Bobby moaned slightly at the banging that aroused him the next
morning. Generally, Arnold Frank knocked lightly, needing to be as
quiet as possible to keep from attracting unwanted attention.
Pulling himself first into a sitting position, Bobby rubbed
his face, trying to coax his mind from the lazy blanket of sleep-
induced weariness that momentarily overtook him. Peering momentarily
down the opening to the food storage, he saw Hank, already wide away,
whistling quietly and scribbling away as usual in his notebook.
Still, despite the usual air of cheerfulness, something was different
about him.
Tugging on a comfortable shirt and warm pair of pants (though
warmth was not nearly as necessary as comfort) he moved quickly down
the ladder and sat beside his blue, hairy friend. "What's made you so
happy, Hankster?" Reaching in the direction of his long time comrade
and teammate, Bobby snatched the remaining Twinkie from the otherwise
empty bowl, flashed a triumphant smile at all who were watching, and
began to work on removing the wrapper.
"Well, I was going to tell you...but now that you've taken
the remaining sugary treat, I'm afraid I've not the
strength to do so." Flashing Bobby an equally triumphant smile, he
ducked his head again, with the intention to remain silent and keep
any and all secrets that might be floating about in his head to
himself.
Bobby Drake, having lacked anything remotely resembling a
gossip session, while thoroughly having been filled with Twinkies for
weeks, quickly made a show of sighing and mumbling to himself before
ultimately sacrificing the treat to his friend. "My thanks, Iceman. I
seem to have consummated the ingestion of my entire supply."
"No problem." Taking instead a few pieces of fruit, Bobby
instead entertained himself by pretending he was talented in the area
of juggling. After being hit several times in the head by stray
apples, (not to mention hitting several other passersby as well) he
reluctantly gave up this act and instead drew his knees to his chest
before inquiring as to what made Hank so happy that particular
morning.
"Why, Mr.Drake I assure you I'm equally as happy every day."
Frankly, Bobby would have actually believed that, were it not for the
sideways glance at Ororo, followed by the brief quirking of both
pairs of lips and a knowing glance that made Bobby altogether very
unhappy at being kept in the dark. And so, as leader of the X-Men, he
did the mature thing.
He whined. "Come ON Hank! You used to tell me everything!"
When his furry friend continued scribbling, Bobby folded his arms
across his chest and slumped slightly against the wall, trying to
think of a way to trick him into telling. Of course, when one was a
genius, tricking them was a slightly difficult task. "I'm the leader
of the X-Men here...can't I...y'know...demand that you tell me or
something?" He must have looked ridiculous, though he was trying for
commanding and intimidating, as Ororo and Hank both burst into
laughter at the sight of him.
Blushing sheepishly, he ducked his head and gave up his quest
for the secret. Luckily, his friends had only been out to get a rise
out of him. "My apologies, Robert. I intended only to get you to
loosen up slightly. You've been far too serious these past few days."
"Yeah..." Just thinking about Marie being with Logan was
enough to make his stomach lurch. Still, after many an argument, he'd
given up on the issue, and decided to let Marie ride this out. It was
just a phase, of course, and once the war ended, or the appeal was
lost, she would return to her old self. "So...?"
"So..." Bobby watched as Hank lifted his head to gaze at
Ororo a moment. She gave a brief nod of her head and returned his
large smile, before taking his hand.
"Robert...Hank and I have...decided to get married." A moment
later, when realization hit, Hank had to forcibly lift Bobby's jaw
off the ground. He knew the two cared for each other deeply, but he
would never have guessed...
"Married...? Hank...'Ro...that's...that's great! I don't know
what to say..." He was stunned. Ororo and Hank simply smiled back at
him and hugged him and shook his hand. "This is really, really
great..."
"We fully intend to wait til the war is over...let life begin
to fall back into routine before attempting such a feat. Still, I-"
Dr.Henry McCoy was interrupted mid-speech as Marie, eyes wild with
fear, burst into the room.
Everyone stood to their feet, Bobby rushing over quickly to
help her when she appeared to lose the ability to stand on her own.
While she caught her breath and fought oncoming tears, Bobby looked
around for any imminent threat before looking at his other, equally
puzzled, friends. "Marie...what's the problem? What's happened?"
Turning her head to look at him face to face, she managed to
appear brave and controlled enough to spit out the news. "It's Logan.
He's gone."
Silence reigned for several moments, while the news and the
effects of this new sunk in. They were in grave danger, now that one
of them had been inside, knew how to manuever around this place, and
was gone. Bobby cursed himself repeatedly for ever thinking it was
possible to trust a man like that. He knew from the start that he was
wrong in doing so, and felt the crushing effects of guilt, because he
knew what may follow suite. "It gets worse..."
Bobby pulled Marie into a tight hug, while Gambit shook his
head and took his aggressions out on the nearest available object. It
shattered in a burst of red light, leaving nothing but the charred
remains of a pot in its wake.
Below, glass windows began to shake and soon shatter, and
while the five friends huddled together and attempted to plan any way
of survival, loud, heavy footsteps noisily ascended the staircase,
while angry shouts and orders were spat in every direction.
Soon after, with no where to go, the remaining X-Men each
said a silent prayer before turning, wide-eyed, to watch the door.
Hank kept a hand on Ororo's shoulder, whilst Gambit pulled Marie
behind himself and Bobby. Bobby, who stood, head hanging, stewing in
the realization that their downfall was his fault. He had failed, as
a leader and as a friend, to do the one thing Scott Summers had asked
of him. Not only had he brought them to this...he had let down
Xavier, the other X-Men that had died before them, and the cause that
they had all promised to defend til the bitter end. Clenching his
hands into fists, he realized that he was never going to amount to
anything but a failure. Now his friends, those standing beside him,
would see it as clearly as he had every day of his life.
The door burst open a moment later and a flood of American
soldiers in all shapes and sizes flooded into the attic rooms, aiming
every weapon known to man at them. "X-Men," a loud voice boomed,
laced with bitter hatred and smug triumph. "You are under arrest.
It's over."
morning. Generally, Arnold Frank knocked lightly, needing to be as
quiet as possible to keep from attracting unwanted attention.
Pulling himself first into a sitting position, Bobby rubbed
his face, trying to coax his mind from the lazy blanket of sleep-
induced weariness that momentarily overtook him. Peering momentarily
down the opening to the food storage, he saw Hank, already wide away,
whistling quietly and scribbling away as usual in his notebook.
Still, despite the usual air of cheerfulness, something was different
about him.
Tugging on a comfortable shirt and warm pair of pants (though
warmth was not nearly as necessary as comfort) he moved quickly down
the ladder and sat beside his blue, hairy friend. "What's made you so
happy, Hankster?" Reaching in the direction of his long time comrade
and teammate, Bobby snatched the remaining Twinkie from the otherwise
empty bowl, flashed a triumphant smile at all who were watching, and
began to work on removing the wrapper.
"Well, I was going to tell you...but now that you've taken
the remaining sugary treat, I'm afraid I've not the
strength to do so." Flashing Bobby an equally triumphant smile, he
ducked his head again, with the intention to remain silent and keep
any and all secrets that might be floating about in his head to
himself.
Bobby Drake, having lacked anything remotely resembling a
gossip session, while thoroughly having been filled with Twinkies for
weeks, quickly made a show of sighing and mumbling to himself before
ultimately sacrificing the treat to his friend. "My thanks, Iceman. I
seem to have consummated the ingestion of my entire supply."
"No problem." Taking instead a few pieces of fruit, Bobby
instead entertained himself by pretending he was talented in the area
of juggling. After being hit several times in the head by stray
apples, (not to mention hitting several other passersby as well) he
reluctantly gave up this act and instead drew his knees to his chest
before inquiring as to what made Hank so happy that particular
morning.
"Why, Mr.Drake I assure you I'm equally as happy every day."
Frankly, Bobby would have actually believed that, were it not for the
sideways glance at Ororo, followed by the brief quirking of both
pairs of lips and a knowing glance that made Bobby altogether very
unhappy at being kept in the dark. And so, as leader of the X-Men, he
did the mature thing.
He whined. "Come ON Hank! You used to tell me everything!"
When his furry friend continued scribbling, Bobby folded his arms
across his chest and slumped slightly against the wall, trying to
think of a way to trick him into telling. Of course, when one was a
genius, tricking them was a slightly difficult task. "I'm the leader
of the X-Men here...can't I...y'know...demand that you tell me or
something?" He must have looked ridiculous, though he was trying for
commanding and intimidating, as Ororo and Hank both burst into
laughter at the sight of him.
Blushing sheepishly, he ducked his head and gave up his quest
for the secret. Luckily, his friends had only been out to get a rise
out of him. "My apologies, Robert. I intended only to get you to
loosen up slightly. You've been far too serious these past few days."
"Yeah..." Just thinking about Marie being with Logan was
enough to make his stomach lurch. Still, after many an argument, he'd
given up on the issue, and decided to let Marie ride this out. It was
just a phase, of course, and once the war ended, or the appeal was
lost, she would return to her old self. "So...?"
"So..." Bobby watched as Hank lifted his head to gaze at
Ororo a moment. She gave a brief nod of her head and returned his
large smile, before taking his hand.
"Robert...Hank and I have...decided to get married." A moment
later, when realization hit, Hank had to forcibly lift Bobby's jaw
off the ground. He knew the two cared for each other deeply, but he
would never have guessed...
"Married...? Hank...'Ro...that's...that's great! I don't know
what to say..." He was stunned. Ororo and Hank simply smiled back at
him and hugged him and shook his hand. "This is really, really
great..."
"We fully intend to wait til the war is over...let life begin
to fall back into routine before attempting such a feat. Still, I-"
Dr.Henry McCoy was interrupted mid-speech as Marie, eyes wild with
fear, burst into the room.
Everyone stood to their feet, Bobby rushing over quickly to
help her when she appeared to lose the ability to stand on her own.
While she caught her breath and fought oncoming tears, Bobby looked
around for any imminent threat before looking at his other, equally
puzzled, friends. "Marie...what's the problem? What's happened?"
Turning her head to look at him face to face, she managed to
appear brave and controlled enough to spit out the news. "It's Logan.
He's gone."
Silence reigned for several moments, while the news and the
effects of this new sunk in. They were in grave danger, now that one
of them had been inside, knew how to manuever around this place, and
was gone. Bobby cursed himself repeatedly for ever thinking it was
possible to trust a man like that. He knew from the start that he was
wrong in doing so, and felt the crushing effects of guilt, because he
knew what may follow suite. "It gets worse..."
Bobby pulled Marie into a tight hug, while Gambit shook his
head and took his aggressions out on the nearest available object. It
shattered in a burst of red light, leaving nothing but the charred
remains of a pot in its wake.
Below, glass windows began to shake and soon shatter, and
while the five friends huddled together and attempted to plan any way
of survival, loud, heavy footsteps noisily ascended the staircase,
while angry shouts and orders were spat in every direction.
Soon after, with no where to go, the remaining X-Men each
said a silent prayer before turning, wide-eyed, to watch the door.
Hank kept a hand on Ororo's shoulder, whilst Gambit pulled Marie
behind himself and Bobby. Bobby, who stood, head hanging, stewing in
the realization that their downfall was his fault. He had failed, as
a leader and as a friend, to do the one thing Scott Summers had asked
of him. Not only had he brought them to this...he had let down
Xavier, the other X-Men that had died before them, and the cause that
they had all promised to defend til the bitter end. Clenching his
hands into fists, he realized that he was never going to amount to
anything but a failure. Now his friends, those standing beside him,
would see it as clearly as he had every day of his life.
The door burst open a moment later and a flood of American
soldiers in all shapes and sizes flooded into the attic rooms, aiming
every weapon known to man at them. "X-Men," a loud voice boomed,
laced with bitter hatred and smug triumph. "You are under arrest.
It's over."
