"Wanda!" Toad screamed. He darted out his tongue, wrapped around Gambit's
staff and pulled it out of the mutant's grasp. He caught it and jumped in
front of Gambit.
"Now you're gonna get what's comin to ya!" he shouted, and began to swing the staff around wildly, mimicking moves he had once seen in a karate movie.
Gambit watched as Toad whirled the staff around his head. "You should be careful with that," he said. "A weapon like that can be dangerous in the wrong hands,"
"The only danger this baby's gonna cause is when I knock your teeth out with it!" Toad said, and spun the staff around over his head. "Yaaaaa!!!!" he shouted, and whipped the staff around one more time. Unfortunately, he got carried away and misjudged his swing, and he wound up hitting himself in the head with the staff instead of Gambit.
Gambit chortled at Toad's antics. "Very amusing. Unfortunately, I don't have time for an encore," he said and pulled out another card. Before he could blast Toad to pieces with it, a beam of red light came flying across the room and shot the card out of his hand.
Gambit looked up to see Scott and Jean standing in the doorway. "You never give up, do you?" he asked them.
"Not on your life," said Scott, and prepared to fire again.
Gambit drew three cards, charged them up, and hurled them towards Scott and Jean. They dove out of the way as the cards exploded.
Gambit turned to make a getaway, and ran right into Rogue.
"Well hello again," he said romantically. She looked just as beautiful as the first time they had met.
"Remember me?" Rogue asked sweetly, and then kicked Gambit hard in the knee.
"Aah!" Gambit yelled. "So, the rose has some thorns after all,"
"I've got a lot more than that!" Rogue said, and pulled off her glove. Gambit caught her wrist as she reached for him and threw her across the room.
"Ta ta," he said and charged up a card.
"Going so soon?" Scott asked, reemerging from a side door. "The party's just getting good!"
Gambit turned to throw his card at Scott, but Scott was the faster draw, and his optic blast struck Gambit in the chest and sent him flying through the air. He landed on top of a table.
Before he could move, Jean used her powers to drop a large chandelier on top of him, trapping his arms and rendering him helpless. Then she used her powers again to raise Gambit up to the ceiling and left him hanging there as they ran over to Toad and Wanda.
X
"Help me out! She ain't breathin'!" Toad yelled desperately.
Jean knelt down and felt Wanda's wrist. "She's still got a pulse, but she's been hurt very badly. We'll need to get her to a hospital immediately or she could die,"
"We can't leave now," said Scott. "We haven't found Magneto yet!"
"No! Don't say that!" shouted Toad. "C'mon, Wanda, come back to me!" he said, shaking her a bit.
"Toad, stop it!" Jean shouted and pulled him away from her. "You'll make her injuries worse!"
"The only way we could get her to a hospital in time would be to take her there in the jet," said Scott. "And if we do that we won't be able to communicate with each other in here. We can't afford to be sitting blind,"
"And if we don't, she's gonna die!" Toad shouted, practically beside himself. "Now I don't care if I have to go up there and hijack your plane, Summers, I ain't gonna let Wanda die!"
"Toad, if you want to stop Magneto, you're going to have to," Scott replied.
"Then screw Magneto and screw all of you!" Toad yelled. He carefully picked Wanda up and began to walk towards the exit. "I don't care what I have to do, I'm not gonna let her die as long as I can do something about it!"
"Toad, wait!" shouted Jean. "You can take the jet. I'll tell Storm you're coming,"
"Jean, what are you doing?" Scott asked her. "We need Storm here!"
"We'll manage, Scott," she replied harshly. "Go ahead, Toad. We'll be ok here,"
Toad looked at Scott.
"Fine, go on," he finally said.
"Thanks," said Toad. "I owe ya,"
X
Toad made his way up to the roof. He found Storm waiting for him.
"Get in," she said. "I've already contacted the hospital. We can be there in less than 10 minutes,"
Toad carefully set Wanda down on the bed in the back of the jet, and they took off for the hospital.
X
A while later, Wanda slowly blinked her eyes. She felt very groggy as she sat up. Toad was sitting beside her bed.
"What happened?" she asked.
"Wanda! You're awake!" Toad beamed and wrapped his arms around her tightly.
"Aack! Toad! You're choking me!" Wanda protested.
"Oops, sorry cuddlebumps," said Toad, easing his grip. "I was just so worried about you! For a while the docs didn't know if you were gonna make it!"
"Toad, what happened? Where's Magneto?" she asked.
"You saved my life, that's what happened. Don't you remember?"
"All I remember is seeing Gambit light up his cards,"
"Yeah, and you pushed me out of the way just in time. You really do care about me!"
Wanda grimaced as she felt the pain in her chest. "Ow! I didn't realize being a hero would hurt so much. Next time I think I'll just let you get blown up instead,"
"Yeah, but if you did that how would I take you out on our date?" Toad asked sweetly.
"Right," Wanda said and lay back down. "We may just have to settle for hospital food for a while. Have you heard anything from the X-Men?"
"No," said Toad. "Storm left right after she dropped us off. I haven't seen her or the rest of them since,"
Wanda glowered. The last thing she wanted was to be lying in a hospital bed while Magneto was still on the loose. But right now she had little choice, and resolved herself to waiting for news of what happened.
X
Back at the museum, Jean faced Scott. "Scott, if you have a problem with what I just did, you're going to have to get over it for now,"
"Jean, you may have just compromised the mission," said Scott.
"Scott, some times there are things more important than the mission," Jean retorted. "Now come on, we should probably head downstairs and try to find the others,"
With that, she turned and headed for the stairs. Scott and Rogue quickly followed after her.
X
On the first floor of the museum, Mesmero had been busy staying out of sight. He had spent several minutes doubling back to avoid Logan and the others, and he had finally managed to shake them. He watched as they walked into a stairwell, convinced that he had gone back upstairs, then made his way over to the elevator and pressed the button.
The door opened and he stepped inside. He hit the button for the basement and waited for the elevator to move.
X
On the top floor, Mindbender called out to Magneto. "Magneto, Mesmero is nearby. He has just entered that elevator,"
"Good," replied Magneto, and stretched out his hand. There was a loud hum from the direction of the elevator shaft as the cables slowed and then reversed themselves.
X
Inside the elevator, Mesmero was jarred as the elevator shook and then started to move again. However, it was not moving down but rather up. He pressed the button for the basement again, but the elevator ignored him and continued to rise. It reached the top and the doors snapped open, revealing a furious Magneto.
"Magneto!" Mesmero gasped, and tried to use his powers. He found that something was blocking him, and then saw Mindbender step out from behind the red-caped figure. A look of fear spread across Mesmero's face as he realized that he was powerless.
"Your powers are useless, and so are you," said Magneto. "I see you're eager to see your master. Go and join him in oblivion!"
There was another hum, and the elevator doors shut. Magneto released his hold on it and the elevator dropped like a rock. The elevator slammed against the sides of the shaft, sending sparks flying, and hit the bottom of the shaft with a loud crash. The force of the impact caused the elevator to collapse like a crushed soda can.
Down in the basement, everybody that was with Logan jumped as they heard the crash and saw the elevator doors pop outwards from the force of the collision. They ran over to the shaft to inspect the ruined elevator.
"Do you think anybody was in there?" asked Kurt.
"If they were, there won't be much left of them," said Logan. He picked up one of the doors and hurled it aside. They saw the crushed car inside the shaft. As they looked closer, they saw that it was totally empty. There was no sign that Mesmero or anybody else had been inside of it.
"Something's up," said Logan. "I don't like this. Everybody head to the vault, now!" he ordered.
Back upstairs, Magneto glanced down the shaft. "And now to collect our prize," he said, and began to float down the shaft.
X
"Now you're gonna get what's comin to ya!" he shouted, and began to swing the staff around wildly, mimicking moves he had once seen in a karate movie.
Gambit watched as Toad whirled the staff around his head. "You should be careful with that," he said. "A weapon like that can be dangerous in the wrong hands,"
"The only danger this baby's gonna cause is when I knock your teeth out with it!" Toad said, and spun the staff around over his head. "Yaaaaa!!!!" he shouted, and whipped the staff around one more time. Unfortunately, he got carried away and misjudged his swing, and he wound up hitting himself in the head with the staff instead of Gambit.
Gambit chortled at Toad's antics. "Very amusing. Unfortunately, I don't have time for an encore," he said and pulled out another card. Before he could blast Toad to pieces with it, a beam of red light came flying across the room and shot the card out of his hand.
Gambit looked up to see Scott and Jean standing in the doorway. "You never give up, do you?" he asked them.
"Not on your life," said Scott, and prepared to fire again.
Gambit drew three cards, charged them up, and hurled them towards Scott and Jean. They dove out of the way as the cards exploded.
Gambit turned to make a getaway, and ran right into Rogue.
"Well hello again," he said romantically. She looked just as beautiful as the first time they had met.
"Remember me?" Rogue asked sweetly, and then kicked Gambit hard in the knee.
"Aah!" Gambit yelled. "So, the rose has some thorns after all,"
"I've got a lot more than that!" Rogue said, and pulled off her glove. Gambit caught her wrist as she reached for him and threw her across the room.
"Ta ta," he said and charged up a card.
"Going so soon?" Scott asked, reemerging from a side door. "The party's just getting good!"
Gambit turned to throw his card at Scott, but Scott was the faster draw, and his optic blast struck Gambit in the chest and sent him flying through the air. He landed on top of a table.
Before he could move, Jean used her powers to drop a large chandelier on top of him, trapping his arms and rendering him helpless. Then she used her powers again to raise Gambit up to the ceiling and left him hanging there as they ran over to Toad and Wanda.
X
"Help me out! She ain't breathin'!" Toad yelled desperately.
Jean knelt down and felt Wanda's wrist. "She's still got a pulse, but she's been hurt very badly. We'll need to get her to a hospital immediately or she could die,"
"We can't leave now," said Scott. "We haven't found Magneto yet!"
"No! Don't say that!" shouted Toad. "C'mon, Wanda, come back to me!" he said, shaking her a bit.
"Toad, stop it!" Jean shouted and pulled him away from her. "You'll make her injuries worse!"
"The only way we could get her to a hospital in time would be to take her there in the jet," said Scott. "And if we do that we won't be able to communicate with each other in here. We can't afford to be sitting blind,"
"And if we don't, she's gonna die!" Toad shouted, practically beside himself. "Now I don't care if I have to go up there and hijack your plane, Summers, I ain't gonna let Wanda die!"
"Toad, if you want to stop Magneto, you're going to have to," Scott replied.
"Then screw Magneto and screw all of you!" Toad yelled. He carefully picked Wanda up and began to walk towards the exit. "I don't care what I have to do, I'm not gonna let her die as long as I can do something about it!"
"Toad, wait!" shouted Jean. "You can take the jet. I'll tell Storm you're coming,"
"Jean, what are you doing?" Scott asked her. "We need Storm here!"
"We'll manage, Scott," she replied harshly. "Go ahead, Toad. We'll be ok here,"
Toad looked at Scott.
"Fine, go on," he finally said.
"Thanks," said Toad. "I owe ya,"
X
Toad made his way up to the roof. He found Storm waiting for him.
"Get in," she said. "I've already contacted the hospital. We can be there in less than 10 minutes,"
Toad carefully set Wanda down on the bed in the back of the jet, and they took off for the hospital.
X
A while later, Wanda slowly blinked her eyes. She felt very groggy as she sat up. Toad was sitting beside her bed.
"What happened?" she asked.
"Wanda! You're awake!" Toad beamed and wrapped his arms around her tightly.
"Aack! Toad! You're choking me!" Wanda protested.
"Oops, sorry cuddlebumps," said Toad, easing his grip. "I was just so worried about you! For a while the docs didn't know if you were gonna make it!"
"Toad, what happened? Where's Magneto?" she asked.
"You saved my life, that's what happened. Don't you remember?"
"All I remember is seeing Gambit light up his cards,"
"Yeah, and you pushed me out of the way just in time. You really do care about me!"
Wanda grimaced as she felt the pain in her chest. "Ow! I didn't realize being a hero would hurt so much. Next time I think I'll just let you get blown up instead,"
"Yeah, but if you did that how would I take you out on our date?" Toad asked sweetly.
"Right," Wanda said and lay back down. "We may just have to settle for hospital food for a while. Have you heard anything from the X-Men?"
"No," said Toad. "Storm left right after she dropped us off. I haven't seen her or the rest of them since,"
Wanda glowered. The last thing she wanted was to be lying in a hospital bed while Magneto was still on the loose. But right now she had little choice, and resolved herself to waiting for news of what happened.
X
Back at the museum, Jean faced Scott. "Scott, if you have a problem with what I just did, you're going to have to get over it for now,"
"Jean, you may have just compromised the mission," said Scott.
"Scott, some times there are things more important than the mission," Jean retorted. "Now come on, we should probably head downstairs and try to find the others,"
With that, she turned and headed for the stairs. Scott and Rogue quickly followed after her.
X
On the first floor of the museum, Mesmero had been busy staying out of sight. He had spent several minutes doubling back to avoid Logan and the others, and he had finally managed to shake them. He watched as they walked into a stairwell, convinced that he had gone back upstairs, then made his way over to the elevator and pressed the button.
The door opened and he stepped inside. He hit the button for the basement and waited for the elevator to move.
X
On the top floor, Mindbender called out to Magneto. "Magneto, Mesmero is nearby. He has just entered that elevator,"
"Good," replied Magneto, and stretched out his hand. There was a loud hum from the direction of the elevator shaft as the cables slowed and then reversed themselves.
X
Inside the elevator, Mesmero was jarred as the elevator shook and then started to move again. However, it was not moving down but rather up. He pressed the button for the basement again, but the elevator ignored him and continued to rise. It reached the top and the doors snapped open, revealing a furious Magneto.
"Magneto!" Mesmero gasped, and tried to use his powers. He found that something was blocking him, and then saw Mindbender step out from behind the red-caped figure. A look of fear spread across Mesmero's face as he realized that he was powerless.
"Your powers are useless, and so are you," said Magneto. "I see you're eager to see your master. Go and join him in oblivion!"
There was another hum, and the elevator doors shut. Magneto released his hold on it and the elevator dropped like a rock. The elevator slammed against the sides of the shaft, sending sparks flying, and hit the bottom of the shaft with a loud crash. The force of the impact caused the elevator to collapse like a crushed soda can.
Down in the basement, everybody that was with Logan jumped as they heard the crash and saw the elevator doors pop outwards from the force of the collision. They ran over to the shaft to inspect the ruined elevator.
"Do you think anybody was in there?" asked Kurt.
"If they were, there won't be much left of them," said Logan. He picked up one of the doors and hurled it aside. They saw the crushed car inside the shaft. As they looked closer, they saw that it was totally empty. There was no sign that Mesmero or anybody else had been inside of it.
"Something's up," said Logan. "I don't like this. Everybody head to the vault, now!" he ordered.
Back upstairs, Magneto glanced down the shaft. "And now to collect our prize," he said, and began to float down the shaft.
X