CHAPTER 5: THE VISITOR
The banging began to grow more violent, until it sounded like the man outside would break down the door. Ororo glanced at Kurt, unsure weither or not to leave him unguarded. Finally she lept up and sprang for the door at the end of the hallway, wanting to send whoever it was quickly and return to Nightcrawler before he could wake up. She threw open the door breathlessly. On the front stair stood a portly little man, with thinning grey hair and a Federal Express uniform. Behind him on the driveway was one very beat-up looking delivery truck. There were dents everywhere, and the front fender was crumpled beyond reginition.
"Yes, what do you want?" Storm said rudely. She had no time for this, Kurt could die in the time she was wasting here. The man's eyes suddenly changed to a bright yellow color. Storm backed up a step, preparing to call a bolt of lightening should this strange man attack her. The man's spine lengthed, his beer belly disappeared, as did his uniform. His face grew gaunt and feminine, and his legs became shapely and...blue. In only a few seconds the delivery man had metamorphisized into a tall blue woman, whose body was covered in irridesent scales.
"Mystique...." Storm practically spat the name out. "What do you want?" she said with narrowed eyes. Mystique's normally smug expression turned humble and worried. She bit her lip gently and lowered her head, before replying with a nod towards the truck.
"It's Eric...Magneto. I need your help."
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Logan pulled the ropes tight that were wrapped around Scott's wrists, which just made Scott struggle even harder to be free.
"Sorry there, bud. Just 'till you stop trying to deep-fry everything." Logan patted Scott's shoulder before leaving the room. Scott sat tied to a chair in the middle of the room, his goggles removed and his eyes wrapped tightly shut with a bandage. Logan cringed as he heard his friend scream in rage and throw out some choice swears and cusses.
"Well, I never knew our friend had such a colorful vocabulary!" he said with scarcastic enthuasim. The metal door slid shut behind him, leaving poor Scott to shout out his anger alone. The Professor sat waiting just outside, a grave look on his face.
"It saddens me greatly to have to do this...but I supose there's no other way. At least he'll be safe, until Storm can find a cure in the computer's files. Logan, you and I must go fetch Kurt immediately. Ororo's told me that he's fallen gravely ill. We'll need to watch Scott to see if the same thing happens to him."
At that moment Bobby came crashing around the corner, out of breath. He stooped over gasping for air, before straightening up and facing the two other men.
"Professor...Kurt's lost it....he attacked Storm!" Logan immediately ran down the way Bobby had come from, shoving past the boy roughly. He watched his retreating form before turning back to the Professor. "He was about to kill her, Professor" he said quietly. Charles got a faraway look on his face, before looking back to the young man in front of him.
"I know. All of the people who were attacked and given Dr. Stryker's mind control concution are now reacting strangely. I fear it's an unpredicted side-effect of the drugs that were used on them." He paused again, seeming to be listening to someone only he could hear. Bobby nodded, his face fell grave.
"Mystique is here. And she has Magneto with her" he said suddenly. Bobby's eyes opened wide in shock.
"What're they doing here?" he asked. Charles closed his eyes and shook his head.
"It seems we weren't the only ones affected by this..."
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Logan came to an abrupt halt when he saw Storm and Mystique talking in the hallway. Instinctivly he prepared himself for a fight, unsheathing his deadly claws. Storm caught sight of him approaching cautiously behind her, and turned to face him.
"It's alright, she needs our help." she explained quickly. Logan snorted and glared at the blue woman.
"Yeah, so? Why should we help them? All they've ever done is cause trouble" he said with a sneer. Mystique's eyes narrowed as she turned to lock her gaze with Logan's.
"If it wasn't for us, you and every mutant on earth would be dead right now" she hissed. Logan's jaw clenched in barely contained rage.
"If you'd just done what you were suposed to do...if you'd just stopped the Professor without your own damn secret human-hating agenda...Jean might still be alive." Storm swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat. She'd had the same exact thoughts. Of course, they all had. The "what if's?" that could drive a person insane. Secretely, she'd imagined a scenario where Mystique and Magneto had just saved the Professor. Everyone would have gotten out of the colapsing dam a few minutes sooner...maybe then, she could have gotten them out in time, and Jean wouldn't have had to...
"Logan, you can't always find a person to blame" she said quietly, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. He shrugged it off angrily before turning to Mystique again.
"So what do you want?" he said after a tense moment. Mystique's face lost it's defensive glare as she motioned to the very pummled-looking delevery truck.
"Eric is in there, there's something wrong with him. He's lost control of his powers. He doesn't seem to remember anything about who he, who I am. He's very sick, and our medical facilities aren't equipt to treat him. I didn't know where else I could take him" she admitted. Logan glanced at Storm, they shared a knowling look.
"What?" Mystique asked, suspicious once again. Logan turned back to the other woman.
"The same thing's happening to Cyclops and Nightcrawler. The Professor thinks it's got something to do with the brain-juice Stryker used to control them. He used it on Magneto, didn't he?"
Mystique's eyes went wide with realization. "Of course...What do we do about it?"
"We've got no damn clue." Logan made a move to walk past her towards the truck, but Storm quickly reached out an arm to stop him.
"Logan, you can't go near him. He'll kill you!" she exclaimed. He raised his hand as his blades retracted back into his gloves.
"Oh yeah..." he said in a weary tone. At that moment Professor Charles wheeled around the corner to join the group. He looked up at Mystique, who met his gaze stone-faced.
"Well, Mystique. I see no one is immune to misfortune. How is my old friend Eric doing?" he commented calmly. Mystique's frown deepened.
"He's dying" she said flatly. The Professor shook his head.
"I wasn't sure how this strage disease would effect him. Well, we can't just leave you standing on the doorstep now that you've come this far. If you could drive Eric around to the back of the school, there's a storage shed I'm having set up to care for him." The Professor paused at Mystique's confused expression.
"You see, our medical facilities are nearly completely metalic, and I'm afraid without the control of his powers Eric will accidentally harm someone." Logan muttered a comment about Magneto's tendancy to 'accidentally' harm people, but the Professor ignored him.
"Ororo, I've set up one of the examination rooms with a physic shield. If you and Logan could take Kurt down there, he'll be prevented from teleporting while in the room. Mystique and I will take Eric down to his new quarters." Logan nodded begridgingly. Rogue came around the corner hurriedly, her red and white hair pinned back in a loose ponytail. She wore white gloves that wrapped up her arms to her elbows, and a plain black tanktop.
"Professor, Bobby said you needed me?" she said in her Southern drawl. Charles gave her a small smile.
"Yes, I believe you know Mystique?" Rogue noticed the woman standing outside for the first time, and she froze in mid-step.
"What....what's she doing here?" she choked. She couldn't keep the contempt from her voice. After all, this was the woman who'd tried to kill her once. The Professor bowed his head slightly.
"I need you to help Mystique and I get Magneto to the wooden storage shed on the back courtyard. He's in need of medical attention, with the same illness as Scott and Kurt." Privately he sent her a message via telepathy. 'That is...if you don't mind. I know you haven't exactly been close to these two, but as a friend I feel obligated to help.' Rogue sighed and nodded slightly, before following Mystique and Charles outside to the truck.
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Mystique and Rogue were alone in the wooden shed. Well, not quite alone. Magneto lay on a small white bed that'd been set in the corner. Around him had been placed various medical equipment. The only sounds in the silence was Megneto's labored breathing and the beeping of the heart rate monitor. He looked awful; his skin was yellow like parchment and streched tightly across his cheekbones. He eyes had dark circles around them, and his breath rattled in his chest. The Professor had insisted on strapping him to the bed, in case he suddenly went into a violent episode like Kurt and Scott. Mystique was gently dabbing his forehead with a damp cloth, looking at him with a strange tenderness. Rogue stood uncomfortabily behind the two, not sure what to do. She felt a little pity for the weak man laying before her, he looked like anyone's kindly grandfather. But she knew better, she knew what evils this man could do. When she thought back on the day at the Statue of Liberty, when he'd told her that he was going to kill her, it still sent shivers down her spine.
"What'd you do with John?" she asked quietly. Mystique seemed to had forgotten that she wasn't alone. She glanced at the girl over her shoulder.
"Pyro? He wanted to come with us. He know's the right side to be on when the war comes. Do you?" she said icily. Rogue fell silent.
"So...what are you two, an item?" she said suddenly, motioning to Magneto.
"What?" Mystique asked.
"Y'know...are you and him together?" Rogue questioned, this time a little more boldy. Mystique glared at her with brigh t yell ow eyes.
"No" she said flately, in her strangely multi-toned voice. She turned her attention back to Magneto and continued to cool his feverish forehead. Rogue stood there for a few more moments, and was about to leave when she heard Mystique begin to speak softly, almost to herself.
"When I was younger, he took me in. I had nowhere else to go, no one to trust. He taught me the extent of my powers, taught me everything I know. He's like the father I never had." Her shoulders slumped as she spoke. Rogue stepped around to face her, leaning down to catch her eye.
"If anyone can figure out what's wrong with them, it's Storm. Don't worry, the professor will take care of everything." she said. Mystique looked at the girl's bright face, so optimistic.
"I hope you're right..."
~*~*~*~*~*~* I know this was a pretty boring chapter, but the next one will be REALLY cool ::Evil laugh:: And should be up...oh....MAYBE tonight, most likely tomorow. Unfortunately I'm really busy during the week, otherwise I'd finish the next chapter now and post it. But tell me what you thought of this one! I tried to keep everyone in character, but it was tough, since I don't know Rogue or Mystique's personalities very well. Hope you liked it, and I promise the next chapter is reaaaaaly good. Here's a hint: Kurt gets loose ^_^ Review please!!
The banging began to grow more violent, until it sounded like the man outside would break down the door. Ororo glanced at Kurt, unsure weither or not to leave him unguarded. Finally she lept up and sprang for the door at the end of the hallway, wanting to send whoever it was quickly and return to Nightcrawler before he could wake up. She threw open the door breathlessly. On the front stair stood a portly little man, with thinning grey hair and a Federal Express uniform. Behind him on the driveway was one very beat-up looking delivery truck. There were dents everywhere, and the front fender was crumpled beyond reginition.
"Yes, what do you want?" Storm said rudely. She had no time for this, Kurt could die in the time she was wasting here. The man's eyes suddenly changed to a bright yellow color. Storm backed up a step, preparing to call a bolt of lightening should this strange man attack her. The man's spine lengthed, his beer belly disappeared, as did his uniform. His face grew gaunt and feminine, and his legs became shapely and...blue. In only a few seconds the delivery man had metamorphisized into a tall blue woman, whose body was covered in irridesent scales.
"Mystique...." Storm practically spat the name out. "What do you want?" she said with narrowed eyes. Mystique's normally smug expression turned humble and worried. She bit her lip gently and lowered her head, before replying with a nod towards the truck.
"It's Eric...Magneto. I need your help."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Logan pulled the ropes tight that were wrapped around Scott's wrists, which just made Scott struggle even harder to be free.
"Sorry there, bud. Just 'till you stop trying to deep-fry everything." Logan patted Scott's shoulder before leaving the room. Scott sat tied to a chair in the middle of the room, his goggles removed and his eyes wrapped tightly shut with a bandage. Logan cringed as he heard his friend scream in rage and throw out some choice swears and cusses.
"Well, I never knew our friend had such a colorful vocabulary!" he said with scarcastic enthuasim. The metal door slid shut behind him, leaving poor Scott to shout out his anger alone. The Professor sat waiting just outside, a grave look on his face.
"It saddens me greatly to have to do this...but I supose there's no other way. At least he'll be safe, until Storm can find a cure in the computer's files. Logan, you and I must go fetch Kurt immediately. Ororo's told me that he's fallen gravely ill. We'll need to watch Scott to see if the same thing happens to him."
At that moment Bobby came crashing around the corner, out of breath. He stooped over gasping for air, before straightening up and facing the two other men.
"Professor...Kurt's lost it....he attacked Storm!" Logan immediately ran down the way Bobby had come from, shoving past the boy roughly. He watched his retreating form before turning back to the Professor. "He was about to kill her, Professor" he said quietly. Charles got a faraway look on his face, before looking back to the young man in front of him.
"I know. All of the people who were attacked and given Dr. Stryker's mind control concution are now reacting strangely. I fear it's an unpredicted side-effect of the drugs that were used on them." He paused again, seeming to be listening to someone only he could hear. Bobby nodded, his face fell grave.
"Mystique is here. And she has Magneto with her" he said suddenly. Bobby's eyes opened wide in shock.
"What're they doing here?" he asked. Charles closed his eyes and shook his head.
"It seems we weren't the only ones affected by this..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Logan came to an abrupt halt when he saw Storm and Mystique talking in the hallway. Instinctivly he prepared himself for a fight, unsheathing his deadly claws. Storm caught sight of him approaching cautiously behind her, and turned to face him.
"It's alright, she needs our help." she explained quickly. Logan snorted and glared at the blue woman.
"Yeah, so? Why should we help them? All they've ever done is cause trouble" he said with a sneer. Mystique's eyes narrowed as she turned to lock her gaze with Logan's.
"If it wasn't for us, you and every mutant on earth would be dead right now" she hissed. Logan's jaw clenched in barely contained rage.
"If you'd just done what you were suposed to do...if you'd just stopped the Professor without your own damn secret human-hating agenda...Jean might still be alive." Storm swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat. She'd had the same exact thoughts. Of course, they all had. The "what if's?" that could drive a person insane. Secretely, she'd imagined a scenario where Mystique and Magneto had just saved the Professor. Everyone would have gotten out of the colapsing dam a few minutes sooner...maybe then, she could have gotten them out in time, and Jean wouldn't have had to...
"Logan, you can't always find a person to blame" she said quietly, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. He shrugged it off angrily before turning to Mystique again.
"So what do you want?" he said after a tense moment. Mystique's face lost it's defensive glare as she motioned to the very pummled-looking delevery truck.
"Eric is in there, there's something wrong with him. He's lost control of his powers. He doesn't seem to remember anything about who he, who I am. He's very sick, and our medical facilities aren't equipt to treat him. I didn't know where else I could take him" she admitted. Logan glanced at Storm, they shared a knowling look.
"What?" Mystique asked, suspicious once again. Logan turned back to the other woman.
"The same thing's happening to Cyclops and Nightcrawler. The Professor thinks it's got something to do with the brain-juice Stryker used to control them. He used it on Magneto, didn't he?"
Mystique's eyes went wide with realization. "Of course...What do we do about it?"
"We've got no damn clue." Logan made a move to walk past her towards the truck, but Storm quickly reached out an arm to stop him.
"Logan, you can't go near him. He'll kill you!" she exclaimed. He raised his hand as his blades retracted back into his gloves.
"Oh yeah..." he said in a weary tone. At that moment Professor Charles wheeled around the corner to join the group. He looked up at Mystique, who met his gaze stone-faced.
"Well, Mystique. I see no one is immune to misfortune. How is my old friend Eric doing?" he commented calmly. Mystique's frown deepened.
"He's dying" she said flatly. The Professor shook his head.
"I wasn't sure how this strage disease would effect him. Well, we can't just leave you standing on the doorstep now that you've come this far. If you could drive Eric around to the back of the school, there's a storage shed I'm having set up to care for him." The Professor paused at Mystique's confused expression.
"You see, our medical facilities are nearly completely metalic, and I'm afraid without the control of his powers Eric will accidentally harm someone." Logan muttered a comment about Magneto's tendancy to 'accidentally' harm people, but the Professor ignored him.
"Ororo, I've set up one of the examination rooms with a physic shield. If you and Logan could take Kurt down there, he'll be prevented from teleporting while in the room. Mystique and I will take Eric down to his new quarters." Logan nodded begridgingly. Rogue came around the corner hurriedly, her red and white hair pinned back in a loose ponytail. She wore white gloves that wrapped up her arms to her elbows, and a plain black tanktop.
"Professor, Bobby said you needed me?" she said in her Southern drawl. Charles gave her a small smile.
"Yes, I believe you know Mystique?" Rogue noticed the woman standing outside for the first time, and she froze in mid-step.
"What....what's she doing here?" she choked. She couldn't keep the contempt from her voice. After all, this was the woman who'd tried to kill her once. The Professor bowed his head slightly.
"I need you to help Mystique and I get Magneto to the wooden storage shed on the back courtyard. He's in need of medical attention, with the same illness as Scott and Kurt." Privately he sent her a message via telepathy. 'That is...if you don't mind. I know you haven't exactly been close to these two, but as a friend I feel obligated to help.' Rogue sighed and nodded slightly, before following Mystique and Charles outside to the truck.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mystique and Rogue were alone in the wooden shed. Well, not quite alone. Magneto lay on a small white bed that'd been set in the corner. Around him had been placed various medical equipment. The only sounds in the silence was Megneto's labored breathing and the beeping of the heart rate monitor. He looked awful; his skin was yellow like parchment and streched tightly across his cheekbones. He eyes had dark circles around them, and his breath rattled in his chest. The Professor had insisted on strapping him to the bed, in case he suddenly went into a violent episode like Kurt and Scott. Mystique was gently dabbing his forehead with a damp cloth, looking at him with a strange tenderness. Rogue stood uncomfortabily behind the two, not sure what to do. She felt a little pity for the weak man laying before her, he looked like anyone's kindly grandfather. But she knew better, she knew what evils this man could do. When she thought back on the day at the Statue of Liberty, when he'd told her that he was going to kill her, it still sent shivers down her spine.
"What'd you do with John?" she asked quietly. Mystique seemed to had forgotten that she wasn't alone. She glanced at the girl over her shoulder.
"Pyro? He wanted to come with us. He know's the right side to be on when the war comes. Do you?" she said icily. Rogue fell silent.
"So...what are you two, an item?" she said suddenly, motioning to Magneto.
"What?" Mystique asked.
"Y'know...are you and him together?" Rogue questioned, this time a little more boldy. Mystique glared at her with brigh t yell ow eyes.
"No" she said flately, in her strangely multi-toned voice. She turned her attention back to Magneto and continued to cool his feverish forehead. Rogue stood there for a few more moments, and was about to leave when she heard Mystique begin to speak softly, almost to herself.
"When I was younger, he took me in. I had nowhere else to go, no one to trust. He taught me the extent of my powers, taught me everything I know. He's like the father I never had." Her shoulders slumped as she spoke. Rogue stepped around to face her, leaning down to catch her eye.
"If anyone can figure out what's wrong with them, it's Storm. Don't worry, the professor will take care of everything." she said. Mystique looked at the girl's bright face, so optimistic.
"I hope you're right..."
~*~*~*~*~*~* I know this was a pretty boring chapter, but the next one will be REALLY cool ::Evil laugh:: And should be up...oh....MAYBE tonight, most likely tomorow. Unfortunately I'm really busy during the week, otherwise I'd finish the next chapter now and post it. But tell me what you thought of this one! I tried to keep everyone in character, but it was tough, since I don't know Rogue or Mystique's personalities very well. Hope you liked it, and I promise the next chapter is reaaaaaly good. Here's a hint: Kurt gets loose ^_^ Review please!!