Chapter 6: Sacrifice
After much tampering with the generator, they finally got it running, it wasn't powerful enough to supply the more important areas with power, but at least there was some light. With a tiny bit of rewiring, the managed to direct some of the power to the War Room.
Evan watched as Scott was trying to repair one of the main computers, "I don't understand why we need to wire up a computer to use our comms – don't they just run on batteries?" He asked.
"Yes, those are powered with batteries, but not much happens when the network is down…" Scott explained, "think of it like a computer hooked up to the internet – it can send signals to other computers – or other phones or beepers or communicators, but if the computer is down, then nothing happens…"
Jean kept clicking her communicator, "I'm still getting static, Scott…"
"I don't know WHY they can't just be normal and carry cellular phones," Kitty remarked, placing one hand on her hip.
"When you're on the blackbird, cellular phones cause interference with a lot of the controls – you know that loud annoying noise you get if you put a cellular phone near a computer when its receiving a signal?"
"Ew, yeah, that noise," Kitty nodded.
"Think of that one hundred times louder…" Scott stated, "not to mention it messes with any other signals on the jet."
Kitty sighed, "how much longer until the network is up…"
"Not too much longer…" Scott replied.
Jean pressed the button of her communicator again, this time it was clear, no static, "Its working!" she screamed. "Professor Xavier," she spoke loudly into the communicator.
The four X-men waited for a response eagerly, silence seemed to last forever, and then suddenly…
"Receiving you, Jean," Professor Xavier's voice came through on the communicator.
"Professor, we need you back here – urgently…" Jean stated.
"We're on our way back…" Logan's voice came through, "Funniest thing – we headed off to trace a mutant – and ended up on a wild goose chase…the mutant signatures were picked up in Boston – and then jumped to Mexico, then to California – before we could even get NEAR any locations it vanished…"
Scott pressed his communicator button and spoke clearly, "We've had intruders, Gambit, and a Miss Marvel – they've trashed the war room and our main electricity supply…Rogue – and one of the intruders – are unconscious."
Professor Xavier responded, "We'll be there as soon as Possible."
It had not taken Long for Professor Xavier, Logan and Hank to arrive back at the Mansion, but the remaining five teenagers had been sent away from the hospital area, to let the adults deal with the situation of the two unconscious young women.
Morning came to the Mansion, and they all sat in the Recreation room, waiting anxiously. The sun had risen, and they all remained silent, pretending to distract themselves with a News Programme – when really, their only concern was about Rogue.
Kurt sat, on the floor, hugging his knees, "I failed Rogue," he said after a time.
Jean turned the volume down on the television, "Kurt, you can't torture yourself thinking that it's your fault…"
Kurt ran his hand through his hair, frustrated, he looked away, "No…it is my fault…I should have been more alert, if I had been – I would have been ready to duck out of the way instead of being hit in the head – it clouded my judgement…" he looked for excuses, "No…it did not, I made a bad choice, I looked for the easy way to deal with something…I was wrong. I should have looked for another option before I asked her to—"
"Kurt!" Evan cried out, "stop blaming yourself. You didn't know this would happen, you didn't know Gambit and Miss Marvel were going to break in, you had no way of knowing, you can't predict the future…even Professor Xavier can't – even Jean can't."
Kurt stood up, "I'm going down there to find out what is going on."
"The professor said not to…" Kitty reminded.
"I can't not know, I cannot sit here and NOT know," he stated, and with that, he teleported himself out of the room, and into the hallway outside of the hospital wing, he pushed the door open slowly, and looked in, "Professor?" he asked.
Logan and Hank were apparently elsewhere, Professor Xavier sat alone, looking at Rogue. "Come in, Kurt…" he replied.
"Is Rogue alright?" Kurt asked, he walked over slowly.
"Her condition is stabilising – but her thought patterns are so erratic, this worries me…" Professor Xavier looked at Kurt, "While Miss Marvel – she has no thought patterns at all…"
Kurt gaped, "is that possible?"
"In the past, when Rogue has absorbed from many other mutants, her powers somehow cling onto a tiny piece of the mind of those mutants. In the circumstances she can be almost more powerful using another Mutants powers than they are…and whether it is possible for her to have absorbed the whole mind of another mutant, I am unsure…we have never been aware of her limits – to test such limits could be dangerous, even fatal."
"Magneto is behind all of this," Kurt clenched his fists.
"My feelings are that we were set up to be away – the mutant signal we were trying to trace tonight was bouncing from different locations, and vanished…" Professor Xavier stated.
"So they could get rid of you guys so me and Rogue would be left alone…?" Kurt asked.
"It's impossible to say how they predicted that Rogue would be there, and that we would fall for the bait easily…" Professor Xavier sighed, "I feel a fool for having left you two alone without someone there…"
Kurt took a hold of Rogue's hand, cupped it between both of his gloved hands, "I was more foolish, I asked her to use her powers…and then couldn't help her when she asked for help…"
"Kurt, we both had no way of knowing this would happen…" Professor Xavier touched Kurt's arm tenderly, "But one thing you are forgetting is that you were still here…you didn't leave her alone…you remained behind when the others left, and if you had not been here…she may have been abducted, or hurt…or worse…"
Kurt shrugged, "I never looked at it that way," he said grimly.
"You sacrificed your own plans to be here tonight, be thankful that you were here to fight for her," Professor Xavier stated.
Kurt sighed, holding Rogue's hand, and looking down at her pale face, "I didn't sacrifice enough."
(end).
Authors Note: Okay, yes, I know it's a kind of cliffhanger ending but you usually get that in the series anyway. I'm planning another story that will be following on from this one, so watch out for that one J If ya liked it, review it, and thanks to those who already have, the story hasn't been up long, but I am really touched to see so much positive feedback so far J