here. Didn't look like he was about ta die ta me."
"No, I ... I gave him some back." Wolverine moved closer.
"You couldn't stop takin', but you could give ta Gambit?"
"I...I guess."
"You couldn't block 'em out 'cause there was too many of 'em, right?"
"Yes."
"Its just you an' me out here, darlin'. Let me see what I c'n do for ya." He moved up beside her, she watched him with wide, frightened eyes.
"Doin' okay?"
"I think so." He quickly checked her for injuries. He found the pressure point high on her left arm, above the protruding bone.
"You've lost a lot o' blood from that arm, darlin'. We gotta get the bleedin' stopped first." The bleeding, which had slowed to a sluggish trickle, stopped. He cut a strip from the bottom of the shirt he wore, and tied it around her arm. He released the pressure point, but the bleeding did not start again.
"The arm's obvious, babe. Where else ya hurt?"
"My ribs," she answered quietly. "And my stomach hurts." He gently probed her ribs with his fingertips.
"Yep, they're broken, but it don' sound like you've punctured a lung. Hafta be careful when we move ya, though." He examined the large bruise on her abdomen and shook his head.
"You're bleedin' inside, darlin'. I gotta get you back ta the house."
"No!"
"Tell ya what, I'll take ya back slow 'n easy. When ya start to feel the pressure o' the others, tell me an' we'll stop for a bit." He bent and carefully lifted her, she put her arm around his neck.
"Ready?" She nodded, her broken arm across her body.
He carried her to the edge of the lawn before she felt herself being overwhelmed. He stopped and shouted,
"Jubilee!"
"Wolvie!" Jubilee's voice answered him from inside the huge house. "You find her?" Jubilee burst through the door.
"Stay back, darlin'." Jubilee slowed, but didn't stop,
"What's wrong?"
"Just do what yer told, girl." She stopped. "You doin' okay, Star?" Star nodded weakly and he turned his attention back to Jubilee.
"Is everybody up an' about?"
"Yeah."
"Well, get 'em ta go to the back part o' the house, as far from the med lab as possible, ya got that?"
"I got it. She okay?"
"So far, now git." Jubilee got. She came back about two minutes later.
"Okay, Wolvie. Everybody 'cept me and the Professor 's out of the way."
"Thanks, darlin'." He carried Star across the lawn and into the house. Xavier met them at the door.
"Star, if you will let me, I can help you block out the others' minds."
"Try" she answered. Xavier concentrated for a moment, then said,
"Go ahead, Wolverine. Jubilee, would you ask Henry to join us in the med lab, please? And tell the others the situation is under control."
"Sure," she dashed off down the hall.
Wolverine carefully lowered Star to the gurney Beast had quickly prepared. She smiled up at him, as if he were the one in need of reassurance. Perhaps he was. He'd seen grown men die of injuries less severe.
"Just hang on, kid. Hank here is our resident miracle worker." She raised her right hand and Wolverine took it in his. She looked at their joined hands for a moment, and a frown flickered across her face.
"Wolverine," her voice was barely audible.
"Yeah, kid?"
"I lost my bracelet."
"Got it right here," he told her, reaching into his shirt pocket. "Catch is busted," he said, showing it to her, "but I'll get it fixed, no problem."
"Thank you."
Dr. Henry McCoy was appalled by the extent of the injuries revealed by the scan he had run while Wolverine talked to Star. In addition to her arm, which was broken in at least seven different places, she had broken ribs, just as Wolverine had told him; an apparently ruptured spleen, which was going to have to be the priority if they were going to prevent death due to hemorrhage; she had torn the ligaments in her right knee; and she had a concussion. She seemed to be holding on to awareness by sheer will.
"Star," Beast said. She turned her head slightly to look at him. "I am going to give you something that will make you sleep. While you are sleeping, I will do what I can for you, all right?" She shook her head, no.
"Don't be afraid, dear. We will take care of you."
"No," she insisted. "Can't ... sleep. Can't ... hold ... asleep."
"Star," Xavier spoke quietly. "I will maintain your shields. Let Hank do what he must." She stared at him for a long moment, then said,
"All ... right." Hank took Star's hand from Wolverine, straightened her arm, and injected the anesthetic. She watched as he withdrew the needle, then looked up at Wolverine. She smiled again, then closed her eyes. Xavier gasped.
"What is it, Charles?" Beast asked.
"She had a much stronger hold on her powers than I believed. Wolverine, please tell Jean that I need her." Wolverine nodded, then looked down at Star once more. He looked up, to find Storm watching him as Hank prepared to operate.
"Storm, you an' Hank take good care o' that kid. She's got more guts 'n anybody I've seen in a long time."
"We will do our best." Wolverine left the med lab to find Jean.
Wolverine sat on the front steps, a cigar clamped between his teeth, the ember glowing redly in the darkness. Jubilee came out and sat next to him. After several minutes of silence, she said,
"Wolvie?" He took the cigar out of his mouth and turned to look at her.
"Is she gonna be okay? I mean, she isn't hurt that bad, is she?"
"Yeah, she is. I don' know why she was alive when I found her." He held his arm out to Jubilee and she moved closer to him, accepting the friendship and protection that was implied in his embrace.
"Did anybody tell you what happened?"
"Yeah," he looked down at her with a sudden grin. "Mebbe flyin' ain't all its cut out to be."
"Maybe not," Jubilee reluctantly agreed.
Scott opened the door behind them and they both turned.
"She's out of surgery. Hank says its still touch and go, but he thinks she'll make it. We've got a couple of other problems, though."
"What's up?" Jubilee asked.
"Jean and the Professor are both exhausted from keeping her powers under control. She's awake right now, but Hank wants her to sleep. Problem is, when she's asleep or unconscious, she has no control. Charles says its a survival trait that she has to consciously override."
"What about that doohickey Hank and Jubilee brought back from the lab where we got her in the first place? Hank's had plenty o' time to figure it out."
"Good idea, Wolverine."
"Think I'll go see him about it." Wolverine put his cigar out, then went to the med lab.
"You said we had a couple of problems, Cyke." Jubilee said.
"Yeah. They've issued an arrest warrant for Star, for assault and battery."
"Oh, man."
"When the police called, Rogue told them Star'd been in an accident on the way home, and had been hospitalized."
"We're not gonna let 'em arrest her, are we?"
"No, Jubilee. It would be far too dangerous, among other things."
"'Among other things'? Like 'its not right'?"
"Don't worry. We'll think of something."
"Yeah." Jubilee muttered. "I bet they'll let those goons that attacked Star off, too."
"They have."
"What?"
"The Defense attorney changed the plea from not guilty, to self defense. The DA dropped the charges."
"That's just great. What else can go wrong around here?"
Wolverine found Beast in the hall outside the room Star had occupied on her first night in the mansion.
"How's the kid, Hank?"
"Truthfully, Wolverine, she is doing much better than I expected. Which, unfortunately, is still not very well. She is awake, if you wish to see her." Beast shook his head. "That child throws off an anesthetic nearly as quickly as you do. She awakened twice during surgery. I only wish she had some of your healing abilities."
"Cyke said Jean and Chuck were having trouble keepin' her powers shut down."
"Yes, indeed. While conscious she seems to have the ability to successfully block her capacity for energy consumption, dependent, of course, upon our ability to keep her from becoming overloaded. However, when she is not conscious, her body recognizes her need for the energy input, and seeks that energy out, where ever it can be found."
"What about the circuit board you brought outta that lab?"
"Charles believes that to subject her to such an artificial suppression would be too traumatic."
"More traumatic than knowin' that if ya take a nap, you could wake up surrounded by corpses?"
"Well, when you put it that way..."
"Anybody ask her?"
"Uh, no."
"After you." Wolverine intoned, opening the door to Star's room.
"Quite."
Star lay on the hospital bed, the head raised so she could breath more easily. Her right leg was supported at the knee by several pillows, her skin nearly as white at the bandaging. Her left arm was completely surrounded by a cage like device which kept her broken bones from shifting, while still allowing a certain amount of mobility in the limb. The bandages on her abdomen and chest were hidden beneath the gown she wore. She looked up as they entered and shuddered as Beast's thoughts reached her.
"How soon?" she asked them.
"What?"
"How soon can you set up the field?"
"Blabbermouth." Wolverine grumbled.
"Not his fault, Wolverine. I have difficulty closing out your thoughts, and you are the quietest person I've ever listened too."
"Star, we don't have to do this." Beast said, looking kindly down at her.
"Yes, we do. I sensed the growing exhaustion in both Jean and the Professor. If you won't turn on the field, I will have to leave."
"You can't leave, dear. It would kill you."
"I know."
"Ya'd try it anyway, wouldn't ya, kid." She didn't answer. Beast sighed.
"I should be able to set it up in about fifteen minutes."
"Please," she said quietly. Beast nodded and turned for the door.
"I'll be back in a minute, kid." Wolverine said, following Beast.
"How big a field can you set up?" he asked after closing the door behind him.
"I don't know. The original equipment was for an area of only about six cubic feet."
"Yeah. The size o' that glass coffin we found her in."
"What did you have in mind?"
"How 'bout somethin' the size o' that room she's in."
"Hmm. We should have sufficient power for that. I'll get started."
"Thanks, Hank." Wolverine opened the door and went back in to Star's room.
"How ya doin', kid?"
"Fine."
"I don't think so. Ya wanna try again?"
"I...I..."
"C'mon, darlin'. Give."
"I'm scared," she whispered, refusing to look at him.
"Ain't nothin' wrong with that." He took her chin and turned her head toward him.
"I hurt all over."
"That's no surprise. Ya tried ta make a door in the roof."
"And my arm feels funny."
"Funny how?"
"Just funny."
"We'll get Hank ta look at it when he comes back." She looked away, reminded of what Beast was doing.
"Hey, its gonna be okay, darlin'. Ya ain't gonna be left alone. This is just so ya c'n sleep. When yer awake, it don' even have ta be turned on."
"I know. Its just so ... alone inside the field. I still dream about the first time I couldn't control my powers."
"Its all right. Ya got the X-Men ta take care o' ya this time."
She was staring at her hands,
"When the police come tomorrow, they'll lock me up, won't they?" She was trembling.
"What are you talkin' about?"
"I can hear everybody in the house. Scott and the Professor are talking about what to tell the police when they get here in the morning. Scott thinks they'll try to take me away from here, put me in a cage again."
"We ain't gonna let that happen." He wanted to take her in his arms, comfort her, as he had so often held Jubilee, but she was too badly injured. He settled for holding her hand. "The X-Men take care o' their own."
"Xavier does not think of me as an X-Man. He considers me a patient, nothing more. A troublesome patient." She finally looked up at him. "He doesn't know if he can help me. He thinks he may have to permanently block my powers."
"He won't have to, darlin'," he told her. "I got a place up in the mountains. Ain't nobody around for miles. If you an' Chuck can't figure a way around this, I'll take ya up there."
A short time later Beast opened the door and entered quietly. Star looked over at him and fear flickered across her face. Beast smiled reassuringly. She clung weakly to Wolverine's hand.
"Everything is set up, Star. Are you ready?" She nodded sharply. "We're going to have to adjust the equipment once its turned on. You will need to help us with that, all right?"
"All right."
"Good." He turned to the intercom, "Storm? Go ahead."
Nothing happened for several moments, then Star gasped.
"Star?" Beast asked. She looked up at Wolverine, startled.
"Its like an echo," she said. "I can hear you hear Beast, but I can't hear him myself."
"Storm, expand the field, please. Star, tell me when you can see me again." Star turned toward Beast,
"Now."
"That's good, Storm. Lock the controls there, please."
"Done." Storm's voice came back over the intercom. "Henry, when you have finished there, the Professor would like to speak with you." Beast shook his head, smiling ruefully,
"I will be there in a few minutes." He moved back to the side of the bed.
"Star, I want you to sleep now. Give your body a chance to heal. Do not worry, the field will not fail while you sleep." He carefully smoothed the hair away from her forehead. "Rest, little one. The intercom is within the field." He place a call button on the bed, in easy reach, "If you need anything, press this, and someone will answer you. All right?" She nodded. Beast smiled at her.
"Good night, then." He turned and left the room. To Star, it appeared as if he ceased to exist just before he reached to doorway.
Wolverine squeezed her hand gently, then released it.
"Get some shuteye, kid. I'll check on ya later." He left the room, leaving the lights on behind him. Star looked around the room after he left. It wasn't as bad as she had expected. She could see most of the room. She could see the boundaries of the field, as well, as a sharp, silvery wall. She relaxed at last, closing her eyes, and trying to close her mind to the pain. Soon, she slept.
This had happened before, only she had not been strong enough to escape the cage. Instead, she had killed them, bleeding them of their life force relentlessly, unable to stop. The Doctor had been perversely pleased. It had been necessary to replace the dozen or so lab techs and guards she had killed, but what did that matter, he thought, his experiment was going so well. Star cried bitterly as she remembered. She had listened to the Doctor's thoughts, utterly unable to block him. She was the first of his creations to survive the virtual metamorphosis from child to adult.
"A pity, really," he'd said to the new lab tech at his side. "Unless we perfect that psi-dampener I'll never be able to breed them." He looked at her, watching him. "Ah, well. I suppose I can always clone the successful ones, can't I?" He laughed. "Start this one on inhibitors in six months. That should give her body time to stabilize. Until then, this section is to be completely off limits. All feedings are to be handled remotely, is that understood?"
"Yes, sir." The tech made a note on the pad he carried.
"If anyone has a problem with the order, remind them of what happened to your predecessors."
"Yes, sir." They left the room, the tech looking back only once.
Star understood the remembered conversation now. She had read everything in Professor Xavier's extensive library, and all of Beast's medical texts. Without the daily dose of inhibitors, her body had returned to its natural chemical balance which, somehow, triggered the loss of her painfully developed shields which, in turn, triggered the deadly assault. She had felt the people around her beginning to collapse, their minds fading. First the police and the bailiff, then Wolverine. Then others in the next room, including Professor Xavier and Jubilee. She'd felt another familiar mind go dark as her power reached Rogue. Her clothing burst into flames as she sought to go ever higher, trying desperately to outdistance her own mind. At last, as she gasped for breath in the thinning atmosphere, the voices faded from her mind. She could not stay here long. She dared not descend.
"Logan, can you hear me?" The Professor's voice seemed to come from a distance. "Logan?"
"C'mon, Wolvie. Ya gotta be okay." With a great effort, Wolverine opened his eyes. Jubilee was sitting on the floor, bending over him. He looked past her to the Professor and Rogue. He groaned and closed his eyes.
"Wolverine?" Jubilee said anxiously.
"S'okay, darlin'," he said, cautiously opening his eyes again. "I just ain't had a headache this bad in...well, longer 'n I can remember." Rogue offered him her hand and he gingerly got to his feet.
"Where's Star?" she asked him. He indicated the hole in the ceiling.
"Ya mean somebody took her?" Jubilee asked.
"No, darlin'. She left under her own steam."
"Oh, great. Just what this family needs, another flyer!"
"Jubilee!"
"I'm sorry, Rogue. I didn't mean anything, its just that you and Storm flit about where ever you want to go, and you guys won't even let me drive."
"Rogue, will you try to find her? I'll contact Jean and have her send Storm to help you."
"'Course, Professor."
"Rogue."
"Yeah, Wolverine?"
"Be careful when ya find 'er. She was glowing white hot when she lit outta here." Rogue nodded.
"Jubilee."
"Yeah?" Rogue tossed her the keys to the van.
"Way cool!" Rogue disappeared through the hole in the ceiling, to begin her search for Star.
"Jean."
"Yes Professor?"
"We have lost Star. Rogue is looking for her. Will you ask Storm to help her?"
"Of course."
"Try to sense her, Jean. I am somewhat weakened and can not find her."
"Yes, Professor." He felt her concern but knew she would wait for an explanation.
"Professor?"
"Yes, Jubilee?"
"What happened? I mean," Jubilee gestured around the courtroom, filled with unmoving bodies. "How come they're all knocked out but you and me and Rogue weren't?"
"When I felt Star lose control I was, somewhat, able to protect you and Rogue. Familiar minds are easier to shield. Wolverine, you were too close to her."
"No kiddin'."
"Are they gonna be okay?" Jubilee asked.
"I believe so. Those furthest from the, uh, center, should recover first."
"Shouldn't we be goin'?"
"Of course, Wolverine." Professor Xavier and Jubilee left through the open door. Wolverine saw the broken bracelet lying on the floor and paused to scoop it up. He put it in his shirt pocket and followed.
Storm hurried out of the mansion and into the sky. Gambit watched warily. Whenever Storm was in a hurry, it usually meant trouble. Beast followed a moment later and stood, watching Storm disappear into the blue sky.
"Trouble, mon amie?" Gambit asked.
"Of course." Beast sighed. "We seem to have ... misplaced ... Star."
"'Misplaced'."
"Mmm."
"De others okay?"
"Apparently. Jean reports the Professor, Wolverine and Jubilee are returning."
"Why Wolverine not lookin' for de petite?"
"Star seems to have chosen a vertical egress."
"She went up?"
"Yes."
"Another one." Gambit muttered under his breath.
"It does seem to be a mode of transportation favored by the females of the Xavier household." Beast looked skyward once more, then turned and went back inside, leaving Gambit alone on the porch once more.
Star was growing cold and it was becoming harder to breath. She was running out of time. By successfully closing her mind to the many voices below, she had also cut off the flow of power which had sustained her. She had to find a haven. Now. She allowed herself to fall to a level where she could breath more easily, then she began to search for the Xavier mansion. The X-Men had helped her before, perhaps they could help her now.
Far below, Storm and Rogue searched, neither believing an out of control child could rise so high. Storm used her power to search for a heat source in the clouds. She found a trace, which she and Rogue tried to follow, but it was too faint, fading too quickly in the brisk winds.
At last Star sensed the familiar resonance of the place she had begun to consider home in the last few weeks. With her powers rapidly failing her, she plummeted ground ward.
"Jean, can you find her?" Scott asked gently.
"No. I can't sense her at all." She opened her eyes and looked up at Cyclops. "Either she has completely closed off her mind, or..." she paused.
"Or what, Jean?"
"Or the child is dead, Scott."
"Dear Lord."
Star could feel the world fading around her. With the last of the energy garnered from the unwitting population of the city below her, she redirected her fall toward home. Too late. Her world went dark. And she fell.
Rogue and Storm searched the heavens for their missing charge, moving outward on opposite arms of a spiral, with the city at its center. Rogue caught a flicker of movement and paused in her flight. It was Star. She was falling. And she was too far away!
"Storm!" she cried, pointing. Storm whirled at Rogue's cry. She saw Star and called upon the powers of the winds. But it was too far even for her powers. The two X-Men watched helplessly while the girl fell, both rushing to aid her, but knowing their assistance would arrive too late.
Jean gasped. The house rang with a terrific crash.
"What?" Cyclops leaped to his feet at the sound.
"Scott, its Star! I felt her, but she was too close. I couldn't stop her fall!"
Gambit was still on the porch when Star slammed into the roof of the mansion. An instant later she fell to the roof of the porch. Her limp and battered body rolled off the roof and fell, almost leisurely, to drop into the well manicured flowers almost at Gambit's feet. He stared at her for a moment, then leaped over the railing to land at her side. He knelt beside her and gently brushed aside her hair. He felt the throb of her pulse in her throat. It was slow and weak. He had never touched a living being as cold as this girl. Her skin was blue. He took his shirt off and carefully placed it over her. The scorched fragments of her own clothing offered her no protection. Beast and Cyclops burst from the house, followed closely by Jean.
"Here!" he called. "She hurt bad, mes amies." Beast gently checked her for spinal injuries before turning her to her back, exposing her shattered left arm.
"Let's get her inside," he said. "I can see what else she has broken more easily in the dispensary." Gambit started to lift her, but Beast stopped him.
"Jean, can you immobilize that arm?" Jean nodded. Gambit carefully picked her up while Jean prevented her broken arm from moving. Cyclops held the door open as Gambit climbed the stairs, followed by Jean and Beast. Star's head rested on Gambit's bare shoulder, her cheek against his skin.
"Hey, Beast. She warmin' back up."
Storm and Rogue swooped to a landing on the porch, hurrying to follow the others. Jean stumbled, then fell to her knees. Scott reached to help her, then fell himself. Gambit half turned, then his knees buckled. He twisted, trying not to fall on the broken body he carried, unaware that she was the cause of his sudden weakness. Beast collapsed, then Storm and Rogue slumped. In moments, Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters was silent.
Star opened her eyes. She was confused, disoriented. Her last memory had been of falling, now she was lying on a tiled floor, the warmth of another person next to her. She tried to lift herself, but her left arm wasn't working and when she bumped the tile with it pain flooded through her. She drew her knees up to her chest and knelt on the floor, her forehead resting on the cool tile, her injured arm across her chest. She fought against passing out. In a few moments, she felt she could try to sit up again. She pushed herself up with her good arm, keeping the other cradled against her body. She looked around and realized that she was surrounded by the bodies of the X-Men.
"No, please, no," she moaned. "Not again. Not my friends." She could still feel them in her mind. She had not killed them. Not yet. She had to get away from them. She could feel them weakening more and more the longer she stayed close to them. Her awareness of Gambit ... flickered. He was dying. She had been closest to him and had drained him more heavily than the others. She knew she couldn't get far enough away to break the connection in time to save him. Desperately, she tried to reverse the energy flow. She placed her hand on his bare chest and willed the life energy she had stolen back into him. His presence in her mind steadied, then brightened. The others continued to grow dimmer. Gambit groaned. Then he opened his eyes and looked up at her.
"Mon petite, what you do?" he asked weakly, his hand seeking hers. She snatched her hand away. Moving on her knees and her good hand, she crawled toward the door. Gambit turned over with a painful effort. Star had reached the door. She pulled herself to her feet, using the sturdy door frame for support.
"Chere, wait," he called to her, pushing himself to his knees. She looked back at him, tears in her eyes, then pushed herself away from the door frame, staggering across the porch until she reached the stair rail, where she clung for a moment. Gambit gained his feet behind her, but when he tried to follow he stumbled over Cyclops' outstretched arm and went down heavily. He got to his knees again, but was unable to go any further. He could only watch as she stumbled down the stairs to the lawn, then walked, weaving drunkenly, across the manicured grass to the woods surrounding the mansion. In only a few steps, she had disappeared into the gloom under the trees. He sank back on his heels, staring after her for a moment. Then he turned to his companions. He crawled from one to another and determined that each was alive, though none of them showed any sign of rousing. He returned to Rogue's side and leaned his back against the still open door.
"Chere," he said to her unresponsive form. "If anybody pick now to attack, we be sittin' ducks."
Star stumbled deeper into the woods. She was cold and pulled tight the shirt Gambit had wrapped around her. Her arm hurt almost unbearably, but she was aware of other injuries. She didn't know how she had been hurt, but, as Wolverine would have said, she'd done a good job of it. In addition to the broken arm, she thought her ribs were probably broken, her knee had swollen to the point that it wouldn't bend and would barely support her weight. There was also a large bruise spreading on her abdomen. She knew she couldn't go much further, but she didn't know if she was far enough to put the X-Men out of danger. So she kept going, hobbling from one tree to the next, leaning more heavily on each. She leaned against one tree for several minutes before trying to go on. When she pushed away from the tree, her legs crumpled beneath her and she fell, landing on her broken arm. White hot pain flowed through her for an instant before being replaced by a merciful darkness.
"All right, Wolvie," Jubilee said as she pulled the van into the drive to the mansion. "We're here, you can ungrit your teeth."
"I don't think so." He answered, looking toward the house.
"Huh?"
"What is it, Wolverine?" The Professor asked from the rear of the van.
"Don't know, but I c'n see Gambit sittin' in the door and I think, yeah, Rogue's lying on the floor behind him. Lot o' blood, too."
"I do not sense any hostile thought patterns," Xavier told him. He opened the door of the van before Jubilee had brought the vehicle to a stop. "You two stay here." He closed the van door quietly then bounded up the steps, his claws extended. He crouched next to Gambit, who lifted his head at Wolverine's approach.
"Glad to see you, mon amie. Don' t'ink I could stand off a kitten right now."
"What gives?"
"Don' know. We bringin' de petite inside, an' ever't'ing go dark. If dis a new weapon, nobody followin' up."
"You found Star?"
"She find us." Someone groaned and Gambit turned his head. "Dey all alive, mon amie. You best go find de girl. She broke up real bad."
"Where?" Gambit pointed toward the trees.
"'Bout half hour ago." Wolverine retracted his claws and turned back to the van. He opened the side door and leaned in.
"Star's been here. I don't smell nobody else."
"The others?"
"Gambit says they're all alive. I gotta find the kid. The Cajun says she's hurt."
"Wolverine, that might not be wise. She is obviously unable to control her powers and, as you have seen, she can be a danger even to you."
"Yeah, well, I ain't never been known for wise decisions." He turned to Jubilee, listening wide eyed from the front seat.
"Darlin', you an' the Prof get inside an' see what ya can do for them. I'll be right back." He moved around the van and quickly crossed the yard, looking for the exact place Star had entered the woods. It wasn't hard to find, she'd left a blood trail a blind man could have followed. He followed her trail for nearly fifteen minutes. He didn't know how anyone could still be alive after losing that much blood, much less keep moving. His nostrils flared as he caught a familiar scent. Gambit? He stepped around yet another tree, this one smeared more heavily with blood than the last, and saw Star. She lay on her right side, her arm extended over her head, trying to pull herself along, pushing weakly with one leg. She had Gambit's shirt around her.
"Star," he said, straightening up from a crouch. She turned her head to look at him,
"Stay away from me," she said, frantically clutching a tree root and pulling herself away from him.
"Star, I ain't gonna hurt ya, darlin'."
"But I might hurt you. Please stay away."
"Can't do that, kid. You're hurt bad an' I gotta get ya back where we can take care of ya."
"No! I can't go back. I hurt them all. Nearly killed Gambit," she stopped trying to pull away from him. "Too many people. Too many voices. Couldn't shut 'em out."
"You didn't kill anybody, darlin'. Gambit was the only one awake when we got here. Didn't look like he was about ta die ta me."
"No, I ... I gave him some back." Wolverine moved closer.
"You couldn't stop takin', but you could give ta Gambit?"
"I...I guess."
"You couldn't block 'em out 'cause there was too many of 'em, right?"
"Yes."
"Its just you an' me out here, darlin'. Let me see what I c'n do for ya." He moved up beside her, she watched him with wide, frightened eyes.
"Doin' okay?"
"I think so." He quickly checked her for injuries. He found the pressure point high on her left arm, above the protruding bone.
"You've lost a lot o' blood from that arm, darlin'. We gotta get the bleedin' stopped first." The bleeding, which had slowed to a sluggish trickle, stopped. He cut a strip from the bottom of the shirt he wore, and tied it around her arm. He released the pressure point, but the bleeding did not start again.
"The arm's obvious, babe. Where else ya hurt?"
"My ribs," she answered quietly. "And my stomach hurts." He gently probed her ribs with his fingertips.
"Yep, they're broken, but it don' sound like you've punctured a lung. Hafta be careful when we move ya, though." He examined the large bruise on her abdomen and shook his head.
"You're bleedin' inside, darlin'. I gotta get you back ta the house."
"No!"
"Tell ya what, I'll take ya back slow 'n easy. When ya start to feel the pressure o' the others, tell me an' we'll stop for a bit." He bent and carefully lifted her, she put her arm around his neck.
"Ready?" She nodded, her broken arm across her body.
He carried her to the edge of the lawn before she felt herself being overwhelmed. He stopped and shouted,
"Jubilee!"
"Wolvie!" Jubilee's voice answered him from inside the huge house. "You find her?" Jubilee burst through the door.
"Stay back, darlin'." Jubilee slowed, but didn't stop,
"What's wrong?"
"Just do what yer told, girl." She stopped. "You doin' okay, Star?" Star nodded weakly and he turned his attention back to Jubilee.
"Is everybody up an' about?"
"Yeah."
"Well, get 'em ta go to the back part o' the house, as far from the med lab as possible, ya got that?"
"I got it. She okay?"
"So far, now git." Jubilee got. She came back about two minutes later.
"Okay, Wolvie. Everybody 'cept me and the Professor 's out of the way."
"Thanks, darlin'." He carried Star across the lawn and into the house. Xavier met them at the door.
"Star, if you will let me, I can help you block out the others' minds."
"Try" she answered. Xavier concentrated for a moment, then said,
"Go ahead, Wolverine. Jubilee, would you ask Henry to join us in the med lab, please? And tell the others the situation is under control."
"Sure," she dashed off down the hall.
Wolverine carefully lowered Star to the gurney Beast had quickly prepared. She smiled up at him, as if he were the one in need of reassurance. Perhaps he was. He'd seen grown men die of injuries less severe.
"Just hang on, kid. Hank here is our resident miracle worker." She raised her right hand and Wolverine took it in his. She looked at their joined hands for a moment, and a frown flickered across her face.
"Wolverine," her voice was barely audible.
"Yeah, kid?"
"I lost my bracelet."
"Got it right here," he told her, reaching into his shirt pocket. "Catch is busted," he said, showing it to her, "but I'll get it fixed, no problem."
"Thank you."
Dr. Henry McCoy was appalled by the extent of the injuries revealed by the scan he had run while Wolverine talked to Star. In addition to her arm, which was broken in at least seven different places, she had broken ribs, just as Wolverine had told him; an apparently ruptured spleen, which was going to have to be the priority if they were going to prevent death due to hemorrhage; she had torn the ligaments in her right knee; and she had a concussion. She seemed to be holding on to awareness by sheer will.
"Star," Beast said. She turned her head slightly to look at him. "I am going to give you something that will make you sleep. While you are sleeping, I will do what I can for you, all right?" She shook her head, no.
"Don't be afraid, dear. We will take care of you."
"No," she insisted. "Can't ... sleep. Can't ... hold ... asleep."
"Star," Xavier spoke quietly. "I will maintain your shields. Let Hank do what he must." She stared at him for a long moment, then said,
"All ... right." Hank took Star's hand from Wolverine, straightened her arm, and injected the anesthetic. She watched as he withdrew the needle, then looked up at Wolverine. She smiled again, then closed her eyes. Xavier gasped.
"What is it, Charles?" Beast asked.
"She had a much stronger hold on her powers than I believed. Wolverine, please tell Jean that I need her." Wolverine nodded, then looked down at Star once more. He looked up, to find Storm watching him as Hank prepared to operate.
"Storm, you an' Hank take good care o' that kid. She's got more guts 'n anybody I've seen in a long time."
"We will do our best." Wolverine left the med lab to find Jean.
Wolverine sat on the front steps, a cigar clamped between his teeth, the ember glowing redly in the darkness. Jubilee came out and sat next to him. After several minutes of silence, she said,
"Wolvie?" He took the cigar out of his mouth and turned to look at her.
"Is she gonna be okay? I mean, she isn't hurt that bad, is she?"
"Yeah, she is. I don' know why she was alive when I found her." He held his arm out to Jubilee and she moved closer to him, accepting the friendship and protection that was implied in his embrace.
"Did anybody tell you what happened?"
"Yeah," he looked down at her with a sudden grin. "Mebbe flyin' ain't all its cut out to be."
"Maybe not," Jubilee reluctantly agreed.
Scott opened the door behind them and they both turned.
"She's out of surgery. Hank says its still touch and go, but he thinks she'll make it. We've got a couple of other problems, though."
"What's up?" Jubilee asked.
"Jean and the Professor are both exhausted from keeping her powers under control. She's awake right now, but Hank wants her to sleep. Problem is, when she's asleep or unconscious, she has no control. Charles says its a survival trait that she has to consciously override."
"What about that doohickey Hank and Jubilee brought back from the lab where we got her in the first place? Hank's had plenty o' time to figure it out."
"Good idea, Wolverine."
"Think I'll go see him about it." Wolverine put his cigar out, then went to the med lab.
"You said we had a couple of problems, Cyke." Jubilee said.
"Yeah. They've issued an arrest warrant for Star, for assault and battery."
"Oh, man."
"When the police called, Rogue told them Star'd been in an accident on the way home, and had been hospitalized."
"We're not gonna let 'em arrest her, are we?"
"No, Jubilee. It would be far too dangerous, among other things."
"'Among other things'? Like 'its not right'?"
"Don't worry. We'll think of something."
"Yeah." Jubilee muttered. "I bet they'll let those goons that attacked Star off, too."
"They have."
"What?"
"The Defense attorney changed the plea from not guilty, to self defense. The DA dropped the charges."
"That's just great. What else can go wrong around here?"
Wolverine found Beast in the hall outside the room Star had occupied on her first night in the mansion.
"How's the kid, Hank?"
"Truthfully, Wolverine, she is doing much better than I expected. Which, unfortunately, is still not very well. She is awake, if you wish to see her." Beast shook his head. "That child throws off an anesthetic nearly as quickly as you do. She awakened twice during surgery. I only wish she had some of your healing abilities."
"Cyke said Jean and Chuck were having trouble keepin' her powers shut down."
"Yes, indeed. While conscious she seems to have the ability to successfully block her capacity for energy consumption, dependent, of course, upon our ability to keep her from becoming overloaded. However, when she is not conscious, her body recognizes her need for the energy input, and seeks that energy out, where ever it can be found."
"What about the circuit board you brought outta that lab?"
"Charles believes that to subject her to such an artificial suppression would be too traumatic."
"More traumatic than knowin' that if ya take a nap, you could wake up surrounded by corpses?"
"Well, when you put it that way..."
"Anybody ask her?"
"Uh, no."
"After you." Wolverine intoned, opening the door to Star's room.
"Quite."
Star lay on the hospital bed, the head raised so she could breath more easily. Her right leg was supported at the knee by several pillows, her skin nearly as white at the bandaging. Her left arm was completely surrounded by a cage like device which kept her broken bones from shifting, while still allowing a certain amount of mobility in the limb. The bandages on her abdomen and chest were hidden beneath the gown she wore. She looked up as they entered and shuddered as Beast's thoughts reached her.
"How soon?" she asked them.
"What?"
"How soon can you set up the field?"
"Blabbermouth." Wolverine grumbled.
"Not his fault, Wolverine. I have difficulty closing out your thoughts, and you are the quietest person I've ever listened too."
"Star, we don't have to do this." Beast said, looking kindly down at her.
"Yes, we do. I sensed the growing exhaustion in both Jean and the Professor. If you won't turn on the field, I will have to leave."
"You can't leave, dear. It would kill you."
"I know."
"Ya'd try it anyway, wouldn't ya, kid." She didn't answer. Beast sighed.
"I should be able to set it up in about fifteen minutes."
"Please," she said quietly. Beast nodded and turned for the door.
"I'll be back in a minute, kid." Wolverine said, following Beast.
"How big a field can you set up?" he asked after closing the door behind him.
"I don't know. The original equipment was for an area of only about six cubic feet."
"Yeah. The size o' that glass coffin we found her in."
"What did you have in mind?"
"How 'bout somethin' the size o' that room she's in."
"Hmm. We should have sufficient power for that. I'll get started."
"Thanks, Hank." Wolverine opened the door and went back in to Star's room.
"How ya doin', kid?"
"Fine."
"I don't think so. Ya wanna try again?"
"I...I..."
"C'mon, darlin'. Give."
"I'm scared," she whispered, refusing to look at him.
"Ain't nothin' wrong with that." He took her chin and turned her head toward him.
"I hurt all over."
"That's no surprise. Ya tried ta make a door in the roof."
"And my arm feels funny."
"Funny how?"
"Just funny."
"We'll get Hank ta look at it when he comes back." She looked away, reminded of what Beast was doing.
"Hey, its gonna be okay, darlin'. Ya ain't gonna be left alone. This is just so ya c'n sleep. When yer awake, it don' even have ta be turned on."
"I know. Its just so ... alone inside the field. I still dream about the first time I couldn't control my powers."
"Its all right. Ya got the X-Men ta take care o' ya this time."
She was staring at her hands,
"When the police come tomorrow, they'll lock me up, won't they?" She was trembling.
"What are you talkin' about?"
"I can hear everybody in the house. Scott and the Professor are talking about what to tell the police when they get here in the morning. Scott thinks they'll try to take me away from here, put me in a cage again."
"We ain't gonna let that happen." He wanted to take her in his arms, comfort her, as he had so often held Jubilee, but she was too badly injured. He settled for holding her hand. "The X-Men take care o' their own."
"Xavier does not think of me as an X-Man. He considers me a patient, nothing more. A troublesome patient." She finally looked up at him. "He doesn't know if he can help me. He thinks he may have to permanently block my powers."
"He won't have to, darlin'," he told her. "I got a place up in the mountains. Ain't nobody around for miles. If you an' Chuck can't figure a way around this, I'll take ya up there."
A short time later Beast opened the door and entered quietly. Star looked over at him and fear flickered across her face. Beast smiled reassuringly. She clung weakly to Wolverine's hand.
"Everything is set up, Star. Are you ready?" She nodded sharply. "We're going to have to adjust the equipment once its turned on. You will need to help us with that, all right?"
"All right."
"Good." He turned to the intercom, "Storm? Go ahead."
Nothing happened for several moments, then Star gasped.
"Star?" Beast asked. She looked up at Wolverine, startled.
"Its like an echo," she said. "I can hear you hear Beast, but I can't hear him myself."
"Storm, expand the field, please. Star, tell me when you can see me again." Star turned toward Beast,
"Now."
"That's good, Storm. Lock the controls there, please."
"Done." Storm's voice came back over the intercom. "Henry, when you have finished there, the Professor would like to speak with you." Beast shook his head, smiling ruefully,
"I will be there in a few minutes." He moved back to the side of the bed.
"Star, I want you to sleep now. Give your body a chance to heal. Do not worry, the field will not fail while you sleep." He carefully smoothed the hair away from her forehead. "Rest, little one. The intercom is within the field." He place a call button on the bed, in easy reach, "If you need anything, press this, and someone will answer you. All right?" She nodded. Beast smiled at her.
"Good night, then." He turned and left the room. To Star, it appeared as if he ceased to exist just before he reached to doorway.
Wolverine squeezed her hand gently, then released it.
"Get some shuteye, kid. I'll check on ya later." He left the room, leaving the lights on behind him. Star looked around the room after he left. It wasn't as bad as she had expected. She could see most of the room. She could see the boundaries of the field, as well, as a sharp, silvery wall. She relaxed at last, closing her eyes, and trying to close her mind to the pain. Soon, she slept.