Fell

Standard Disclaimer: Theirs, not mine.

Author's Note:

Shortly after I finished my first XME fic, "The Demon Bottle," I realized that I had presented two of the characters rather two-dimensionally. The first, most obvious one, was Storm, who simply held the role of a background character, providing a domestic influence within the school. The second, oddly enough, was Jean Grey. Jean is very much a hub that the other X-men tend to turn around and I found myself somewhat 'stretching' her telepathic abilities.

This story just appeared in front of my eyes.

Radical Nike

Part Two

Jean dreamt that she was flying. The air stung her cheeks and ruffled her hair. There was a heavy weight on her back that she knew was important, but she was engrossed in the rush of wind roaring in her ears that she didn't really pay attention.

Heat exploded behind her and out of the corner of her eye, she saw a small boy flying beside her.

He was scared, more scared than he had ever been in his entire life. She reached over and pulled the release for the parachute strapped to his back. The air caught him and he reached out for her. He cried out her name—

"Scott!" Jean bolted upwards, the name on her lips. She was wide awake. Had anyone heard? She hadn't yelled, had she?

The girls' wing remained quiet. Reaching out with her mind, she found that most of the household was fast asleep. Mr. McCoy and Kurt were both in the kitchen, apparently sharing a late night snack.

Something to drink actually wasn't a bad idea. Maybe it would help her steady her mind. Eating tended to ground her whenever her mental shields slipped. She collected her housecoat and shrugged it on.

It wasn't the first time she had picked up on other people's dreams, but the last instance had been months ago. She thought that she had finally managed to shield her senses from the mental motes that floated through the night.

Her conversation the previous evening came to the fore and she stopped in the middle of the stairs.

Maybe her shields weren't slipping. Maybe Scott's mind had actually reached out to hers.

A pair of blue shadows, one large and one small, appeared at the bottom of the steps.

"I thought I heard someone wandering the night," Hank McCoy said pleasantly. He had on a pair of green and blue plaid pajama bottoms and that was it. "If you intended a midnight raid, I fear that Kurt and myself have depleted the junk food supply severely, Miss Grey."

"Oh, I wasn't hungry. Just thirsty," she stammered out. "I'll just be a few moments. What are the two of you doing up?"

Kurt was crouched on the floor, blending with the shadows in the front hall so well that only his eyes were truly distinguishable. "Well, uh, it sounds kind of silly, but I had a bad dream and Herr McCoy heard me..." Jean caught an image of fire that came and went so quickly that she couldn't determine a context to connect it with.

"It's not silly, Kurt," she said soothingly. "As a matter of fact, I was woken by a bad dream, too." She smiled, trying to put him at ease.

Kurt usually responded well to encouragement, but this time he seemed to hunch in on himself. "Oh. I hope you can fall asleep again soon." He vanished.

Jean turned back towards the top of the steps in concern. Beast gently caught her arm with his massive hand. "Let him be, Jean. This isn't a new or, unfortunately, infrequent occurrence." He smiled at her. "Would you like to talk?" Jean shook her head. "Anytime, Miss Grey." He ambled up the stairs and disappeared into the shadows.

Jean was still sitting in the kitchen with an untouched glass of orange juice in front of her when the sun eventually rose.

In the Danger Room's control center, that same afternoon, Storm watched as Cyclops and Spyke stealthily navigated a room full of red lasers. So far, neither had set off any of the security features within the simulation; if the pair managed to successfully complete this segment, they would be home free.

The goal was to safely retrieve a clear plastic cube filled with raw eggs, which Cyclops currently had cradled in his arms. If any of the eggs were broken, the mission was a failure.

"Cyclops, freeze," Spyke whispered. Cyclops stopped himself and waited for the younger boy to guide him past the laser. "There's a beam six inches in front of you, about eighteen inches off the floor. Watch me."

Spyke carefully stepped over a space of air and the red-visioned X-man copied his motion exactly. Due to the nature of his mutation, he could only see in shades of red, which made security beams difficult, if not impossible, to detect. "Are there any more, Spyke?"

"I don't see any," the other replied. He examined the door. "It has a motion sensor within the frame, but I think that if we short it out before trying to go through, it shouldn't go off." He waited for his captain, who was studying the immediate area, to respond.

"No, Spyke." He pointed at the ceiling. "That hatch is the way out." There was a modest air duct immediately above the door.

"I don't know, Cyke," Spyke said doubtfully. "Logan really likes to trap those things with gas and stuff. I can hot-wire this door, no problem, man."

Storm smiled. Her nephew could be very frustrating to work with because he was so very stubborn.

"No, we'll just go through the duct," Cyclops decided. He handed Spyke the egg cube stood on his toes and reached up to the grate, examining the edges with his fingers. "Logan also said that the shafts inside a building where usually left unsecured, because most people try to break into a complex through the system, not out." The grating slid aside very easily. He crouched and jumped, pulling himself into the cramped shaft and peering in either direction. He crept towards a turn and saw, sure enough, that there was an access panel that had a view of a stand of trees. The panel itself was very small, but Cyclops determined that with a little judicious loosening, it would open enough for two teenager boys to slide through.

He returned to fetch Spyke. "Come on, hand me the cube." Spyke held it up towards the air duct and Cyclops collected it gingerly. The skater pulled himself up and the two crawled to the outside access.

"Give me something to pry this thing with," Cyclops ordered. Spyke extruded a dense piece of bone for him to use as a lever. "By going this way, we delay the chance that someone will see the door was sabotaged." The panel suddenly came loose with a crack and Spyke grabbed it before it could fall outside.

"Easy, man," Spyke murmured. He peered out from the panel. "Looks clear. There are some motion lights immediately outside the perimeter of the trees, but if we weave through them towards the fence," he pointed, "we should get out without detection."

"Sounds good." The two jumped down, still keeping the cube of eggs in mind, scurrying through the trees. None of the motion lights went off.

The sound of Storm's voice over the PA startled them. "Well done, boys!" The sim faded around them and the door opened. A moment later, Storm was in the room with them, examining the cube. "Not a single crack. Very well done."

Spyke grinned and yelled. "High five, man! We are the bomb!" Cyclops smiled and pounded him on the shoulder.

Storm turned to Cyclops. "It is wise to err on the side of caution, Scott, but sometimes the situation calls for swift actions more than stealth. Often, an objective can be accomplished in the simplest and most direct ways." She turned to her nephew. "Hot-wiring the door would have been just as effective as avoiding the sensors, Evan. Good thinking."

"Yes, ma'am," Cyclops said smartly. Spyke looked pleased.

The door opened again to admit Jean Grey, in uniform. "Hi, guys. Good afternoon, Storm. I take it that Rogue and Kitty aren't here yet?" She seemed tired.

"Correct, but you are early," the African weather witch smiled. "You have the rest of the afternoon free, gentlemen. I'll see you at dinner." Cyclops and Spyke eagerly exited the Danger Room.

Rogue and Shadowcat appeared only a moment later. "Oh, there she is," Rogue said when she saw Jean. "We were wonderin' where you were. Nobody's seen you all day."

Storm looked at the telepath. She looked rather pale and there was more than a hint of fatigue around her eyes. "Are you felling well, Jean?"

Jean waved her off. "I'll be fine. I didn't sleep very well last night."

"Are you sure? Nightcrawler was excused from training today for exhaustion, and I dare say that you should be too."

"It's okay, Storm." Her voice was firm.

"Then we will begin," Storm pronounced. "Load training sequence Maelstrom."

They were suddenly standing on a fishing platform. Rocks jutted like teeth in the water all around them. There were planks connecting some to others.

"This is a timed exercise. When the program begins, waves will begin to crash and a fierce storm will begin. Jean and Shadowcat will cross over to that island," she pointed, "and retrieve the flag. Rogue and myself will be guarding it. You must return to this dock with the flag in under ten minutes."

The girls nodded.

Storm rose into the air and Rogue climbed over the rocks to the island. "I will concentrate my efforts on Jean. You focus on Shadowcat. Our goal is only to slow them down," the windrider said.

"What's the point of this drill, Ms. Munroe?" Rogue asked. "I'm just curious. This doesn't seem too terribly difficult."

"The purpose is to see how well Jean and Kitty can synchronize their efforts. An exercise in improvisation," Storm replied calmly. They were in place. "Begin sequence!"

Wind filled the Danger Room and the synthesized water immediately began to heave large waves towards the dock. Jean immediately levitated herself above the churning surf, but Shadowcat was drenched. She caught at the groaning boards as the water threatened to dump over the side.

"Hey, Jean, some help?" she called to the floating X-man, but the storm was too loud. *Jean!*

She felt her body rise above the waves. Jean had a small line in-between her brows from concentration, but otherwise showed no sign of strain. The two hovered together.

"Shadowcat, you can phase to avoid being hit, you know," Jean scolded. "I doubt I'll be able to hold both of us aloft for ten minutes and avoid Storm."

The younger girl had the grace to look sheepish. "Yeah, I know, I just, like, freaked for a sec." She peered across the Danger Room to watch the island and its defenders. "At least it doesn't look like Storm is going to actively attack us."

"No," Jean replied, frowning. "Kitty, I'm going to set you down on one of the rocks. Phase. I'll draw Storm and Rogue off."

"'Kay..." Shadowcat nimbly kept her feet when she touched down and faded just in time to let an enormous wave pass right through her. Her foot sunk into the rock and she quickly pulled it back out. "Careful," she reminded herself. She began to jump from rock to rock, using the haphazardly placed planks when they were available. In the distance she could see Jean 'toss' Storm through the air, pushing her away from the island and trying to keep her too off-balance to use her weather manipulation.

Where was Rogue? As soon as she thought about the copycat, she saw a flash of white and brown hair in the corner of her eye. Shadowcat phased just as Rogue came barreling through the space she was occupying.

"You got ta phase back in ta grab that flag, ghost-girl," Rogue growled. "I can keep up with you no problem."

So much for Jean drawing them both off, Shadowcat thought. I'll just have to outrun her.

The small X-man ran straight through her opponent, leaping from rock to jagged rock while dodging waves. The wind kept upsetting her balance, but Rogue, despite her words, was having even more trouble. She landed in the water frequently.

Shadowcat was only a few jumps away from the flag when she completely fell through a rock. Whoa, stay-phased-stay-phased-stay-phased! She hated when she accidentally 'slipped,' because she had no idea what would happen if she solidified inside something else. So far it seemed as though she physically couldn't, since two objects could occupy the same space at the same time. She didn't want to find out. (1)

Groping upwards, Shadowcat found herself sinking even faster. No way! I've got this climbing thing, like, down. She tried again, but made the situation even worse.

Not really wanting to find out what the composition of the rock under the school was, Shadowcat called out to her teammate. *Jean, help! I've lost control of my power!*

Jean heard Kitty call out to her and cried. "Pause sequence!"

Storm canceled out a small whirlwind while rogue hauled herself out of the now-calm water. "Jean, what's wrong?" Storm asked coolly.

"It's Kitty—she's in trouble." Jean flew over the island. "I think she was right here...*Kitty, exactly what's wrong?*" she asked aloud, projecting her thoughts at the same time.

*My power's gone haywire. I fell through the floor on accident and tried to climb back out, but kept sinking deeper.* Jean sensed that her mind was so focused on trying to remain insubstantial that she couldn't keep her thoughts together for long.

"*Hang in there,*" Jean whispered. "She's caught in the floor and sinking deeper whenever she tries to move. I'm going to try to lift her out."

Storm had shut down the simulation. The three women stood over the spot Jean had indicated Shadowcat was. "Are you sure you can grab something that's on a slightly different plane o' reality, Jean?" Rogue asked cautiously.

Storm gently took her by the arm. "Hush, child. Jean is concentrating."

Jean had her eyes closed and her hands touching either side of her forehead. She didn't need to hold her head, but it was a habit. *Kitty, let me into your mind. Let me see out of your eyes.* She felt Kitty 'make room' and found herself in total darkness. She felt her lungs seizing in panic, breathing air that didn't exist. Jean had never considered that Kitty didn't have to hold her breath while phasing. *Try to climb.*

She/they fell deeper. Jean/Kitty wrapped her/their mind around her/their body. **RISE** they whispered together.

They rose and Jean/Kitty floated out of the floor and into the air above Storm and Rogue. Jean/Kitty saw herself standing perfectly still below, face blank. Time to return 'home.'

The Jean-self tried to unwind herself from the Kitty-self, but the Kitty-self was tangled. The Jean-self yanked hard against the girl's weaker mind and, to her horror, found herself drawing Kitty back into Jean's body.

-------

Author's Note:

(1) I realize that Kitty became trapped halfway phased in "The HeX Factor," when the Scarlet Witch was wreaking havoc with everyone's abilities. Please assume that this story took place before that episode and that she was unaware of what would happen—besides, even then she was only partially in the ground.