The Blackbird flew above cloud cover, silently slicing its way through the murkiness of the night. Inside the cockpit sat the most motley crew ever assembled. At the helm were Logan, otherwise known as Wolverine, and a gang member calling himself Wise-Son. The other seats were filled with assorted gang-members, calling themselves Holocaust, Static, and Commando X. In the rear cabin of the Blackbird, there was a makeshift emergency infirmary. There, the remaining X-Men were warily monitoring the situation in the cockpit, keeping a watchful eye on their "guests" through the infirmary's sensors.
"Unnnhh", Jean strained to speak under the pain her abdomen was feeling. It felt like someone tried to set her on fire from the inside. If it weren't for the painkillers and medications on board the Blackbird, she and the others would have passed out again. "Scott, how is it going in there? I can't see the monitor. And my body aches are making it hard for me to concentrate."
"It's fine Jean… and don't strain yourself." Scott was laboring heavily under the pain of his OWN internal burn wounds. Ororo was completely unconscious again. She looked so restive, so serene, but it was only the medication – for when she awoke, the pain of having her organs partially seared would contort her pristine features. "Marie, how are you doing?"
"Fine really. Having touched Logan a little while back really helped me. My stomach doesn't hurt anymore at all!" The other X-Men momentarily envied the mutant teenager. Her temporary acquisition of Wolverine's healing factor would completely heal her of wounds that the rest of them may have to live with for quite some time. Marie was staring at the monitor, looking at the young man sitting next to Logan – Wise-Son. *He can touch me*, she thought. She looked down at her glove-covered hands, rubbing them together… wondering if she would ever forget the feel of skin under her fingers… or if she would ever touch human skin again. She suppressed the wave of depression that began to trickle over her. This was supposed to be a dead topic, or so she thought. She was almost succeeding in growing complacent with the idea of having to encase herself in clothing, but in one moment, that… that MAN changed everything. He touched her! Kissed her! Why did he do such a thing, and rob her of her fragile contentment! Or could his act be a gift in disguise? No! It wasn't a gift, because if she wanted to kiss anyone in the world it was the man sitting NEXT to that gang member: Logan.
"Marie… are you listening to me? I said turn the volume UP?" Scott stared incredulously at the girl. Marie snapped out of her thoughts and abruptly turned up the volume. Scott pretended to ignore the pensive look on her face, as he was now trying to concentrate on the conversation in the cockpit…
"This is bullsh*t, man", Wise-Son glared at Logan - who was doing his best not to punch him in the face. "This plane is flying itself! I ain't even touched the control yet… and neither have you!"
"Listen smart-guy… what do you think happens if the auto-pilot fails? Hnmmm?" Logan was never a patient man, and this young man was doing back flips on his last nerve. "If we need to fly and land this son-of-a-b*tch then it'll take the two of us. Not everybody's can survive a plane crash, pal!"
"I. Do. NOT. Want. To. CRASH. Wise!" Holocaust looked as if all the blood drained out of his face. It probably did – since he was already afraid of flying.
"Can you imagine that Holly… a fiery plane crash? The engines failing…" Static was loving life. He got to ride a jet that he deemed "Star-Trek" cool, and on top of that he got to a chance to make Holocaust's life a living hell - two birds with one stone.
"Change the subject, punk!"
"Then the plane starts to shake and rattle…"
"Shut-up man!"
"Then the air pressure goes crazy, and the plane begins to spiral and fall…"
"WISE, X, MAKE HIM SHUT-THE-F*CK-UP!!!"
"Ummm, no way Holly", replied Commando X, who was busy reading a magazine. "Me and you can't use our powers in here, it might make the plane crash. Why don't you get up and kick his a$$ yourself?"
"Because this punk-a$$ stuck me to my seat!" At that, the cockpit erupted with laughter. Even though watching Holocaust moan like a scared puppy was no fun, the current levity at least served to clear the air of a lot of built-up tension. Logan's guard went down a bit, but he was still prepared to gut his fellow passengers at the first sign of trouble. He already knew that his claws couldn't cut Wise-Son, but that just meant he would have to be more "creative". The Blackbird lurched a bit, causing Holocaust to nearly pass out, and began its descent into Westchester. The plane silently glided across the night sky, over rolling hills and meadows, and came to hover over Charles Xavier Institute for the Gifted. What was once the tarmac basketball courts, gave way to an underground hangar. The Blackbird passed through the bay doors, and flew into the hangar, before gently setting down.
"Professor, we're here", Jean sent a mental heads-up to the Professor.
"I know Jean, I've been mentally monitoring you and the others since you flew through New York. And I see you brought three guests with you?"
"No Professor, we have four."
"That's impossible. I can clearly detect and read you X-Men and three other people on the Blackbird."
"I know Professor", thought Jean, "but there is definitely a fourth person. He calls himself Wise-Son and from what we've gathered he's completely invulnerable. I can't get a lock on his mind either. It's like he's not there, or like our powers don't work on him."
"Interesting", answered Charles, "Make sure you and the others report to the infirmary. You will all need some thorough examinations, and, for some of you, the burned tissue may have to be removed."
"Oh? You know about that?"
"It's tough to block that part out, considering all the discomfort you all are feeling."
"Yes Professor", Jean and Scott answered in unison. Jean almost forgot for a moment that her mind and Scott's were linked. She smiled at Scott, who returned her grin with an almost boyish grin of his own. *God, I love him*, she thought, and she suddenly thought back to that moment during their battle, when she thought they would be burned inside out together. She realized that she couldn't think of anyone but Scott since then. A sudden pang of guilt came over her as she remembered the spectacle she'd been making of herself whenever anyone would even mention Logan's name. As if sensing her trepidation, Scott slipped his hand over hers, and gently held it firmly. The look on his face said it all: even without seeing his eyes, she could see a mixture of love and forgiveness that melted her heart and made her eyes water. They held their mental embrace for what seemed like an eternity, until Ororo's moans of pain broke their love-trance.
"I feel like I've been microwaved", Ororo stood up and hopped off of her medical bed. She winced slightly, still feeling the pain in her stomach even through the medication. "I need more painkillers."
"No Storm", cautioned Jean, "We've all had more than we should. Let's go down to the infirmary and take a look at the damage first."
As the X-Men filed out of the Blackbird, they saw Logan and the Blood Syndicate members standing near the west hangar entrance door. The X-Men walked by the Syndicate warily, saying nothing, and not making eye contact with them. That is, until Scott gestured to Jean to keep going, turned around, and walked right up to Wise-Son. "Thank you for coming with us on such short notice. We'll arrange for you transportation back to Dakota later, but please have a look at the place first. Logan will show you up to the upper levels." He motioned to Logan to lead the way.
"Come on gentlemen, follow me. You're gonna like this." Logan started to walk down the hallway to the elevator. Wise-Son and the others mumbled something amongst themselves, then decided to follow him.
They walked down a steel walled hallway towards the elevator. The elevator doors hissed open, and Logan signaled for the others to step in. Wise-Son, Static, and Commando X stepped in quickly, and Holocaust warily followed. *Claustrophobic too*, Logan thought, and then he filed that little observation away in his mind. None pf the Syndicate members said a word, which made the elevator ride seem to last forever. The ride stopped, and the doors opened – to reveal the pristine, 19th century workmanship of the school's lobby. The gang members stared wide-eyed at the opulence of it all. Ornate stairs were decorated with lavish trimmings. Regal furniture adorned the area, with authentic looking rugs, paintings, and statues adding to the room's Old-World flavor. "Fellas, welcome to Xavier's School for Gifted Nerds."
"Not quite, it's Xavier's School for the Gifted." Charles Xavier's mental voice made three of the Syndicate members suddenly jump (Guess which one didn't hear Xavier's voice?).
"What the f*ck was that?" Holocaust nearly ran over Static on his way out of the elevator.
"Do not be afraid, I am Professor Charles Xavier. Please, come to my study. I've been waiting for you." The gang members were still startled by the sudden appearance of a voice in their heads. Wise-Son was thoroughly confused, since he didn't hear the voice at all. Instead he just trusted that the others were telling him the truth when they all headed towards a large oaken door in the main lobby. Holocaust opened the door, and Wise-Son was the first one in, ready to deflect whatever attack he was sure was waiting for them. What greeted the Syndicate members was a serene office, lined with books, and an old man sitting behind a large, ornately decorated desk. "Come in gentlemen. I've been expecting you!"
"What the hell is this place?" asked Commando X. Having been silent until now, he couldn't keep in his disdain for all things "wealthy". And this place reeked of wealth. He stared at the bald old man in the wheelchair, and was a little startled by the absolute lack of hostility in the man's face.
"This place is our home, and our base of operations", replied the professor. "You have already met my X-Men. They are a covert group that sometimes has to act behind-the-scenes in the secret wars fought by mutants and humans."
"Mutants?" Static's ears perked up. "You guys are the people from the Statue of Liberty thing last year right? That was PHAT!!!"
"Down nerd", cut in Wise-Son, holding out his hand to steady his hyperactive friend. "Are you saying that this place is a mutant hideout? And ya'll ain't working for nobody?"
"Actually, this place is more like a sanctuary for mutants. Follow me, all of you." Professor X wheeled his motorized wheelchair out of the office. The gang members shrugged and followed the old man (what choice did they have – aside from trying to kill him). Professor X gave them the grand tour of the facilities, and fielded a trillion questions from Static alone. "This place masquerades as a school for gifted youngsters, but the gifts are actually mutations – such as yours…"
"We are NOT mutants!" This was the THIRD time Wise-Son had to say this. What was the matter with these people? Bang-babies are NOT mutants. They CAN'T be mutants!
"You may not be genetic mutants… but I fear you are INDUCED mutants. I know of the existence of many people who are actively trying to CREATE people like you for their own purposes. It seems that you all have been given these gifts by accident."
"Gifts? GIFTS?!?!" Holocaust's rage was too much to contain. Commando X and Static were holding him back as he verbally tore into Charles Xavier and Logan. "You call these gifts?! I saw tons of my homies DIE in the Big Bang! My cousins died! My baby AND his momma died o' cancer from that sh*t!" Tears were now rolling down his face, as his friends loosened their grip on him. He slumped down on the floor, covering his face with his hands. "I couldn't even go to their funerals cuz I didn't know how to stop burning sh*t!" Between muffled sobs, all he could say was, "This is bullsh*t… bullsh*t…" Commando X wiped a small tear from his own eyes as memories of fallen friends and enemies alike flooded his mind. He and Wise-Son walked over to Holocaust and picked him up off of the floor. Wise-Son held his closest friend in a tight embrace as the grown man – temporarily overcome with grief – sobbed. "It should've been me… should've been me…"
Wise-Son and the others had been through this before. Holocaust was walking around with some massive baggage, and would never talk about it to anyone, not even to X and Wise. Static walked over to the Professor, who had an expression of compassion on his face, and apologized form Holocaust's outburst.
"It's all right", Professor X replied, "this young man has been through severe trauma, as you all have. It will take time for all of you to heal. Some of you may never fully recover, but you must continue living on, in a world that sometimes hates us because of our powers and abilities… or even the color of our skin." Commando X looked back at Professor X, raised an eyebrow, and nodded. "We have guest quarters prepared for all of you in the West wing. Logan, please show our guests to their rooms."
"Sure thing Chuck", Logan said as he motioned the others to follow him to their rooms. When they were out of sight, Professor X contacted Jean telepathically.
"Jean, how are the others?"
"We're fine professor… the damage wasn't as bad as we thought, but the pain is still going to be a problem for a while." After some silence, Jean asked, "How are our guests doing?"
"They're fine, and they didn't harm anyone, if that's what you mean."
"Ok, Professor, but tomorrow morning we need to figure out a way to run some tests on them – especially that Wise-Son guy."
"Agreed." Professor X continued on to his own sleeping quarters. It was much larger than any of the others in the mansion. "This is going to be VERY interesting", he said to himself.
************
Once morning hit, it was back-to-normal and mutant high. The kids mulled around breakfast, many of them buzzing and gossiping about the Blood Syndicate. "…these guys kill people…", "…they're dangerous…", "…I ain't scared…", "…I saw one, he was kinda cute…"
The chatter was silenced a little when the sound of gangster rap music came blaring from down the hallway, in the rec room. Some of the students, especially Jubilee, Kitty, Bobby Drake, and Marie, immediately got up and headed in that direction. "What the hell is that noise?" asked Scott, who was grimacing along with Logan.
"They call that MUSIC, One-Eye. I had to put up with that crap in Dakota… now we bring it here! Who's bright idea was it to bring these goons here?" Logan looked directly at Scott.
"Maybe we can send them back".
"You two guys are just behind the times", Ororo said as she and Jean shared a smile. "You guy need to listen to something made AFTER 1989."
"What's wrong with Guns-N-Roses? They're the greatest band of all time!" Scott looked at the ladies incredulously as Jean and Ororo rolled their eyes. "What? How is that wrong?"
Down the hallway, Kitty, Jubilee, Bobby, and Marie made their way to the rec room. When they opened, their ears were assaulted by the sheer volume of the music. Of course, to them, this was the coolest stuff they had heard in a while. The gang members were all there. Wise-Son and Holocaust were playing billiards, Static was (of course) playing video games with an intensity rarely seen in a teenager. Commando X was lounging on one of the Bean Bag couches, as usual, reading. Static was the first one to notice that they had an audience. Pointing at the teens, he said, "Yo man, peep the locals", without ever looking away from the television screen.
Commando X put his magazine down, got up from the couch, and stared down the mutant teens. Wise-Son and Holocaust pretended not to notice them. They just kept playing and peppering their conversation with timely expletives. "Ummm, your music is pretty loud", Kitty said, albeit it sounded more like a squeak.
"Why don't you come in here and turn it down", Commando X shot back.
"Back off Ja-Rule", Jubilee jumped in front of her mousy little friend and put a finger in Commando X's face. "I can appreciate Jay-Z as much as the next girl, but it IS pretty loud." Static looked at the loud Asian girl – and looked again… even dropping his gamepad controller.
"Hey fellas, we don't want any trouble", Bobby grimaced at his own words. *Could you have sounded any WHITER, Drake*, he thought to himself. "I mean it's cool, just a little loud."
"Turn it down X", Wise-Son and Holocaust stopped playing billiards and regarded the teen quartet. Commando X walked over to the stereo, and turned down the music. He walked back over to the beanbag couch and slouched over it. Wise-Son walked towards the teens and looked at each one in turn. Focusing on Marie, he thought, *damn, this girl is fine*, and said, smirking, "Ya'll ready for round two?"
"Ohmigodhe'scutelikeyousaidMarie", blurted out Jubilee in her usual machine gun fashion.
"Thank you very much Jubes", Rogue said, the last remnants of her self-esteem draining from her body. "I just wanted to get an apology from you."
"Apology… for what?" asked Commando X.
"I think she means for trying to kill them all yesterday", Static said. "You remember, I tried to electrocute them, you tried to blow up the redhead, Holly micro-waved their guts…"
"Oh really? Do you want me to apologize for kissing you too?" Wise-Son smiled and prepared for some kind of slap.
"Ohmigodhekissedyou… youdidn'tsaythatlastnight… FessupgirlYouareSooooBusted!" Kitty just giggled as Jubilee went into overload.
"Is she always like this?" asked Static, pointing and smiling ear to ear.
"Yeah, sometimes I'm worse", answered Jubilee. It was then that she noticed the skinny muscular dude in the tee shirt, jeans, and blue visor staring at her. She caught herself at him too, and blushed slightly.
"No I don't want you to apologize for that", said Marie, "I mean… YES! Apologize for everything! At least say you're sorry or something!" Wise-Son looked at Marie's face intently – a mixture of emotions and feelings that he couldn't read.
He stepped even closer to her, and reached for one of Rogue's gloved hands. She hesitated at first, but just like the other day, curiosity got the better of her and she let him grab it. "I'm sorry for everything we did to ya'll yesterday, I really am. We all are… except the kiss part." And with that, he removed the glove from her hand, and kissed it slightly. The rest of the mutant teens gasped, since they had never seen ANYONE touch Marie, and not be in a coma. Marie pulled her hand away and replaced the glove quickly.
"Please don't do that anymore!" she said with a barely audible voice.
"Do what? Kiss your hand? Sorry. I was just playin'. Wise-Son: feigning innocence.
"No, I mean touching me. I can't handle it right now." Marie turned quickly and walked out of the room. Kitty and Bobby Drake went behind her, mumbling something about being late for class. Jubilee just stared and smiled at Static and started to walk out awkwardly.
"What's your name", she said when she got to the doorway.
"Virgil Hawkins", he replied, "But these guys call me Static."
"What should I call you?" Jubilee grinned and blushed even deeper. Cute guys may have been hard to find in the mansion, but here she was making time with the "geeky-yet-murderously-dangerous-and-cute" muscular gang member.
"Call me whatever, but please just call me!" Static winced inwardly as he realized how stupid that sounded. Jubilee didn't seem to notice, as she just smiled all the more, and walked out the door.
"Please just call me!?! What a NERD!" Commando X and Holocaust laughed loud.
"Shut-up man, I think she likes me man!" Static put the video games away and headed out the door. "Anyhow, she's fine as hell!"
"True dat little man", Holocaust said, "Just remember not to fry her when you hit that a$$!" More laughter from the other gang members.
"Not everything revolves around sex, Mr. Pimp O' Da Year!" Static left the room and headed for his scheduled checkup with Dr. Grey. It had been a long time since he let a doctor take a look at him, and he was eager to find out what was going on with his body since the Big Bang.
When he left the room, Wise-Son turned to his fellow Syndicate members and said, "That boy's a good kid, but he's got no game!"
"Like you?" asked Holocaust. "I saw you rappin' to that white-girl. You wanna tap that a$$ don't ya?"
"The thought DID cross my mind… but I think she's in love with that Logan dude."
"Nigga, what's love got do with sh*t", Commando X added his two-cents. "Just bend that white b*tch over and go fo' yours!"
"X, shut the f*ck up." Wise-Son walked over to the beanbag couches and sat down. "I'm not lookin' to knock her boots, she's just weird. Not being able to touch nobody and sh*t."
"Hell yeah..", said Holocaust, "You'll be the first, last, and ONLY mutha-f*cka to hit that! I guaran-Damn-TEE you'll be in that sh*t by this Friday!" Wise-Son just smirked, but didn't let on that he had already gotten past the obvious sexual implications of his powers and Rogue's mutation. Overnight, he had thought a lot about how much she seemed to love Logan. Why did it mater to him, anyhow. Wise-Son didn't believe in love-at-first-sight, and he was damn sure it wouldn't ever be with a white young lady. He and Commando X's Nur Allah faction of the Paris Bloods would bounce him out of the gang if they knew he was even thinking of a white girl in anything more than sexual terms. It was anathema. But this is a brand new day, he thought. The Big Bang, and everything since then, has changed things. Some for the better, others for the worse… but, mind you, everything's changed. He got up to walk out. "Hey man, where you goin?"
"Out, to think on some things", replied Wise-Son. And with that, he walked out of the rec room, leaving behind two very suspicious gang members.
"Yo X", Holocaust said, "You caught that sh*t with Static and Wise?"
"Yeah nigga I did", Commando X stood up and ripped a page out of the magazine he was reading. He balled it up in his hand, and it began to glow. "If Wise or Static think that we're here to play nice with these mutha-f*ckas, they're wrong…" And with that, he tossed the glowing wad of paper out the window – and a concussive BOOMING noise followed, as it detonated.
"Dead Wrong."