Back in Westchester, New York, three figures sat slumped in couches listening to the dizzy, spinning song that had become the soundtrack of their lives.
Silver tears tumble down as I cry
Angels hear me, they come when I call
Pray they catch me before I fall
Close my eyes and hope I don't die
In a piece of broken sky
I see all I am and want to be
The only thing I ever feared
Was loosing all I hold so dear
If the time comes when I have to choose
Only know that I cannot refuse
There is light in the darkness above
Shinning down on this world that I love
All to gain and nothing to loose...
Persyltha, Silvia and Rika hummed the tune along with the mystical-sounding voice of the popular artist, Sparkler. After a strenuous danger room training session, it was all they had the strength to do. The professor had been in a terrible temper. Perhaps it had something to do with the Neo-X-Men's disappearance. And in her heart, Persyltha felt that it had been her fault. After all, she had seen Mike's capture in the cards. Despite Silvia's consolation, Persyltha felt responsible for the uncharacteristicly sullen mood Alyce had been in. There is nothing worse than feeling responsible for the sorrow of a best friend.
"Don't blame yourself, Slyphie. Don't blame yourself," Rika whispered.
The three sat in silence, not knowing what else to say. The reason for their worry was obvious. There was not a soul in the mansion who didn't know where the Neo-X-Men had gone. To the place of no return. To Alaska. To Mutant City. The very center of their broken world with their broken sky. A sky broken by hate and prejudice.
"Do you think we can ever repair it?" Silvia whispered.
"Only time can tell," answered Persyltha.
***
Eyes. Fluttering open. All that could be seen around him were the shadows. As his senses returned to his consciousness, he suddenly realized how cold he was. An icy chill gripped him like the hand of a shadow.
He tried to create his sparks of energy, but he was still week and his reflexes dulled. Death. The warning shot through his brain. That is what happens when you are out in the cold unprotected. Death.
There was the sound of a door opening and a gruff hand reached for him.
"Outside kid."
He struggled to his feet, dizzy and faint, on the verge of nausea.
***
"Got anything, Fearless?" Amit asked. Tyler shook his head. For an hour he had tried to make some connection with his friend, but all in vain.
"He must be out cold," Tyler sighed.
"Is there any other way?" Alyce asked.
"We've tried everything! There is no way to find him if I can't connect with him," Tyler sighed.
"I guess we have to wait," Hannah whispered.
"Yes, wait," Tyler sighed. Mike. His best friend. The youngest of the team. Was he alive? Tyler did not want to mention his suspisions of why at the moment Mike seemed unreachable. He wondered if the boy had breathed his last breath.
***
The artic wind howled outside, as Mike was led into a base camp by the side of a rugged glacier cliff.
Still dazed, and weak, Mike could barely manage a good look, but what he saw was breathtaking. Ice crystals, silver and sparkling like the diamond gown of a queen were everywhere, and the grandest diamonds of all were the stars that dotted the blue ink sky. With little pollution, and other outside lights, they were brighter than Manhattan all lit up at night.
The men, hunters dressed in their dark uniforms, their faces covered, led him into the metal building, sticking him in an old dog kennel, in the foyer where it was only slightly warmer outside. Then the hunters entered the camp themselves, laughing as they approached the bar and ordered strong liquor.
"No better cure for the cold, eh?" one of them laughed.
"None that I can think of. What are we gonna do with dat bastard kid?"
"What doya mean? We's under orders to bring him unharmed!"
"Unharmed? I thought it was our job to get rid of the scum."
"Not this one. This one's special."
"How so?"
"I donno! The boss don't tell me nothing."
Shuddering, Mike curled up into a ball, and thought about Alyce. He pictured her telling him a story about her parents, so many so that they became his own, and he created his own memories because he had none. He could hear her voice now. She was there with him. He was in his room, it was night, and time for bed. Yes, time to sleep. Yes. And there was Alyce, sitting beside him, telling him a tale of long ago. Back when the only X-Men were Scott, Jean, Warren, Hank, and Bobby.
"So Scott said, "Hank is going to strangle you when he finds out what you did with his science experiment.' Then, my father, Warren, said, 'good. Then we won't have to look after him anymore!' He was joking, of course. He says that your daddy was always getting in to trouble. Come to think of it, so are you. Tyler's going to kill you when he finds out what you did to his bedroom..."
He smiles, "Well then, you won't have to look after me!"
Alyce shakes her head, "No, don't be silly. Now go to sleep. It will all be alright in the morning."
"Yes," Mike smiles, "Sleep." It is so cold in his room, but as he closes his eyes he feels all warm and tingly inside. Closing his eyes, all his worries melt into nothingness. He wants to keep his eyes closed forever and sink into this feeling of warmth..."
"Mike! Don't!"
Tyler's voice ringing in his head brought mike back to reality.
"Whatever you do, Mike, stay awake! We're coming!"
"What happened? Where's my room? And Alyce? And..."
"Mike, stay close and we'll be there in a moment."
"But..."
"Just trust me. By the way...what DID you do to my sheets?"
***
Tyler blinked and returned his consciouness back to the rest of the team.
"Did ya get him?" Sabine asked.
"We connected just in time."
"What do ya mean?" Amit demanded.
"They have him out in the snow! Did you bring his uniform?"
"I packed it," Alyce said.
"He's going to need it, and more."
Alyce sighed with comfort, her "little brother" was alright. One connection was all they needed. One connection saved him.
***
"Mike!" Mike!" The voice was distant as the cold. Despite Tyler's warning, he cannot help but drift into a half sleep. The cold is too much for him without his snow uniform, or anything to control the temperature of his body. He tries to stay awake, but when he closes his eyes, he feels the warmth surge through his body and he doesn't want to leave it.
"Mike! Michael!"
The voice again. It sounds so familiar, but he cannot place it. With each desperate cry he feels the cold prickle on his ears, then they run to his back and his whole body is enveloped.
Alyce was panicing. He wouldn't wake up, no matter how hard she shook him. Was he...could he be....
"Michael! Michael Robert Drake!"
Who's voice is that?
"Tyler! Dis be all your fault! If you didn't listen to de professor we would 'ave gotten here in time!" Sabine screamed, as she watched Alyce shaking the youngest Neo-X-Man with more and more fervor.
"My fault! My fault? Without me, we never would have found him!"
"You didn't want to find him, did you?" Hannah joins in, "You didn't care! You even tried to hide my tools, didn't you? They weren't in their usual spot when I got them to fix the plane!"
"Just because you're disorganized doesn't mean I did anything!"
The screaming becomes perilous, loud and concentrating, rasping through the night air, echoing and bouncing off the stars.
And Amit knew. The men in the bar knew that they were there. Now they had stopped being drunkards and started being hunters. They were lying in wait.
"Shut the hell up! All of you! Now! They hear you! What do you think your fuckn' argument is accomplishing?" He growled.
They stopped, knowing that he was right.
"MICHAEL!"
The small boy stirred, and blinked.
"Lycee?"
