The x-men belong to Marvel, no really, for the last time they do!
Hello, I'm still alive. Well I got a review so I decided to get back on this. Well in the last chapter I spoke to soon that comp died again so I finally quit trying to fix that old one and got a new comp which works great. So I'm back with another chapter I hope you enjoy it. I hope to get future chapters out faster if I get reviews so I know people are still interested. Thanks for the reviews and now on to the next chapter.
Remy squinted in the darkness trying to see as far ahead as he could. It didn't help much because the hall his team was in was unending it seemed. Candra had taken candlelight lighting too far. She had probably done it for those very reason's to slow people down. Remy idly wondered if Storm and her team was doing any better in this darkness going the other direction.
"Something doesn't sound right." Wolverine said.
"Well if this lighting is any indication she probably still has mono sound instead of stereo." Remy quipped.
"How does it sound different?" Cyclops asked ignoring Gambit's comment.
"Its hard to describe its almost like---" Wolverine started and then Gambit yelled.
"Stop walking!" Remy shouted and the other x-men instantly complied. Remy had been walking and stepped forward again and there was no ground to step on. He fell but twisted like a cat fast enough so that he could catch the floor he had fallen from. But he knew his agility had saved him the others didn't have that advantage.
"Why have we stopped?" Jean questioned unsure if this was a joke or not.
"Because I'm hanging off the floor." Remy said from the floor as he crawled up.
"That's why the room sounded different to you Wolverine the acoustics of the room changed." Cyclops said thoughtfully.
"Big duh on that one Cyclops." Wolverine said sarcastically.
"Are you ok Remy?" Jean asked annoyed at the present bickering.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for asking though." Remy said standing up after climbing onto land again. Jean smiled she could feel Remy grinning at her from ear to ear even in the darkness.
"How much of a drop did it feel like?" Cyclops asked.
"Well I'm 6'3 and my feet were nowhere near the bottom. Maybe I could shine some light on it?" Gambit asked meaning charging a card and using it like a lantern. They had decided earlier not to do this because they figured that would give away there position and it was a hallway that didn't seem too dangerous. But now they knew apparently it was.
"Alright I don't see any other choice now." Cyclops stated. Remy charged up a card not enough to explode but enough to illuminate the drop in front of them.
"That is quite the drop off." Jean said peering over the edge, it seemed bottomless.
"Jean could you use her telekinesis on us to get us to the other side." Cyclops said thoughtfully.
Jean nodded and surrounded her and her teammates with telekinesis bubbles and started moving them across the void. Remy peered down at his feet it was kinda creepy to see your feet not on solid ground yet gravity wasn't taking you downward. It was like that when him and Rogue would go flying she would fly him around the estate but he never did get used to it. He wondered if it felt normal to Jean and Rogue to fly, kinda like blowing things up felt normal to him when he blew up a card it felt like he was just breathing or something. Jean set them down carefully on the other side and they went on their way.
Storm strained her eyes trying to see ahead of her. It wasn't easy because the lighting was so bright that she was becoming snow blind as she was sure Psylocke and Iceman were but still they struggled forward. They had gone in complete darkness down the hall when they had first split up from the other team but then they were surrounded by what felt like the sun. This was no doubt one of Candra's games.
"How are you two doing?" Storm questioned she needed to know what shape they were in to have an idea of what they were capable of.
"Fine considering." Psylocke said.
"Good. I bet Candra has one hell of a light bill." Iceman joked.
"Yes, very profound as usual Bobby." Psylocke stated flatly.
"Thats why we need to find Rogue, 'she' would have laughed." Bobby said matter-of-factly while trying to imply that Psylocke didn't have a sense of humor.
Storm listened to the banter of her teamates while still listening for anything suspicious. As leader she took that responsibilty very seriously. As they walked Storm felt the ground change as if they were in another area. Storm stepped again puzzled by the sudden change in flooring. Only after the next step she was unable to pick her foot back up. She pulled again and still couldn't pick her foot up it was as if she was stuck to the ground. Right then she heard Bobby exclaim, "Hey, I'm stuck."
"I'm afraid I'm stuck to." Psylocke said sounding a little embarrassed.
"I am in the same predicament my friends." Storm said. With the blinding light still all around them you really couldn't see what was surrounding them. Coupled with now being stuck to the floor this was a situation that needed to be dealt with quickly before they were discovered and their element of surprize blown.
"I don't know about you two but I feel like where in gum and we are the hair. Too bad we don't have any peanut butter. Thats what my Mom used to use when I'd fall asleep with gum in my mouth and then it would fall into my hair." Bobby joked.
"What now?" Psylocke said with the tone of her voice revealing she was obviously struggling to get free.
"... That or ice." Bobby continued with his story as if Psylocke hadn't interrupted him. That gave Storm an idea.
"Bobby, could you freeze the substance?" Storm asked.
"I could try. I wish I could see what I was doing." Bobby said. He bent down and shot his ice power into the substance surrounding them and really dropped the temperature. He did this while still pulling with his feet and then victory he broke his foot through. He stepped back with one of his feet and then freed the other one and stepped back completly onto the unsticky portion of the hallway. "I did it. Whose next? Although its gonna be hard to do you two without seeing you. I don't want to freeze an arm off or something."
"I'll guide you to me and Storm psychically so you won't get stuck again." Psylocke said. Bobby felt her enter his mind and he began freezing the substance all around her and then Storm. After all three had been freed and stood back on the unsticky ground they were regrouping on what to do.
"I could make an ice bridge." Bobby said.
"But that will leave evidence if anyone comes up behind us. Besides you may be able to walk easily on ice but personally I don't want to slip and slide all the way to whereever were going." Psylocke said crossing her arms.
"You just don't want to mess up your hair for Warren." Bobby said in a sing song teasing tone.
"My hair doesn't get messed up." Psylocke said so confidently that it was unclear if she was kidding or not.
"Well I can use the wind to keep us floating above the ground so that the sticky floor will not hinder us anymore." Storm said.
"Sounds good I don't like being on flypaper." Bobby joked.
"Everyone group together." Storm said gently. Storm reached out with the wind and gently lifted the three of them above the ground by about 2 inches and the group began floating back in the direction they were supposed to be going.
"We sure have been walking awhile." Jean said conversationally.
"Yes, I wonder how far we have gone?" Cyclops wondered aloud.
"There's no telling." Wolverine muttered at the pointless chit-chat.
"Don't look at it 'as walking in complete darkness with no idea where we are going', look at it as a new training scenario and a way to work those hard to reach muscles in your everyday workout." Gambit said in his mocking leader voice joining in the conversation. Gambit grinned as he heard Logan chuckle and Jean giggle at his comment knowing what he was referencing. In the heat of battle once Cyclops had made a comment like that. Not as exaggerated as Gambit's mocking comment but close. Sometimes it felt like to Gambit that Cyclops thought he was leading summer camp, not that Gambit had ever been to summer camp but what he pictured summer camp being like. Now that he thought about it he had done that whole trust exercise thing. But he had incited everyone in the group to refuse to participate on the basis that, no one wanted to do it. That and he didn't want to get dropped on the floor by the hate trio and look up at their smug faces. That and well obviously he had trust issues.
"Yeah, you have a good point I should mention that at our next looong meeting." Cyclops said stressing the long part. He knew when he was being mocked. You make one the glass is half full comment in the middle of battle and this is the reaction you get. Not to mention you hear about it for now on.
"Oh Cyke, your threatening comment has no affect because there all looong meetings." Gambit said stressing the word long too.
"You got that right." Wolverine said enjoying hearing Cyclops squirm. Jean couldn't help herself she was now laughing to.
"You to Jean?" Cyclops asked half kidding.
"Well sometimes there does seem to be a lot of repetition." Jean replied seriously. Now it was Gambit's turn to join in laughing.
"Well how about we change the subject. Does it always have to be about mocking me?" Cyclops asked.
"Well its just so easy." Gambit answered.
"I wasn't asking you." Cyclops said.
"Well actually you did. When you said, "Does it always have to be about mocking me?" Gambit added.
"Alright I have my answer now, new subject." Cyclops said starting to get annoyed.
"Okay, then lets play a game. I spy with my little eye something black. What is it?" Gambit asked teasingly.
"Is it the darkness all around us?" Jean asked playing along.
"Bingo. You must have played I spy before." Gambit said jokingly.
"New one, I spy a door." Gambit said seriously. Sure enough they had walked up to a giant door.
Wolverine put his ear up against the door but didn't hear anything. "I don't hear any voices."
"I guess that lithium big gulp really helped you then." Gambit whispered.
"Shutup Gumbo." Wolverine said grumpily.
"Since we don't know what's on the other side we need to be prepared. Lets just go in ready to fight." Cyclops said authoritatively. Wolverine's trademark unsheathing of his claws was heard echoing down the long hall. Gambit pulled the door open and they stepped inside to the unknown.
Storm could feel beads of sweat form on her forehead as she continued to fly holding up herself, Iceman and Psylocke. They had decided to just fly as long as they could rather than risk wasting anymore time getting stuck again.
"How are you holding up?" Betsy questioned Ororo.
"I am fine. I will be better once we are there." Storm answered truthfully.
"I hope its not much farther. It's pretty boring up here. We should sing a song to pass the time. I know... Ninety-nine bottles of..." Bobby began to sing.
"Don't finish that line." Psylocke stated.
"Someone didn't take family vacations in the car. When you have been stuck in the car for hours that's what you sing." Bobby said.
"Really." Betsy said flatly.
"So what did you do then Miss Thoroughbred?" Bobby asked in a mocking tone.
"Ms. Thoroughbred you mean." Betsy answered with a devilish smile.
"Ms. Thoroughbred, whatever. You still haven't answered my question." Bobby stated.
"We flew by private jet actually." Psylocke answered matter-of-factly.
"Oh, so thats why you don't know the song." Iceman muttered.
"We have come to a door I believe." Storm ran her hands across the solid surface. She then spoke again, "Yes, it is definitely a door." Storm said.
"Wow, so we finally came to the end of this giant hall. About time thats all I can say." Iceman said.
"Oh it was far further for me and Storm I assure you." Psylocke said with a smile.
"Ha ha. So what now?" Iceman responded.
"We go in. Is everyone ready?" Storm questioned.
Affirmatives came from Psylocke and Iceman so Storm pulled the giant door open. But what she wondered was on the other side.
Thank you those who have reviewed you have encouraged me to begin writing on this again. You guys are great! Just to reiterate from earlier please let me know if people are still interested in this. (which I only know if people review cough cough) Also if you want to be notified when Conflicting Interest is updated just let me know by posting in your review or by sending me an e-mail requesting it. My e-mail again (so you don't have to scroll to the top of the page…gasp or if you fight being sucked into my world and skipped the author's notes g) is