Chapter 6
Nightcrawler:
Cyclops, Wolverine and I were the first to reach the scene thanks to my teleportation ability. It had been hard to find what room Sharon was in, and when we finally zapped into the right room the scene wasn't pretty. Toad had a red and blue frog with his tongue, and I realized who that frog was.
"No, don't!" I shouted, but it was too late. His huge tongue slid back into his mouth with the red and blue frog. Right then I thought it was over for Sharon, but just as Toad put the frog in his mouth he spat it back out.
Gross! Sharon exclaimed. She was covered in slime but at least she was alive. Then Toad, still gagging, looked from me, to Cyclops, to Wolverine.
"What's the matter?" asked Wolverine with I smirk. "Frog got your tongue, bub?" Toad turned toward the window.
"Hold it right there!" said Cyclops. Toad ignored him and jumped out the open window.
"Should I go after him?" I asked Cyclops.
"No," he said, "he won't cause any more trouble here. We'll find him again. At least, we'd better." He looked at Sharon.
Meanwhile Sharon had changed completely back to human and gave an exasperated look that seemed to say, 'So it's my fault he got away.'
"Thanks for the backup," she said. I couldn't tell whether or not it was sarcastic. I guess Cyclops took it as sarcastic.
"We got here as soon as we could," he said, his anger growing. "Maybe if you stayed as lookout like I told you to and…"
"And let Frogboy run wild in the museum?" She said. "Uh uh, I don't think so."
"C'mon Cyc," said Wolverine, "lighten up."
"Listen," said Cyclops looking at Sharon, "this is a team and you have to listen to orders. You can't just do what you feel like, understand?" I could tell he said it for Wolverine, too.
"Yes, sir," she said. This time it was definitely sarcastic. Her eyes were cold as ice and her smile was a smirk.
"With the stunt you pulled you're lucky to be alive," he said coldly, refusing to let his anger get the better of him.
"I'm glad you're okay," I said to Sharon to try to break the tension. It didn't work.
"Yeah," said Wolverine, "glad you weren't an appetizer."
"Thanks," she said to Wolverine and me. "And he couldn't have swallowed me if he tried," she said more to Cyclops than to us. He shot her a 'yeah right' look. He didn't like her cocky attitude one bit.
"Poison dart frog," she explained. "It's skin secretes a poisonous layer that protects it from predators. Even Toads. He won't get that bad taste out of his mouth for a while." Sharon obviously had extensive knowledge of her morphs. I was impressed. Cyclops was not.
"You weren't sure it would work," he said scoldingly. "You could have been killed. Next time do as you're told."
"You're just mad 'cause I did it my way and it worked out," she said. "Or would you rather have had me stay on lookout and watch Toad get away with a few priceless artifacts?"
"It's a matter of teamwork and respect," he said.
"It's a matter of trust," she countered. He looked away, nothing to respond. Sharon looked up at the window and sighed.
"Look," she said finally, "I'm sorry if I didn't follow orders. I was only trying to help those people out. Now I'd love to sit here and argue all day, but I think I'm gonna' go see if I can find where Froggy ran off to, if that's okay with you, 'el cap-i-tan'." Wolverine hid a laugh at her sheer sarcasm. I also found it humorous, but decided against laughing when I saw the look on Cyclops's face.
"Fine, but just find where he is. Don't do anything else," said Cyclops with his patience gone.
"Got it," said Sharon. She smiled at me and morphed barn owl. It was amazing to watch the feathers sprout from her arms, her silver eyes turn amber, and talons grow where feet were. Then she flapped out of the window as Rogue, Storm, and Jean came in.
"Where's Toad?" asked Rogue.
"He's gone," I said.
"Where's Phorm going?" asked Storm.
"To look for Toad," answered Wolverine, still smiling from the minor mutiny. Already I could tell he wasn't to crazy about Cyclops, and the exchange of words between Sharon and Cyclops was no doubt fun for him to watch. Cyclops was checking for stolen artifacts, still fuming at Sharon's disrespect.
"Was anything stolen?" Jean asked Cyclops, her concern evident. Cyclops looked back at her hard, even for his normal one-eyed stare. He seemed to resent his answer.
"No."
"All right," said Rogue, "mission accomplished." Cyclops sent her a look even harder than the last.
Then Jean asked, "Did we miss something?"
Phorm:
I was feeling pretty peeved at Cyclops as I flew silently above the city buildings. Why did he seem to have it in for me all the time? I mean, sure, I was kind of irritating and I hardly ever paid him respect and…ok, maybe it was partially my fault. I made a mental note to try and cut down on the mouthing off and strained my sharp owl eyes for signs of Toad in the deepening twilight.
Then I spotted him up ahead to my left, hopping from rooftop to rooftop. I swerved a little and flapped after him. Suddenly he stopped and I was afraid he'd somehow noticed me overhead, but instead he spat for a moment and muttered curses about a nasty little something-or-other, and then continued on.
Finally he jumped down and walked over to an entryway that struck me as familiar. I recognized it as the old subway entrance where I'd seen Sabertooth's tracks lead earlier that day. Toad glanced at the "CONDEMNED" sign posted next to it, then walked down the dark stairway and disappeared.
Looks like our boys found a new hideout, I thought to myself. I noted the location of the entrance, turned toward the mansion, and flapped off. I'll be back.
By the time I arrived back at the mansion the moon high and most of the students were in bed. I swooped into my room (I always left the window open) and demorphed. The lights were already off and the idea of just collapsing on the big, soft bed was very appealing, but I figured I should tell someone about what I found.
I stepped out of my room and walked down the dimly lit hallway as quietly as I could so as not to wake anyone. Near the end of the hallway I saw light shining around the edges of the door to Cyclops and Jean Gray's room. Good, at least someone was up to hear the news. I was approaching the door to knock when I heard voices from inside and wondered if I should just save it for tomorrow. Then I thought I heard my name and stepped a bit closer to make out what the muffled voices were saying.
"Professor Xavier trusts her," Jean Gray was saying.
"Honestly, sometimes I think the professor is too trusting," answered Cyclops with a sigh, "especially of those who seem to have good intentions."
"Perhaps he knows more about those good intentions than you give him credit for."
"Maybe, but then again, Phorm's told us so little about her past." I had assumed he and Jean Gray were talking about me - hearing my name drove it home. I checked my breathing as Cyclops continued.
"She just seems a bit…unstable. Too reckless and disrespectful."
"I imagine behaving normally would be difficult so soon after losing her parents, Scott. You of all people can understand that. Couldn't you try to…"
She stopped mid-sentence, and I tensed at the sudden silence. I heard footsteps and took a step back from the door as Jean Gray opened it. She and Cyclops looked at me with concern, but I looked away downward as if the rug was suddenly fascinating. I couldn't bring myself to meet their eyes.
"Toad went down the abandoned subway off of Fifth Street," I said quietly. "Thought you might wanna know." I turned and walked quickly down the hall toward my room.
"Sharon wait," said Cyclops, passing Jean Gray and sprinting after me. I stopped, feeling hurt, angry, humiliated, and alone, bitter tears starting to force their way into my eyes.
"What?" I said indignantly, turning to face him. "So you can lecture me on staying up late? Cutting class? Not following orders? You disapprove. I get it, already."
"Then why don't you do something about it?" He asked, equally frustrated.
"Because I don't need you telling me what to do."
"Right, because you know everything and I have no idea what you're going through," he said. Exasperated, I turned to head back to my room. "You know, there's no way to escape the past. Someday you have to face the pain instead of running away from it."
I stopped dead in my tracks. At his words, my mind was flooded with the thoughts and images I'd tried to suppress with all my strength for so long. I wanted so desperately to run from that spot, morph owl and fly from everything. If I could only fly away to where no one could reach me, then I could forget and be free…but, no, that wasn't the answer. I'd tried that once already - flown nearly 2000 miles to get away from the truth and find a new beginning - but you can't fly away from yourself. Instead I stood there, eyes shut as I struggled in an icy sea of memories. I shivered as each wave stole my breath away and sent new pain into forgotten wounds.
"How long has it been?" Jean Gray urged gently, calling me back to the present. I opened my eyes, but still I was looking someplace far away and what seemed like ages ago.
"Two months and twelve days," I said distractedly. I felt as if I was listening to myself speak. "It was a Friday night. They'd gone to visit some friends up in the mountains. Said they'd be back before midnight, so I waited up. I must've fallen asleep around four in the morning, wondering what was taking them so long. The police officer arrived around eight, said they were…" I paused involuntarily, reliving the disbelief and sudden emptiness like it was the first time. I felt a hand on my shoulder, giving me the strength to continue.
"I didn't believe him so I flew out there myself. The officers there said part of a truck must have come loose and the road had been icy. The police hadn't finished cleaning up the wreckage, and I saw my parents' car. It…it was all twisted metal and broken glass. I watched the paramedics zip them in those black bags…"
I couldn't hold back the tears anymore. I turned and let loving arms grasp me in a warm embrace. For a moment I imagined these were my parents' arms, and when I opened my eyes again it would be my mother and father holding me close. No, I had to stop pretending.
They're gone.
Nightcrawler:
Cyclops, Wolverine and I were the first to reach the scene thanks to my teleportation ability. It had been hard to find what room Sharon was in, and when we finally zapped into the right room the scene wasn't pretty. Toad had a red and blue frog with his tongue, and I realized who that frog was.
"No, don't!" I shouted, but it was too late. His huge tongue slid back into his mouth with the red and blue frog. Right then I thought it was over for Sharon, but just as Toad put the frog in his mouth he spat it back out.
Gross! Sharon exclaimed. She was covered in slime but at least she was alive. Then Toad, still gagging, looked from me, to Cyclops, to Wolverine.
"What's the matter?" asked Wolverine with I smirk. "Frog got your tongue, bub?" Toad turned toward the window.
"Hold it right there!" said Cyclops. Toad ignored him and jumped out the open window.
"Should I go after him?" I asked Cyclops.
"No," he said, "he won't cause any more trouble here. We'll find him again. At least, we'd better." He looked at Sharon.
Meanwhile Sharon had changed completely back to human and gave an exasperated look that seemed to say, 'So it's my fault he got away.'
"Thanks for the backup," she said. I couldn't tell whether or not it was sarcastic. I guess Cyclops took it as sarcastic.
"We got here as soon as we could," he said, his anger growing. "Maybe if you stayed as lookout like I told you to and…"
"And let Frogboy run wild in the museum?" She said. "Uh uh, I don't think so."
"C'mon Cyc," said Wolverine, "lighten up."
"Listen," said Cyclops looking at Sharon, "this is a team and you have to listen to orders. You can't just do what you feel like, understand?" I could tell he said it for Wolverine, too.
"Yes, sir," she said. This time it was definitely sarcastic. Her eyes were cold as ice and her smile was a smirk.
"With the stunt you pulled you're lucky to be alive," he said coldly, refusing to let his anger get the better of him.
"I'm glad you're okay," I said to Sharon to try to break the tension. It didn't work.
"Yeah," said Wolverine, "glad you weren't an appetizer."
"Thanks," she said to Wolverine and me. "And he couldn't have swallowed me if he tried," she said more to Cyclops than to us. He shot her a 'yeah right' look. He didn't like her cocky attitude one bit.
"Poison dart frog," she explained. "It's skin secretes a poisonous layer that protects it from predators. Even Toads. He won't get that bad taste out of his mouth for a while." Sharon obviously had extensive knowledge of her morphs. I was impressed. Cyclops was not.
"You weren't sure it would work," he said scoldingly. "You could have been killed. Next time do as you're told."
"You're just mad 'cause I did it my way and it worked out," she said. "Or would you rather have had me stay on lookout and watch Toad get away with a few priceless artifacts?"
"It's a matter of teamwork and respect," he said.
"It's a matter of trust," she countered. He looked away, nothing to respond. Sharon looked up at the window and sighed.
"Look," she said finally, "I'm sorry if I didn't follow orders. I was only trying to help those people out. Now I'd love to sit here and argue all day, but I think I'm gonna' go see if I can find where Froggy ran off to, if that's okay with you, 'el cap-i-tan'." Wolverine hid a laugh at her sheer sarcasm. I also found it humorous, but decided against laughing when I saw the look on Cyclops's face.
"Fine, but just find where he is. Don't do anything else," said Cyclops with his patience gone.
"Got it," said Sharon. She smiled at me and morphed barn owl. It was amazing to watch the feathers sprout from her arms, her silver eyes turn amber, and talons grow where feet were. Then she flapped out of the window as Rogue, Storm, and Jean came in.
"Where's Toad?" asked Rogue.
"He's gone," I said.
"Where's Phorm going?" asked Storm.
"To look for Toad," answered Wolverine, still smiling from the minor mutiny. Already I could tell he wasn't to crazy about Cyclops, and the exchange of words between Sharon and Cyclops was no doubt fun for him to watch. Cyclops was checking for stolen artifacts, still fuming at Sharon's disrespect.
"Was anything stolen?" Jean asked Cyclops, her concern evident. Cyclops looked back at her hard, even for his normal one-eyed stare. He seemed to resent his answer.
"No."
"All right," said Rogue, "mission accomplished." Cyclops sent her a look even harder than the last.
Then Jean asked, "Did we miss something?"
Phorm:
I was feeling pretty peeved at Cyclops as I flew silently above the city buildings. Why did he seem to have it in for me all the time? I mean, sure, I was kind of irritating and I hardly ever paid him respect and…ok, maybe it was partially my fault. I made a mental note to try and cut down on the mouthing off and strained my sharp owl eyes for signs of Toad in the deepening twilight.
Then I spotted him up ahead to my left, hopping from rooftop to rooftop. I swerved a little and flapped after him. Suddenly he stopped and I was afraid he'd somehow noticed me overhead, but instead he spat for a moment and muttered curses about a nasty little something-or-other, and then continued on.
Finally he jumped down and walked over to an entryway that struck me as familiar. I recognized it as the old subway entrance where I'd seen Sabertooth's tracks lead earlier that day. Toad glanced at the "CONDEMNED" sign posted next to it, then walked down the dark stairway and disappeared.
Looks like our boys found a new hideout, I thought to myself. I noted the location of the entrance, turned toward the mansion, and flapped off. I'll be back.
By the time I arrived back at the mansion the moon high and most of the students were in bed. I swooped into my room (I always left the window open) and demorphed. The lights were already off and the idea of just collapsing on the big, soft bed was very appealing, but I figured I should tell someone about what I found.
I stepped out of my room and walked down the dimly lit hallway as quietly as I could so as not to wake anyone. Near the end of the hallway I saw light shining around the edges of the door to Cyclops and Jean Gray's room. Good, at least someone was up to hear the news. I was approaching the door to knock when I heard voices from inside and wondered if I should just save it for tomorrow. Then I thought I heard my name and stepped a bit closer to make out what the muffled voices were saying.
"Professor Xavier trusts her," Jean Gray was saying.
"Honestly, sometimes I think the professor is too trusting," answered Cyclops with a sigh, "especially of those who seem to have good intentions."
"Perhaps he knows more about those good intentions than you give him credit for."
"Maybe, but then again, Phorm's told us so little about her past." I had assumed he and Jean Gray were talking about me - hearing my name drove it home. I checked my breathing as Cyclops continued.
"She just seems a bit…unstable. Too reckless and disrespectful."
"I imagine behaving normally would be difficult so soon after losing her parents, Scott. You of all people can understand that. Couldn't you try to…"
She stopped mid-sentence, and I tensed at the sudden silence. I heard footsteps and took a step back from the door as Jean Gray opened it. She and Cyclops looked at me with concern, but I looked away downward as if the rug was suddenly fascinating. I couldn't bring myself to meet their eyes.
"Toad went down the abandoned subway off of Fifth Street," I said quietly. "Thought you might wanna know." I turned and walked quickly down the hall toward my room.
"Sharon wait," said Cyclops, passing Jean Gray and sprinting after me. I stopped, feeling hurt, angry, humiliated, and alone, bitter tears starting to force their way into my eyes.
"What?" I said indignantly, turning to face him. "So you can lecture me on staying up late? Cutting class? Not following orders? You disapprove. I get it, already."
"Then why don't you do something about it?" He asked, equally frustrated.
"Because I don't need you telling me what to do."
"Right, because you know everything and I have no idea what you're going through," he said. Exasperated, I turned to head back to my room. "You know, there's no way to escape the past. Someday you have to face the pain instead of running away from it."
I stopped dead in my tracks. At his words, my mind was flooded with the thoughts and images I'd tried to suppress with all my strength for so long. I wanted so desperately to run from that spot, morph owl and fly from everything. If I could only fly away to where no one could reach me, then I could forget and be free…but, no, that wasn't the answer. I'd tried that once already - flown nearly 2000 miles to get away from the truth and find a new beginning - but you can't fly away from yourself. Instead I stood there, eyes shut as I struggled in an icy sea of memories. I shivered as each wave stole my breath away and sent new pain into forgotten wounds.
"How long has it been?" Jean Gray urged gently, calling me back to the present. I opened my eyes, but still I was looking someplace far away and what seemed like ages ago.
"Two months and twelve days," I said distractedly. I felt as if I was listening to myself speak. "It was a Friday night. They'd gone to visit some friends up in the mountains. Said they'd be back before midnight, so I waited up. I must've fallen asleep around four in the morning, wondering what was taking them so long. The police officer arrived around eight, said they were…" I paused involuntarily, reliving the disbelief and sudden emptiness like it was the first time. I felt a hand on my shoulder, giving me the strength to continue.
"I didn't believe him so I flew out there myself. The officers there said part of a truck must have come loose and the road had been icy. The police hadn't finished cleaning up the wreckage, and I saw my parents' car. It…it was all twisted metal and broken glass. I watched the paramedics zip them in those black bags…"
I couldn't hold back the tears anymore. I turned and let loving arms grasp me in a warm embrace. For a moment I imagined these were my parents' arms, and when I opened my eyes again it would be my mother and father holding me close. No, I had to stop pretending.
They're gone.