DISCLAIMER: Refer to any of the first five parts for the disclaimer.

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italics I know what you're thinking


The First Step - Part 6
Beverly McIntyre

"NO!" Longshot threw two throwing spikes out the double doors at Shadow. Luck got the spikes out the doors and across to the scaffolding. But luck has no sway over time. Shadow had pushed the button to the teleporter an instant before Longshot had released the projectiles and disappeared just before the spikes would have reached him. Around the apartment, the rest of the Destruction Crew vanished with a low whine and a swirl of golden light. Longshot paid them no heed as he knelt down next to his friend's side. He stripped off his leather jacket, leaving him in a plain, white t-shirt. He looked down at his friend as he carefully placed his jacket under his friend's head and stripped off his t-shirt. He folded the shirt slightly and placed it over the bullet wound. He slowly applied pressure to the wound to help slow the flow of blood that was welling out of the wound. "Dakota, don't move. We'll take care of you."

Storm looked at the man who had just saved her life in shock. His face was pinched in agony. She could see as he breathed through clenched teeth that traces of blood started to fleck out of his mouth. Goddess, the bullet must have hit a lung! She crawled over and knelt next to him, feeling so powerless. This was probably the best place for her to be, offering a little comfort to the man who appeared to be fatally wounded. If she had not been there, she would have been looming over Dr. Reyes while she tried to stabilize Angel and Psylocke for transport to the mansion. Rather than distract the doctor who held her compatriots lives in her hands, Storm gently held one of Dakota's hands, meanwhile praying that he was not as near death as he appeared.

Dr. Reyes was entirely torn. She had three patients and only one pair of hands to take care of them with. It was then that she wished her mutant ability was to make multiple copies of herself instead of her actual protective forcefields. Where the hell is Beast?

If in response to Reyes' distressed thoughts, Henry McCoy came bounding into the room, slightly out of breath from having to go up fifteen flights of stairs. He had sprinted up the last three flights of stairs when it became clearly evident over his headcom unit that someone else had been hurt. He skidded to a halt when he saw the scene in front of him. "Oh, my stars and garters."

Dakota laid on the floor directly across from him with Longshot applying pressure to a bullet wound. Dakota's breathes came out in short rasps. But what appalled him the most was the condition Psylocke and Angel were in. Psylocke's skin was a faint shade of blue, and she shivered uncontrollably. She had gashes across her back. Half of her face was swollen from an obvious beating. Angel's wings were charred black with small ribbons of tender pink flesh showing through. His back was one pulpy mess that was staining the carpet beneath him.

Beast switched into his professional mode. His mind turned over what should be done. Dakota would have to wait. Angel appeared to be the most critical and would be his top priority. Dr. Reyes would have to handle Psylocke's injuries. Beast moved to Angel's side; Reyes took the visual cue and turned to stabilize Psylocke enough to move her to the mansion.

"Sam, here. Help Dr. Reyes. Ah think the last thing she needs is me absorbin' her and Betsy. Ah've got more than enough rips in mah outfit t'be a hindrance." Cannonball nodded and knelt down next to the Asian woman as Rogue got up and backed away. She glanced over at Wolverine who was helping Beast with Angel and envied him. She wanted to help her friends, but with everyone in such a small clump, she ran the risk of skin to skin contact, leading to her absorbing any one of them or even all of them. That would put the two lives they had come here to save in more jeopardy than necessary.

"Storm, take my place. Just hold my shirt right here and apply a little pressure. There, that aught to do it." As Storm took over Longshot's position, he fished in one of Dakota's front jean pockets and pulled out a set of keys. He got up and walked over to Rogue. "Here, get the van ready for them."

Rogue took the keys from him but looked a little worried. "Isn't the van kinda slow? Warren and Betts look like time is o' the essence for them."

"It won't be slow with you flying it to the mansion." Rogue nodded, glad to be doing something constructive, and flew off into the rethickening fog. Longshot looked once more at the two X-Men knocking on death's door and sighed. He knew both X-Men were in good hands and there was nothing more he could do for them. He ran back over to his bleeding friend.

As Longshot knelt opposite of Storm, Dakota slowly opened his eyes. They looked clouded with pain. He tried to sit up. This was no place to be laid out flat on his back. He had to make sure Psylocke and Angel were taken care of. But both Storm and Longshot held him down.

"Do not get up, Dakota. We have everything well in hand. Just relax." ,Storm said soothingly as she readjusted Longshot's blood-sodden shirt on his wound and went back to applying pressure on the wound.


Iceman paced back and forth in the entry hall. every once and while he would nervously glance over at the homemade stretchers made of broom handles and blankets. He had an unnatural worry that they might get up and sneak away when he needed them most. Cool down, Drake. They'll bring Warren and Betsy back. Just don't know in how good of a shape. He continued to pace back and forth.

"Y'know, maat, they'll be back soon and then there'll be no time to worry." Maggott sat on the grand staircase next to Joseph. His two mechanical slugs, Eenie and Meenie, were imitating Bobby at his feet, going back and forth and covering the bottom two steps with a thick layer of slime. Joseph looked down at the two slugs and the slime-covered steps in disgust.

"Could you make them stop that?" The silver-haired man gestured down the slimy stairs. Maggott looked down at the mess his two girls were making.

"Girls, stop that. The last thing we need is for any of the pretty ladies here to step on that, slip, and break her neck." Both slugs stopped their sojourn of the steps and slid up to Maggott. They slid up his body and perched themselves on either shoulder.

"You should probably clean that up. Though, I did not know that those things left behind any slime." Maggott didn't know they could either, but he wasn't going to admit that to Joseph. This was the first time that Eenie and Meenie had ever left a slime trail behind. Normally, they were exceptionally clean, almost to the point of sterilization. This behavior made Maggott worry that something was wrong with them. But to Iceman and Joseph, Maggott just got up and jumped over the railing to avoid having to step in the mess provided by his two mechanical companions. He went toward the kitchen where the team had stored most of their cleaning supplies.

Joseph picked himself up magnetically and floated over beside Iceman, who had stopped pacing and had started looking at the boxes that had been cleared out of Dakota's van. Joseph idly looked at the words scrawled on the sides of the boxes; they were written in some language that he had never seen before. Bobby quickly got bored trying to decipher whatever was written on the boxes and resumed pacing.

"You'll wear yourself out if you continue to pace like that." ,Joseph commented absently as he set himself down next to a box that was partially open. He did have a weird feeling that he should go through that box, but he was fighting the impulse. I shouldn't be going through the things of an absolute stranger. I'm not a snoop. But why do I have this odd feeling that there's something in there that I should be looking at. He started to lean over and peer into the box but snapped back straight when Bobby turned to face him.

"I should have gone with them. Angel is one of my closest friends. I don't know who this Dakota guy is or why he should be telling us who should go and who should stay. Who asked for his help anyway? The guy just showed up and started giving orders." Joseph listened patiently to Iceman's little rant, every once in awhile casting a glance at the box that taunted him to look through its contents.

"Are you quite done?" Joseph's clipped tone caught Bobby off-guard. And it angered him a little to hear Mr. Not-Magneto try and put him in his place. "You're fuming over not going. Don't you think I feel the same way. Angel and Psylocke are my teammates as well. I wanted to go with Storm to rescue them, too, but I got stuck here waiting with you."

"Love you, too, Mags." Joseph ignored Bobby's little slight and continued on.

"We just have to make do with being as ready as possible for when they come back." Bobby was just about to make an angry retort when he heard Wolverine hollering for some help. Both men in the entry hall rushed to the door. Bobby got there first and flung the door open. He and Joseph rushed out to the van as Cannonball opened up the van's back doors. Beast and Reyes hovered over two prone forms lying slightly still on a mattress. Rogue was disappearing in the distance, flying at top speed back to the penthouse.


Once again Iceman was pacing. He had been ordered by both Dr. Reyes and Beast to get out of the way as they furiously worked on Psylocke and Angel, respectively. Joseph had been lucky; he was asked to stay to lend some medical help with his magnetic powers. All I want to do is be of some help. Sitting here doing nothing is driving me insane. Bobby glanced over at Maggott, who was just finishing up with his slime removal. Maggott's two mechanical slugs watched him wipe up the last of the slime. God, those things give me the creeps. Bobby's thoughts were interrupted by Longshot and Storm rushing into the mansion. Longshot headed straight for the boxes piled up in the entry hall.

"Storm, find an empty room and make a table or something to lay him out on," Longshot ordered. Storm nodded once and quickly slipped down the left hallway. She pulled open the door to a room halfway down the hall and disappeared inside.

"Hey, what's going on?" Bobby walked toward Longshot, who rifling through one of the boxes. Bobby stopped in his tracks when he saw Rogue come in through the cradling a deathly pale Dakota in her arms. "What happened to him?"

Before Rogue could answer, Longshot turned around with a red bottle in his hand. "Rogue, Storm's down the hallway in room. Iceman, make sure Storm's got a table up if not make a nice table out of ice. It might be cold but it should work. Maggott, help me get this stuff ready."

Longshot ran off toward the kitchen with Maggott nearly on his heels. The two mechanical slugs slid down the steps, without leaving a slime-trail, and followed the two of them at a slower pace. Iceman turned to Rogue but found she was already entering the room Storm had disappeared into.

"Gee, it would be nice if somebody told me what was going on," Bobby muttered to himself as he scrambled after his teammate.


Wolverine and Cannonball were walking down the hallway when Maggott rushed right past them and opened a door. Maggott didn't go in, he just held the door open. Wolverine and Cannonball exchanged glances but quickly had to step to opposite walls as Longshot came barreling between them with a bowl of steaming liquid in his hands. Longshot went right past them and shot into the room whose door Maggott was holding open. Maggott followed him in shortly after.

Wolverine and Cannonball exchanged another curious glance and headed over to the doorway. When they got there, they realized that both of them had been so worried about Psylocke and Angel that they had forgotten that another person had been hurt.

Dakota laid on a big piece of wood that was supported by a column of ice. Storm was starting to peel off a makeshift bandage that appeared to be made out of one of Angel's silk shirts. Longshot set down the bowl next to his friend's head and as Storm peeled the bandage away, gently probed the wound with his fingers. Dakota grunted in pain, but Longshot continued to check the wound with his fingers. When he had finished, Longshot had placed four tiny pieces of shrapnel into one of Maggott's cupped hands. Longshot looked around at everyone in the room.

"Everyone out except Rogue and Wolverine." Storm looked about to protest but thought better of it and left. There was nothing more that she could do in there then be a hindrance. Besides it looked like Longshot knew what he was doing. She led everyone except Rogue out of the room as Longshot turned back to Dakota.

Wolverine stepped into the room and shut the door behind him. He walked to the foot of the makeshift table. The kid's got a gut wound. That's a slow death. Don't know what Longshot is up to, but from the looks of things, he going to need more than luck to save his friend.

"Wolverine, Rogue, restrain Dakota. When I pour this stuff over his wound he's going to try to get up off the table and run right out of the room."

"It's gonna hurt that much?" ,Rogue asked as she took up her position at the head of the table and placed her restraining hands on Dakota's shoulders.

"No, actually it hurts slightly more." Longshot reached into his satchel and pulled out some sort of dried plant. He crumbled it over Dakota's wound. Rogue, rather than watch a man's innards heave as he breathed and make herself very sick to her stomach, tried to get her mind on something else as Longshot prepared to pour the steaming liquid at her elbow onto the wound.

"Wolvy, Ah thought that Beast and Doc' Reyes would be using ya t' as a walkin' scalpel."

"They were goin' to but Marrow showed up and gave them some bones that would do the trick." Wolverine grabbed onto Dakota's feet, ready for Longshot to get started already. He would oblige Rogue with conversation, knowing that having a clear view of someone's intestines was not a pleasant sight.

"Ah thought she said she was never gonna do that again after she helped Scott." Jus' keep talkin'. It keeps ya from looking down at Dakota's revealed guts.

"She did. But there's something about the way she looks at Warren, almost like devotion. I think that has something to do with why she suddenly reversed her position."

"Why would she feel that way towards him?"

"I dunno. But it's something we'll probably find out about sooner or later. Longshot, you ready or what?" Longshot picked up the steaming bowl and looked over at Wolverine.

"Well, here goes nothing." Longshot's hands trembled slightly as he held the bowl over the wound. If this didn't work he had no idea on any other ways to save his friend's life. He held his breath as he poured the steaming liquid over the wound.

Wolverine had a little trouble holding down Dakota's feet as the big man tried to kick him off. "You better cut that out, kid. I'm not doin' this for my health."

Dakota didn't even hear Wolverine's words. His entire world was now the burning pain in his gut. It felt like a wildfire was running rampant through his body. He barely felt the two pairs of restraining hands on his body. He fought against whatever was not letting him get away from the pain. If whatever was holding him down didn't let him go he was going to burn to pieces.

Rogue had an easier time restraining Dakota then Wolverine did. Of course, being a hundred times stronger than Wolverine helped. She watched as Dakota writhed in pain for a few minutes. He was fighting like a man possessed to break their holds on him. Wolverine already had a bloody nose from when one of the legs he was holding got free of his grasp and kicked him in the face. Wolverine had caught the errant leg and used all of his strength to keep the two legs immobile while grumbling under his breath.

Dakota continued to fight against Rogue and Wolverine's holds on him for another two minutes. Then suddenly, he abruptly stopped and laid extremely limp. Longshot looked at his two friends with worry in his eyes. They both got the hint that this wasn't supposed to happen and let go of the body. Longshot was about to lean over the body and see if Dakota was still alive when Dakota lept up from the table, vaulted over Wolverine's head, and made it two steps before he crashed into a heap on the floor.