Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men, or any of its original characters. Nor do I have any type of claim to those characters. However, the characters of my creation belong to me, and cannot be used without my permission.
Redemption (Welcome to Jack-X! Part V)
By: Moonchampion
Bobby found himself in the med-lab, looking through the glass at Ororo as she simply lay there. He took a deep breath, and moved towards the door that led to the Intensive Care Unit. He sat himself in a stool next to the bed, and stared down at Ororo. "Well, Ms. Munroe," began Bobby. "I never did get to tell you how sorry I was for hurting you. I'm… I'm sure you know it was an accident."
Bobby remained silent for a moment, as if he were almost expecting a response. "Well, I… I just wanted to apologize before I left," said Bobby. "They had this whole hearing thing, and… well, I could have stayed, but I told Professor Xavier I thought it was better that I leave. I mean… you guys certainly don't need a screw-up like me hanging around."
Suddenly, the lights all went out. It was totally dark, and then some emergency lights came on, and the room was shrouded in red. Bobby looked towards the monitor and saw that there was no signal, they were completely off. Bobby reached down and checked her pulse. "Ms. Munroe? Ms. Munroe?!" he called as he didn't feel one. "Oh no, what am I going to do?"
***
"What on Earth just happened?!" asked Professor Xavier as he rolled out of the auditorium.
"It looks like a tree took out the power lines," said Logan as he walked back in through the front door.
"And what about the emergency generators?" asked Xavier. "Why aren't they working?"
"I don't know," said Logan. "There has to be a glitch in the system somewhere. I'll head down there and fix it!"
"Wait! Ororo!" said Beast. "She's still hooked up to several machines in the Intensive Care unit! If we don't get powers to those machines…."
"I'm on it!" said Logan as he dashed out the door.
Kurt started after him. "Here, I'll get you there faster!"
Beast ran to the elevator. "No! It's out with the power. And the security system has frozen! The doors to the stairwell won't open!"
"I can't get you through Dr. McCoy," she said. Beast wasted no time in taking the teen's hand as she led him through the stair well. After a quick sprint down the stairs and through the doors, Beast and Kitty finally ended up in the Med-lab.
"Quickly, Kitty!" snapped Hank. "Ms. Munroe's heart may have stopped. I need you to roll the crash cart into the room quickly while I check on her." Beast went into the ICU only to find it totally frigid inside. He turned to see Ororo's body encased in ice, and Bobby Drake standing nearby.
"I… I didn't know what to do," said Bobby. "Her heart stopped, and… she wasn't breathing. And I remembered you saying that sometimes freezing…."
Dr. McCoy held up his hand. "It's okay, Bobby. You did the right thing," he said. Suddenly, the lights came on, and the machines were working as well. Dr. McCoy let out a sigh of relief. "I'll take it from here. A little time in the incubation tube for her, and… well, we'll see."
Bobby left the room, and saw Kitty standing outside waiting. He then left the Med-lab and headed up to his room where he began to pack.
***
A matter of hours later, Bobby had his things packed. He came down the stairs with them over his shoulder. And at the bottom of the stairs all his friends stood waiting on him. When he reached the bottom, there were warm exchanges of hugs and handshakes. He even got a kiss on the cheek from Jubilee. Bobby then moved on towards the adults. He shook hands with Dr. McCoy and with Logan. Finally, he reached the Professor, who had his hand outstretched.
"Well, I guess this is it," said Bobby.
"Actually, there's on other person that wishes to speak before you leave," said Xavier. Xavier then closed his eyes.
"Hello, Bobby," came Ororo's voice. "The Professor is allowing me to communicate with his telepathy. I'm told that you were the one to save my life. For that I'm very thankful. And to put your mind at ease, Dr. McCoy says that I should make a full recovery."
"That's… that's great, Ms. Munroe," said Bobby. "I'm really happy to hear that. Uh… I'm glad that I got the chance to say good-bye before I left."
"Actually, Bobby," she said, "there is one small matter we need to take care of before you leave. You see, I am also on the panel that oversaw your hearing. And my vote has not been heard. I know that you asked the Professor to vote for your expulsion. And it's policy not to change votes once they have been made. However, mine was not cast. I want you to stay Bobby. With the vote tied… there is no majority. Welcome home!"
Bobby opened his eyes. "Professor?" he said.
Xavier held up his hand. "You heard her, Bobby," said Xavier. "There is no majority. Therefore, your expulsion is nullified. You're to remain here at Xavier's… if that's still your choice?"
Bobby smiled, and nodded his head. "Yeah, I want to stay." And suddenly, Bobby was surrounded by his friends as there was an eruption of cheers from the students. Bobby looked back at the Professor and the others. "Thank you, guys," he said. "And I promise… things will be different this time."
***
Bobby was walking down the sidewalk with Jubilee, Ray and Sam. They had just left school, and were on their way home to do a long list of chores, followed by a heavy set of Danger Room drills. Bobby looked back at his friends and sighed. "Man, I'm so tired after that history test… I just want to crash on the bed when I get home."
"Well, you can forget that," said Ray. "You know what we're doing when we get there!"
"Yeah, don't remind me," said Jubilee.
Suddenly, Bobby stopped and pointed up ahead. "Hey, look over there at the deli," said Bobby. "Isn't that Lance's jeep?"
"Yeah," said Ray. "And it looks like the rest of the crew is with him."
A smile appeared on Bobby's face, as he saw Fred in line ordering his own sandwich. "Hey guys, follow me," said Bobby.
Sam's eyes widened. "Wait a minute… are we gonna get in trouble?"
***
"Rolling," came Jubilee's voice. Jubilee sat in the passenger's seat of the Lance's jeep, while Ray sat in the driver's seat. Apparently, Lance had left his keys inside of the jeep. Bobby's face appeared on the camera.
"They say there are some things you just don't mess with. A cobra… a hungry lion… Kitty's shampoo..." began Bobby. "However, none of that stands up to taunting the ferocious Blob by taking his food." Bobby heard the bell chime as it opened. The engine to Lance's jeep started.
"Hey, what's going on?!" called Lance.
Suddenly, Sam ran by and grabbed Fred's sandwich. He ran towards the jeep, and tossed the sandwich to Bobby. Sam then climbed into the jeep as Ray began to pull off.
"Hey! Come back with my sandwich!" cried Fred as he ran after the jeep.
"Yeah! Come back with my jeep!" shouted Lance.
Bobby laughed. "Wow, for a big guy, he moves pretty fast!" Bobby looked towards the camera and smiled. "My name is Bobby Drake… and welcome to Jack-X!"
THE END