Remy's forehead had been drenched with sweat. Hank looked over a monitor near Remy's bedside, concerned, "Elizabeth, hand me that syringe there." He instructed the purple haired mutant.
Elizabeth turned to the tray, and grabbed the unopened syringe. She handed it to Hank, "He'll be alright, won't he?" She asked, her voice shaking with fear.
Hank looked up at her, as he filled the syringe with a chemical, "This will help with the fever he's having. It'll also help his white blood cells with fighting the infection. However, I am going to need to draw blood from him, to take a better look at this." He told her, unable to answer her question directly.
Elizabeth frowned, as she saw Hank insert the syringe into the IV cord, leading into Remy's wrist. She lightly touched the gauze that covered up the newly stitched wound on the side of his neck. She lightly rubbed his forehead, and planted a gentle kiss to the drenched area. She turned, and grabbed the damp towel from the pan on the table at the bedside. She placed it to his forehead, wiping away the sweat that poured from the pours of his face. Rogue walked into the infirmary, "I kinda had a feelin' that's what it was." She lowly stated.
Elizabeth closed her eyes, and turned to look at her friend, "It's only an assumption, luv! We can't jump to conclusions like this!" She gasped.
Rogue placed her hand onto Elizabeth's arm gently, "Betts, I know that it's hard to accept the complete unnatural, but with mutants even existing, you have to be open minded when something like this comes up. We've run into some pretty crazy things during our times as X-Men." Rogue pointed out.
Elizabeth shook her head, "I can't believe that just yet." She turned her head, looking at her unconscious lover in the bed, "Right now, I'm thinking they're nothing but bloody punks looking for trouble!" She growled.
Hank looked up at Elizabeth, as he gauzed Remy's arm, from drawing blood. "Elizabeth, remember. Be prepared for the worst." He added.
Rogue wrapped her arms around her best friend, hugging her tightly, "He'll be fine, hun. Don't worry."
Elizabeth placed her hand over Rogue's arms, as Rogue hugged onto her from behind, "I hope so, luv."
They glared at the EKG monitor at Remy's bedside, as Hank left the room with the tube of blood, "I'll be back ladies." He told them.
*~*~*~*
Kitty's mouth dropped, as she stared at Cerebro's monitor; her, Charles, and Rahne stared at the clip from Rahne's memories, watching the man morphing into a beast. "A werewolf species." Charles gasped.
"They dinna hurt me though. He said he was there to help." Rahne spoke up.
"That is just plain freaky!" Kitty said.
"However, this beast doesn't resemble Rahne's morphed state completely." Charles told them.
"Yeah, he has a much longer snout, and his body is more of a hunched over body; as if he stopped right at turning towards a full blown wolf. He's not standing up straight." Kitty added.
Rahne shook her head, closing her eyes, "May I go now?" She asked hesitantly.
Charles glanced at her, "I'm so sorry, Rahne. Yes, dear, you may go now. Thank you. We'll get to the bottom of this." He told her.
"Thank you, Professor." She lightly smiled, as she left.
Kitty and Charles watched the young girl leave the room, and then turned to look at each other, "Professor, what do they want with her?" She asked.
Charles shrugged, "I don't know. But until we find out for sure, we must make sure we never let Rahne out of our sight."
*~*~*~*
Elizabeth sat in the chair at Remy's bedside, holding onto his hand, while staring up at him. Rogue sat onto the counter, dangling her legs over the side, while watching the EKG monitor beep rhythmically. They didn't bother looking up as the doors to the infirmary opened, as Rahne walked into the room. She hesitantly walked to stand behind Elizabeth, and wrapped her arms around her neck, hugging onto her. Elizabeth smiled, patting onto her arm, "Would you still like to go, luv?" Elizabeth asked.
"Only if you'd like to. If you'd rather stay here and see if Remy will be alright, I dinna mind that." Rahne lowly told her.
Rogue looked up at the young girl, and slightly smiled, "I think going out and getting outside will do us some good." She spoke up.
Elizabeth hesitantly nodded, "Yes. Remy will be alright." She sighed.
Rogue planted her feet to the ground, and Elizabeth glanced at Remy one last time, before turning away to follow Rahne and Rogue out of the room.
*~*~*~*
Hank placed the glass plate under his microscope, and took his black-rimmed glasses off of his face, and peered into the lens. Focusing, he grunted at what he was looking at. "Odd." He mumbled to himself.
He continued to stare into the scope, for a few moments, and finally sat back, sighing heavily. Charles entered the room, "How are the results?"
Hank turned, looking at him, "Apparently, the bite leaves a virus that attempts at eating away at the white blood cells. However, Remy's white blood cells are rejecting the virus completely, causing an all out attack on the viral infection. That's why his fever has gone so high. He's recovering." Hank told him.
Charles placed his chin onto his folded hands thoughtfully, "Do you think it has something to do with the X-Gene being present?"
Hank shrugged, "To even analyze that, I would need to take blood samples from that of homosapiens."
Charles nodded, "Well, at least Remy will recover nicely. However, we cannot take the risks of this happening to another of our own." He told Hank.
*~*~*~*
Rahne, Rogue, and Elizabeth sat on the subway train. It headed towards New York City, so they could fulfill the promise to Rahne, of taking her shopping on Fifth Avenue. Elizabeth's eyes moved around, watching everyone around them closely and suspiciously, under her sunglasses. Rogue and Rahne laughed cheerfully, as they played paper, rock, scissors, to kill the time.
Elizabeth's telepathy picked up on a mind reading; a watching mind reading. One that could have possibly considered stalking them. She looked towards the car doors, as they opened. She stared at the two largely built men that walked through. She immediately turned away, avoiding eye contact, but immediately linked her mind into one of their own. They were glaring at Rahne. Elizabeth looked up, noticing the train coming to a stop. "Come." She whispered.
"But, this isn't the stop." Rogue told her.
Those two men are watching her, Rogue, Elizabeth's voice peered into her dear friend's mind. Rogue immediately got the message, and grabbed onto Rahne's hand, leading her off of the train, followed by Elizabeth.
The two men watched the three girls leave, and immediately followed. Elizabeth rushed along with Rahne and Rogue, and turned her head, feeling as if they were being followed; and they were. "What is going on?" Rahne asked.
"Shh. Rahne, don't turn around." Elizabeth warned.
"Don't worry, Rahne, just keep your eyes forward, and don't make eye contact with anyone." Rogue added.
They nearly reached the stairway, but stopped, as four other men, clad in black trench coats, stalked down the steps towards them. Their eyes were plastered onto Rahne. Elizabeth grabbed onto Rogue and Rahne's arms, stopping them, and she pulled them back towards her. "How fast can you run?" Elizabeth asked.
"Why? What's going on?" Rahne asked, looking up at Elizabeth.
"Rogue, take her and hide her!" Elizabeth mumbled.
"Betts…"
"Now!" Elizabeth hissed.
The men in trench coats, dug into their coats, pulling out guns. Immediately, people screamed, ducking for cover. Elizabeth held out her hand, forming a shield around the three of them, as the guns began to fire. Rogue grabbed onto Rahne, as Elizabeth backed up, keeping the shield around them. Rahne screamed, holding her hands to her ears, as Rogue and Elizabeth ran down the stairway, with the four men following them, continuing to shoot. Rogue turned the corner, hanging onto Rahne, and ducked against the wall, shielding her arms over her.
Elizabeth growled, and threw her hand towards the four shooters, using her telekinesis to force them back. They flew out of the subway, up over the steps, and outside into the streets. She then turned, running down the stairs, and huddled next to Rahne and Rogue. They looked up, and saw the two men from the subway train, stride towards them. They knelt in front of them, and Elizabeth's fist ignited with her psionic blade. One of the men held up his hands, "Wait! We're here to help her," He pointed to Rahne.
"Who are you?" Rogue asked, grasping onto Rahne.
"One of her kind." He told them.
Suddenly, they gasped, as bullets bounced off of the tiled wall above them. Elizabeth held out her hand again, forming a shield around them all. "I can't hold it off for much longer!" Elizabeth grunted.
Growls could be heard from the two men, as they began to morph into the vicious werewolves, much to the girls' horror. The subways were already cleared of the frightened spectators, and the girls knew that soon, the police would be there. They backed away, watching the two beasts attack the four men, pouncing on them, tearing at their skin. Rogue immediately covered Rahne's eyes, shielding her from the horror that played in front of them.
The girls backed into something, and immediately turned, seeing a man with shoulder length light brown hair, and warm blue eyes, staring down at them. "Follow me. I'll take you to safety." He told them.
Rogue turned her head, glancing at the scene behind her, as the beasts began to feed off of the four victims. Elizabeth raised an eyebrow at the mysterious man, but her telepathy sensed the sincerity towards saving them. "Alright." She finally spoke up.
She turned, looking at Rogue, and grabbed onto Rahne. She could hear Rahne sobbing frantically, and held onto her, carrying her, as the three followed the man into the subway tunnels, towards the darkness of the undergrounds of New York City.