CHAPTER 4: THE RETURN
Authors note: Due to a few requests, I've fixed this chapter to make it more descriptive and longer. I just hope it doesn't sound like I'm dragging things on, but I thought I'd give it a try. It's still a bit short, so I'll try to make chapter 5 longer (it'll be posted asap) If you already read this chapter, you might want to re-read it, since it's kinda different now. Danka!
Logan was straining to control a raging Scott, by pinning his arms to his back from behind. The tables around him had been burned to cinders, and the students stood in a horrified huddle at the far end of the dining hall. Scott writhed to get out of Logan's grasp with a terrifying scream of hatred, causing the students to cower even further. These weren't normal kids, though. Some of them probably had the power to destroy a building, but none of them would make a move to help Logan. They couldn't attack Scott, he was their teacher, their mentor. Bobby was trying desperately to get a clear shot at Scott to slow him down, but the out-of control man was flailing around too much. Bobby didn't want to hit Logan with a stream of ice. At that moment Rogue ran into the room, followed closely by the Professor.
"Bobby, leave this to me. Go wait out front for Storm, she'll need your help. It appears Kurt is suffering from the same affliction as Scott Everyone else, go to your rooms now." he ordered calmly. The students didn't hesitate to obey; they all ran for the door in owe-struck silence. Professor wheeled in front of Scott, who continued to try and break free from Logan.
"Scott, try to regain control of yourself. We are your friends, not your enemies." the Professor reasoned calmly. But Cyclops didn't seem to listen, he just began to try and throw Logan from his back with even more savage fury.
"I don't know what the hell's the matter with him. One second he's sittin' at the table, the next he's zapping everything in sight. I think he's snapped Professor...omph!" Logan doubled over in pain as Scott elbowed him hard in the stomach. Scott immediatley spun around and locked his gaze on the wheelchair-bound man before hi,m. He raised his hand to his visor and was about to fire a beam when everything just stopped. Scott was frozen in place, a chair that had been falling remained poised in mid-air, even the dust particles had stopped swirling in the sunlight. Only Logan continued to move, as he coughed a few times and straightened up with a grimace. He glanced at the man next to him and growled.
"That's a pretty handy trick, Chuck. Damn. Look at his neck." Logan said, stepping closer to the still man. The Professor wheeled over behind Scott and examined his neck. The veins were practically popping out, and there was a large purple rash spreading from the nape of his neck all the way to his chin. Xavior nodded, deep in thought.
"Logan, I believe that these strange episodes that both Kurt and Scott are suffering from have something to do with the mind-control substance which Dr. Stryker used on them. Not onlt do they lose control of their powers, but their personalities and memories seem altered. "
"I think 'altered' is the understatement of the century, Professor." He circled his friend warily.
"It was like he had no clue who we were" he said absently, while trying to pry Scott's hand away from his visor.
"He may very well not have." The Professor replied. He wheeled in front of Scott again, considering. "I'm not sure what this strange side-affect is, or how long it will last. But until we can figure it out, we must prevent him from causing harm to us or himself." The Professor heaved a small sigh. "It won't be easy to discover the cause, not without any of the information we need. It was all distroyed when the dam flooded the base. Perhaps if I can get Ororo to attempt to hack into the computer's memory files..."
"Yeah yeah, we'll deal with that later. In the mean time, how're we gonna keep Deathray here from killing us all?" Logan interupted. Charles Xavior looked up at his frozen pupil in silence.
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Bobby reached the front driveway just as Ororo came speeding up the road and squealed to a stop. She jumped out and ran to the passenger door.
"Bobby, I need you to help me carry him in, he can't walk." she said urgently. Bobby paused in shock at seeing Kurt. He looked half-dead, and was soaked with prespiration. His breath was ragged and shallow, and his body shook violently. Bobby quickly snapped out of it and nodded, placing one of Kurt's arms around his shoulder as Storm did the same. Together, they half dragged the trembling mutant up the stairs and into the mansion. Ororo glanced quickly around in the empty foyer, before steering them in the direction of the infirmary. Their hurried footsteps echoed loudly in the empty hallways.
"What happened to him?" Bobby asked quickly.
"I'm not sure. He was fine one second, then the next he couldn't breathe...then he colasped, and when I tried to get him up, he freaked out and ran for it." She said breathlessly. The blue smoke around Kurt began to increase, and he began to look almost transparent. "Kurt....Kurt, if you can hear me, try not to teleport. Come on, concentrate. You've got to stay with us." He didn't reply, but the smoke seemed to evaporate slowly and he came back into full focus. Between gasps of breath Storm could hear him muttering incoherently.
"Und führe uns nicht in Versuchung, sondern erlöse uns von dem Bösen. ..."
Ororo's face became more distressed hearing this. She saw the same look reflected on Bobby's face.
"What's he saying?" Bobby questioned, more for the sake of talking than anything else. Storm shook her head saddly and adjusted his arm over her shoulders.
"I think he's praying..." she said. For some reason her voice cracked. "What happened to Scott?" she changed the subject suddenly as they turned down another hallway.
"We'd just come down to breakfast, and he was sitting at a table eating some cereal. He looked totally fine, and then all of a sudden he just started shaking and sweating, and then he jumped up and started shooting at the kids!" Ororo couldn't hold back a gasp of utter shock. No, it couldn't be. This was Scott they were talking about, he'd never try to hurt the students! She glanced down at Nightcrawler, and took a sharp intake of breath. His eyes...they were almost totally red, with just a few flecks of his normal gold.
"Bobby, I think we need to hurry..." Right as the words came out of her mouth, Kurt suddenly snapped his head up, as if he'd been in a daze. In one motion he kicked Bobby aside and threw Ororo into a wall with amazing strength. He bared his fangs and snarled visciously, like an animal cornered in a cage, before turning around to face her. She hit the wall with a sickening 'thud' and slid to the floor, dazed. With an evil grin he stepped up to her crumpled form and raised his clawed hand to strike. She tried to focus her eyes and call a bolt of lightening, but all she could see was his face. His face, so demon-like with eyes aflame and a sneer of murderous hatred. Just as he was about to strike her a wave of frost crawled up his arm, freezing him in ice. Bobby cautiously walked up behind him, palm rasied. Kurt shuddered, his eyes rolling back up itno his head before he crumpled to the floor. After being sure that he wasn't moving, Bobby rushed over to Storm's side.
"Ororo...are you alright?" he questioned. He helped her to her feet as she shook her head.
"Yes...I'm fine. Just a bump, that's all." She took a deep breath and stepped cautiously towards Kurt, whose entire body was layered in a thin case of ice. He was sprawled on the ground, breathing in tiny, shallow gasps. "If we don't get him warm quick, his heart will stop beating." she said quietly.
"But he attacked you..."
"He didn't know what he was doing" she replied sharply, more sharply than she'd intended. Her voice softened a bit as she gave Bobby a quick hug. "Thanks. Now quick, go and get the professor, I'll watch him." Bobby turned to run off, but paused and looked back at the white-haired mutant.
"Are you sure you're alright? You hit the wall pretty hard, and he might wake up again..."
Storm smiled reasuringly and nodded as she sat down next to Kurt's frozen form. "Don't worry, I can take care of it. Besides, he doesn't look like he'll be getting up too quickly..." She reached out a hand to gingerly stroke his shuddering back. Bobby ran off around the corner, and his footsteps quickly died away. Ororo strained to hear something, but it was like the mansion had been abandoned. Her head snapped around as she heard someone banging violently on the front door, and a man's voice yelling outside.
~*~*~*~*~*~* I know, really bad place to stop. I spent all day thinking about how this chapter should go, and I hope you liked how it turned out. Oh, the thing Nightcrawler says in German is "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil..."
Once again, please please please review! I'm planning on having the next chapter up sometime today, if all goes according to plan ::evil laugh:: Watch for Mystique's first appearance in the story next chapter!
Authors note: Due to a few requests, I've fixed this chapter to make it more descriptive and longer. I just hope it doesn't sound like I'm dragging things on, but I thought I'd give it a try. It's still a bit short, so I'll try to make chapter 5 longer (it'll be posted asap) If you already read this chapter, you might want to re-read it, since it's kinda different now. Danka!
Logan was straining to control a raging Scott, by pinning his arms to his back from behind. The tables around him had been burned to cinders, and the students stood in a horrified huddle at the far end of the dining hall. Scott writhed to get out of Logan's grasp with a terrifying scream of hatred, causing the students to cower even further. These weren't normal kids, though. Some of them probably had the power to destroy a building, but none of them would make a move to help Logan. They couldn't attack Scott, he was their teacher, their mentor. Bobby was trying desperately to get a clear shot at Scott to slow him down, but the out-of control man was flailing around too much. Bobby didn't want to hit Logan with a stream of ice. At that moment Rogue ran into the room, followed closely by the Professor.
"Bobby, leave this to me. Go wait out front for Storm, she'll need your help. It appears Kurt is suffering from the same affliction as Scott Everyone else, go to your rooms now." he ordered calmly. The students didn't hesitate to obey; they all ran for the door in owe-struck silence. Professor wheeled in front of Scott, who continued to try and break free from Logan.
"Scott, try to regain control of yourself. We are your friends, not your enemies." the Professor reasoned calmly. But Cyclops didn't seem to listen, he just began to try and throw Logan from his back with even more savage fury.
"I don't know what the hell's the matter with him. One second he's sittin' at the table, the next he's zapping everything in sight. I think he's snapped Professor...omph!" Logan doubled over in pain as Scott elbowed him hard in the stomach. Scott immediatley spun around and locked his gaze on the wheelchair-bound man before hi,m. He raised his hand to his visor and was about to fire a beam when everything just stopped. Scott was frozen in place, a chair that had been falling remained poised in mid-air, even the dust particles had stopped swirling in the sunlight. Only Logan continued to move, as he coughed a few times and straightened up with a grimace. He glanced at the man next to him and growled.
"That's a pretty handy trick, Chuck. Damn. Look at his neck." Logan said, stepping closer to the still man. The Professor wheeled over behind Scott and examined his neck. The veins were practically popping out, and there was a large purple rash spreading from the nape of his neck all the way to his chin. Xavior nodded, deep in thought.
"Logan, I believe that these strange episodes that both Kurt and Scott are suffering from have something to do with the mind-control substance which Dr. Stryker used on them. Not onlt do they lose control of their powers, but their personalities and memories seem altered. "
"I think 'altered' is the understatement of the century, Professor." He circled his friend warily.
"It was like he had no clue who we were" he said absently, while trying to pry Scott's hand away from his visor.
"He may very well not have." The Professor replied. He wheeled in front of Scott again, considering. "I'm not sure what this strange side-affect is, or how long it will last. But until we can figure it out, we must prevent him from causing harm to us or himself." The Professor heaved a small sigh. "It won't be easy to discover the cause, not without any of the information we need. It was all distroyed when the dam flooded the base. Perhaps if I can get Ororo to attempt to hack into the computer's memory files..."
"Yeah yeah, we'll deal with that later. In the mean time, how're we gonna keep Deathray here from killing us all?" Logan interupted. Charles Xavior looked up at his frozen pupil in silence.
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Bobby reached the front driveway just as Ororo came speeding up the road and squealed to a stop. She jumped out and ran to the passenger door.
"Bobby, I need you to help me carry him in, he can't walk." she said urgently. Bobby paused in shock at seeing Kurt. He looked half-dead, and was soaked with prespiration. His breath was ragged and shallow, and his body shook violently. Bobby quickly snapped out of it and nodded, placing one of Kurt's arms around his shoulder as Storm did the same. Together, they half dragged the trembling mutant up the stairs and into the mansion. Ororo glanced quickly around in the empty foyer, before steering them in the direction of the infirmary. Their hurried footsteps echoed loudly in the empty hallways.
"What happened to him?" Bobby asked quickly.
"I'm not sure. He was fine one second, then the next he couldn't breathe...then he colasped, and when I tried to get him up, he freaked out and ran for it." She said breathlessly. The blue smoke around Kurt began to increase, and he began to look almost transparent. "Kurt....Kurt, if you can hear me, try not to teleport. Come on, concentrate. You've got to stay with us." He didn't reply, but the smoke seemed to evaporate slowly and he came back into full focus. Between gasps of breath Storm could hear him muttering incoherently.
"Und führe uns nicht in Versuchung, sondern erlöse uns von dem Bösen. ..."
Ororo's face became more distressed hearing this. She saw the same look reflected on Bobby's face.
"What's he saying?" Bobby questioned, more for the sake of talking than anything else. Storm shook her head saddly and adjusted his arm over her shoulders.
"I think he's praying..." she said. For some reason her voice cracked. "What happened to Scott?" she changed the subject suddenly as they turned down another hallway.
"We'd just come down to breakfast, and he was sitting at a table eating some cereal. He looked totally fine, and then all of a sudden he just started shaking and sweating, and then he jumped up and started shooting at the kids!" Ororo couldn't hold back a gasp of utter shock. No, it couldn't be. This was Scott they were talking about, he'd never try to hurt the students! She glanced down at Nightcrawler, and took a sharp intake of breath. His eyes...they were almost totally red, with just a few flecks of his normal gold.
"Bobby, I think we need to hurry..." Right as the words came out of her mouth, Kurt suddenly snapped his head up, as if he'd been in a daze. In one motion he kicked Bobby aside and threw Ororo into a wall with amazing strength. He bared his fangs and snarled visciously, like an animal cornered in a cage, before turning around to face her. She hit the wall with a sickening 'thud' and slid to the floor, dazed. With an evil grin he stepped up to her crumpled form and raised his clawed hand to strike. She tried to focus her eyes and call a bolt of lightening, but all she could see was his face. His face, so demon-like with eyes aflame and a sneer of murderous hatred. Just as he was about to strike her a wave of frost crawled up his arm, freezing him in ice. Bobby cautiously walked up behind him, palm rasied. Kurt shuddered, his eyes rolling back up itno his head before he crumpled to the floor. After being sure that he wasn't moving, Bobby rushed over to Storm's side.
"Ororo...are you alright?" he questioned. He helped her to her feet as she shook her head.
"Yes...I'm fine. Just a bump, that's all." She took a deep breath and stepped cautiously towards Kurt, whose entire body was layered in a thin case of ice. He was sprawled on the ground, breathing in tiny, shallow gasps. "If we don't get him warm quick, his heart will stop beating." she said quietly.
"But he attacked you..."
"He didn't know what he was doing" she replied sharply, more sharply than she'd intended. Her voice softened a bit as she gave Bobby a quick hug. "Thanks. Now quick, go and get the professor, I'll watch him." Bobby turned to run off, but paused and looked back at the white-haired mutant.
"Are you sure you're alright? You hit the wall pretty hard, and he might wake up again..."
Storm smiled reasuringly and nodded as she sat down next to Kurt's frozen form. "Don't worry, I can take care of it. Besides, he doesn't look like he'll be getting up too quickly..." She reached out a hand to gingerly stroke his shuddering back. Bobby ran off around the corner, and his footsteps quickly died away. Ororo strained to hear something, but it was like the mansion had been abandoned. Her head snapped around as she heard someone banging violently on the front door, and a man's voice yelling outside.
~*~*~*~*~*~* I know, really bad place to stop. I spent all day thinking about how this chapter should go, and I hope you liked how it turned out. Oh, the thing Nightcrawler says in German is "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil..."
Once again, please please please review! I'm planning on having the next chapter up sometime today, if all goes according to plan ::evil laugh:: Watch for Mystique's first appearance in the story next chapter!