Chapter 2
As soon as the Blackbird's flight path was programmed into the nav computer, Wolverine contacted Gambit to get an update on Storm's condition. He didn't like what he heard.
"Remy, what's the word on Storm?"
"Beast an' Jean are still workin' on her Logan. Dey haven' come out yet."
"You haven't heard anything new on her condition?"
"Non mon ami – Gambit wish he had better news but he don't."
"We're leavin' now – ETA 2½ hours – sooner if Cyke puts the petal to the metal and gets this bucket movin'."
"Wolverine, we're going as fast as we safely can."
"Then let's go as fast as we UNsafely can."
"Let me speak to Scott…" Rogue interjected over the comlink.
"Rogue! Any word yet?!" Wolverine yelled – thinking Rogue's entrance may have brought news Remy didn't have.
"No Sugah, no word yet. Beast is doin' his best…that's all ah can tell ya. Let me talk to Scott."
"Scott here – what is it Rogue?"
"Scott…" she whispered in an attempt to try to prevent Logan from listening in. "Put yer headset on."
Scott did as he was told and put his headset on – cutting off communication between him and the other 2 X-Men.
"You need ta get back here as soon as possible."
Cyclops detected the underlying message in her voice and immediately took action. He pushed the Blackbird's engines to 125% of their recommended thrust. The fact that the Blackbird was rarely pushed beyond 75% made him feel a little better. He'd rather tach out engines in good shape as opposed to engines that were routinely stressed.
Unfortunately for Rogue, her attempt at concealing Storm's condition just agitated Wolverine more. As soon as Scott increased speed, Logan grabbed a second headset.
"What are you sayin' Rogue? Is she dying?!" Wolverine yelled.
"Ah didn't say that!" she yelled back – surprised by his outburst. "Ah just think ya need to get back here quick. She's hurt bad and I know she'd want you here."
"What happened?"
"It's all mah fault Logan…ah didn't warn her in time, ah couldn't stop him."
"Whaddya mean ya couldn't stop him? Stop who?"
Rogue started telling Logan, Scott and Bishop the entire story.
"You guys had already left for the Rockies when Jean picked up 3 mutants in trouble on Cerebro: two adults and a little girl located somewhere in Detroit…they had been kidnapped by the FOH."
"The FOH! Them slimy lowlifes? What did they do?"
"They were holding 'em hostage in an old abandoned tire factory just outside city limits. We left immediately ta rescue 'em. Ah keep playin' it over and over in mah head – tryin' ta figure out what ah coulda done to prevent it. Ah just wasn't fast enough." She said as she thought back on the night's events:
"Gambit, I need you to go to the roof and enter through an access point. Reconnoiter and report back."
"Sure t'ing Stormy – an' if I run into any rif' raf'?"
"Breakin' inta places and runnin' inta rift raft should be like goin' home to you Swamprat! Ah'd imagine you could handle somethin' like that without too many problems."
"Chere, you talkin' sweet t' me. I t'ink mebbe you gonna miss me up dare."
"Cut the chatter you two – remember why we are here…we have to rescue the 3 mutants and get them out of harm's way…with as little resistance as possible. Are you ready to go Remy?"
"Whenever you are."
Storm flew Remy to the roof then rejoined me as ah was just about ta enter a door by the receiving dock. We weren't in more than a couple of feet when they jumped us.
"Rogue, look out – it's a trap." She yelled to me as she lit up the room with a lightening bolt –showin' off the 7 FOH approaching us.
"These guys want a fight? Well, ah aim ta give 'em one." ah yelled as ah flew at 3 of 'em, knocking 1 to the ground and grabbing the other two by their jackets and depositin' them in a large empty smelting pot. While ah looked for something to properly secure the two in the pot with, Storm went after the remaining 4, disarming all 4 of them as she dodged their firepower. She was good Logan – she knocked all 4 of 'em 3 ways from Sunday before they even realized what was happenin'!
"Rogue, what's the situation?"
"One down, two in the pot – all in all ah'd say things are lookin' pretty good."
"Good, Gambit report in."
"Hold on a sec Stormy, some frans invited Gambit t' a game o' "fi card stud " and I in the middle of dishin' out a royal flush."
"As long as you have everything in hand Remy."
"Got a royal flush in hand and 3 aces up my sleeve. Life don' get much better dan dat."
By the time we finished our scan of the loadin' dock, Gambit was through playin' with the boys up top.
"Stormy, look like it clear sailin' to the 'ssembly line, but dare be lots o' frans dare. Gambit can see the petit, but de two adults nowhere in sight."
"Where is the little girl located?"
"She in de southwest corner, look like she tied to a chair. Hold on a sec, look like dare somet'in tied to her. Lemme get a closer look."
Gambit used his night-vision goggles ta zoom in on what was tied ta the little girl.
"Stormy, you not gonna like dis."
"What is it?"
"Dey got a bomb tied to her. It look like dey can set it off wit a transmitter, but I don' know who holdin' the trigger. It could be anyone of dem. Gimme a minute to find out which one callin' de shots."
Though it seemed like forever, Gambit responded about 3 minutes later…
"Stormy, come in. I found de man wit de trigger. He hidin' in de southeast corner. When you come in you and Rogue be in the northeast – about 150 feet away."
"Sugah, there's no way we can get that far without him settin' off that bomb. What are we gonna do?"
"Okay Gambit, we're outside the entrance to the assembly line. They already know we are here, but they it sounds like they don't know about you. The one with the trigger won't set it off until we are in range, and they probably think we are going to head straight for the little girl once we enter. If you have 3 aces up your sleeve, I want you to play them all and take out that transmitter. I'll do the same from my location; but I also want you to come down on top of him. He should be confused enough for us to get to him before he sets off the bomb. Are you clear on what I want you to do?"
"Sure t'ing Storm, you wan' me to take out de transmitter – if Gambit can't do dat, distract him while you take it out."
"That's right – wait for us to enter before you fire. Are you in position?"
"Oui Chere, Gambit in position."
"Good, Rogue - you are pretty good at making an entrance, why don't you lead the way?"
"What do you want me to do once ah'm in there?"
"Well, you have a way with men…so have your way with men."
"Sure thing Sugah, but no kissin' before the second date…"
Ah went through the door first, making my presence known…Storm was right behind me. As soon as we came through, Remy rained down on the one with the transmitter. Storm's plan worked like a charm – he didn't know what to do or who to look at. All he knew was he was in a heap o' trouble. Gambit blasted the transmitter outta his hands and Storm destroyed it. She then took off toward the little girl ta get the bomb offa her while we took care of the rest of the FOH. There were 12 in the room and me and Remy just split 'em right down the middle while Storm did her thing. It didn't take more than a couple minutes.
"Play time over so soon? Gambit jez getting warmed up."
"Heh, looks like we got this situation all wrapped up." Rogue yelled to Storm. "How are you doin' over there Sugah?"
"I've almost got the bomb off of her – just a few more seconds…"
"The only thing that's gonna be wrapped up is your rotting X-carcasses in a body bag!" someone yelled from behind me.
"Who said that?" Ah yelled as ah turned around.
"I did!" said a FOH as he popped out of a metal bin.
There were six more hidden in metal bins. They popped out and caught us all by surprise – especially the one doin' the talkin. It was clear he was the ringleader, but what caught mah attention more than anything was what he had in his hand – another transmitter. Logan, ah tried ta warn her – ah tried ta stop him from setting it off but ah wasn't fast enough. She had just gotten the bomb off the little girl and thrown it when it went off. It was so close to her – ah thought for sure she was dead. Gambit took out the last 6 FOH while ah went ta check on Storm. We grabbed her and the little girl and high-tailed it outta there. Ah'm so sorry Logan – ah'm so sorry...
"Self-pity never got anybody anywhere Rogue – ya did what ya could…that's what counts. Do what ya can and let the chips fall…don't blame yerself fer where they fall."
"Wolverine's right Chere, you can't blame yourself f'r dis – no more dan you can blame me."
"Thank you Logan, Remy. But it doesn't change anything – she's still laid up in med-lab with a mess of burns on her back and she ain't woke up yet."
"What happened ta the other two mutants?" Logan asked – thinking about the original objective of the mission.
"They didn't make it Logan. The FOH killed them before we got there. They wanted the little girl – they wanted to use her as bait and her parents just got in the way."
"Bait? Whaddya mean?"
"They knew who we were. They even know about our mutant powers. Ah think that's why they were hiding in them metal bins with another transmitter – because they knew we would probably take out the first one before they could detonate the bomb. Ah think the only reason they didn't detonate it while it was still on the little girl was because they wanted more of us ta be around it when it went off."
By the time Rogue finished telling Wolverine what happened in Michigan, the Blackbird was on its final approach to Salem Center. The storm brewing around that particular part of New York was a true indicator of how bad the situation was and all the X-Men knew it. They knew how the weather changed when Storm was in a bad mood or just plain lost control, but being unconscious was uncharted territory for the former weather goddess. If things kept up, the whole state of New York might end up as victims of that FOH attack.
The Blackbird had barely touched down when Wolverine jumped out and headed to the med-lab. He turned the corner just in time to see Beast and Jean exiting and approaching a very anxious crowd of X-Men. Bishop was close behind with Cyclops in a not too distant third – opting to do away with the proper flight shutdown procedures.
"Beast!" Logan yelled before he had a chance to address the group. "How is she?!"
"Logan – I'm glad you're back. Correct me if I'm wrong; your blood type is AB-positive right?"
"Yah – what do you need my blood type for? How is she doing?"
"She lost a lot of blood, and on top of that; the phosphorous burns have made it nearly impossible to recirculate her reserves. I think I may have a bead on the phosphorous contamination, and if so she should be okay with the reserves we have on hand. If not, we'll need to find another source…by tomorrow morning; but that's not why I need your blood type. I want to get some plasma from you."
"Plasma?"
"It really helps 3rd degree burns."
"Do what you have to ta save her Hank – take as much as you need."
"I'm glad you are so willing to donate Logan, the fact that you're AB makes this easier; your plasma can be used in anyone. We can set up a continuous drip, and with your unique regenerative abilities, I'm sure we can take as much as we need without causing any physical harm."
"What if you can't control the phosphorous effects? Can you use my blood?"
"I don't really want to run the risk – mutant blood is so unpredictable. For now, I'll stick with the plasma. It's effects are much more stable and predictable. We'll cross any other bridges when we get to them.
"How is SHE Hank?"
Logan's question prompted raised eyebrows from everyone. Burns and blood loss aside, they wanted to know if she was going to make it and if she would ever be "Storm" again.
"Honestly, I don't know. The blast did a lot of damage and hit some vital organs but there were no significant head injuries, and outside a concussion; everything checks out. She hasn't regained consciousness though, and that worries me. I think the next few days will be the deciding factor in how well she does."
"Is there anything we can do to help?" Betsy asked.
"You can all give another pint of blood. For those of you with matching types, I can use the plasma. For the rest, this just reinforces the idea of keeping a good supply of YOUR blood around for emergencies."
"How's the little girl?" Xavier asked
"TASHA is fine." Beast reported. "Storm protected her from harm quite well."
"Does she have any family we can contact?"
"I don't know – right now she's asleep. We can ask her in the morning after a bath and a good breakfast."
"What if she wakes up tonight?"
"Don't worry about that – I'll be here all night." Hank said – trying to reassure Xavier that the giant blue-haired mutant would be able to comfort her.
"Are you sure?"
"I've battled mutants more powerful than imagination - I'm sure I can handle one little girl – if not, I'll call for backup."
Though nobody wanted to leave, Beast and Jean reassured everyone that there was nothing more they could do. Once she regained consciousness, they could visit and raise her spirits; but for now the only thing they could do was sit and wait. Slowly but surely, they all left – all except Wolverine. Hank immediately prepped him to withdraw plasma. He also asked Remy to bring in a comfortable chair. He had a feeling Logan would be in the med-lab for a long time.
Outside the mansion, the weather remained unpredictable – howling winds one minute, pouring rain the next. The earth truly longed for Storm's presence.