Kitty was beginning to notice that the situation in the hallway was beginning to turn against the X-men. Jubilee, Psylocke and Angel had taken up permanent positions in the blackbird and velocity, as a number of prisoners that they had freed were either injured or a danger to themselves. But still, after shifting out at least 20 mutants, including the mutant Northstar who had assisted the group for a little while, before his broken arm had become too painful. There were still at least twenty mutants still in the hallway that were out for their blood. It also seemed that Kitty's prediction of the presence of a communal holding area was true, as more were storming that section of the building.
The building itself, wasn't holding up very well under the stress that was being put on it. Kitty new that one of the levels had collapsed. Or at least part of one anyway. And without the roof (Jean had told her about its removal) the building was open to far more damage than usual. It was extremely unstable, and each of the X-men was conscious of this.
So, through the mental link that was help up by Jean and Psylocke, the remaining members of the team who were in the building made a crude plan to get out from the building, so that when it collapsed, they wouldn't be in the rubble. They also made plans to knock out all of the dangerous mutants so that when the building did collapse they would be buried underneath it.
Kitty and Kurt, being the two who could move the easiest through the building, were in charge of getting out any mutants who were either harmless to them, or part of the team. Kitty would drag one or two up through the building, and Kurt would take them from there to either of the transportation they had.
Wolverine, Toad and Iceman were given the task of fighting the obviously dangerous mutants. Bobby was up against a girl around the same age as him
Jean was to supervise the process of knocking the rogue mutants out. Then when the time came, the most able mutants would make the building collapse in on it self.
They began to put their rudimentary plan into action, Kitty grabbing mutants that were given the OK by Jean, and pulled them up through the building to the ground level where she let them go to Kurt who was waiting patiently outside the building. Kitty handed them over before instantly diving back into the building to get more mutants. The next time round she manages to find about 4 more. She made them all link hands with each other in a strong monkey grip before she repeated the same process with them. Kurt was already waiting for her again, and yet again she dived back into the building.
The main problem with this process was that after a while Kitty would get tired. She had already been phasing a lot that night and she knew that she wouldn't last forever doing what she was doing.
Nevertheless, she still dived into the building a third time, so that she could get more. She couldn't let other people go through the same thing she had.
***
Remy struggled against the falling debris as the floor collapsed beneath him. He stretched his arms out in a desperate attempt to find a solid handhold, but it was all in vain. He hit the ground floor with a thud that thankfully knocked him out.
When he came to, all he could think about was the amount of extreme pain he was in. He had gotten into a lot of scrapes around his home town of New Orleans, with all the raggedy little brats in the neighbourhood, but all of the scraped knees and occasionally a broken toe didn't amount to the amount of pain his left leg was in. It felt as though someone had bashed it with a mallet until the bone in the leg was more like ice chips, then had soaked in it kerosene and lit it on fire before deciding to stomp on it a few more times. Plus he had a headache the size of a cow.
The pain almost caused him to faint, but something that his Tante had told him in her lessons when he was a boy, forced him to stay awake: "never let anyone wit' a concussion go t' sleep. Dey migh' never wake up." The headache he had seemed too bad even to be a migraine. He'd had those before, and this didn't feel like that.
He closed his eyes and tried to squint away the pain. It worked for a bit, and as soon as he felt up to it, he tried to sit up, so that he could see the damage done to his leg.
His first attempt at sitting was too quick. He tried to jerk upwards and that just aggravated the headache by causing a weird form of vertigo, making him extremely dizzy and nauseous. He winced and lay back down. His next attempt, this time sitting up slowly, worked. And he saw the damage done to his leg.
A heavy chunk of wood that looked as though it had once been a wall or a support beam was situated on top of his ankle, and a big concrete slap was resting on top of that wood. Though it was not directly on top of his foot, the pressure it was forcing down was enough to cause the leg, or what was left of it to throb incessantly.
He swallowed back the bile that had risen in his throat. Instead he called out for help.
Jean. I'm gonna need some help here. He said softly through the link he felt growing weaker every second.
Jean answered quickly. What happened?
I got caught 'tween de roof an' de floor when de building shook last time. My foot aint looking to good.
There was a pause before Jean answered back. Ok then, Rogue and her lot are the closest to you. They'll be with you in about a minute.
Gambit sighed in relief at Jean's explanation, then decided he should lay back down, as the pressure of sitting up straight for even a short amount of time was pressing heavily on his spine. He slowly lay back down on the ground, and though it was uncomfortable in that bits of wood and chunks of concrete were jabbing into him, his headache abated slightly and there was no pressure on his back.
He closed his eyes and waited patiently for his promised help to arrive, and they did, though Gambit couldn't tell if they were within the promised time limit or not. Though as hard as he tried not to, he passed from the pain out at some point.
He woke up to Jamie standing over him. The teenager yelled out "I've found him!" and suddenly Gambit became aware of other people in the area. Many more Jamies flocked to the spot, as well as Avalanche and Rogue. The Jamies were all pulled into a singular being, while Rogue and Avalanche examined the plank trapping his foot.
Gambit distinctly heard Rogue say under her breath: "What have you done to yourself now Cajun?"
He felt the sudden urge to reply to her offhanded comment with a witty remark of his own. But when he tried to speak only a funny gurgling noise came out.
"It's ok Gambit. We're going to move the piece of wood out of the way and then we'll get you back to the blackbird where we'll put your leg in a brace." Jamie explained.
"Lance, can you help me move this out of the way?" Rogue asked lance, as they began to clear the area. But at that point Gambit blacked out again.
Rogue was feeling horrible. None of this would have happened to any of them, if she had taken more time in making a more solid plan, instead of making a hasty decision that endangered all of the members of her team. Magneto had been right. He had told her. She had even absorbed him, but still she hadn't listened to his advice and learnt from his experiences.
And now because of her decision, Gambit was in a critical condition, without any medical help in the near future, which it was obvious that he would need, very soon. The rest of her team were also in dangerous positions. Kitty and Kurt were overworking themselves. And Jean wasn't back to her full strength yet but still she was forced to continuously knock mutants unconscious. Something Rogue knew wasn't an easy thing to have on your conscious. Especially knowing what was going to happen to them once they were unconscious.
Rogue held back her self-criticism for the moment. Now she had to try and fix the situation so that it didn't get any worse than it already was.
"Jamie, go find Kurt, get him to 'port some of your multiples to both of the aircrafts so that there is more manpower there to help. Then see if you can get him to bring a medical stretcher back here. We need to get him immobilised. He might have some spinal injuries after a fall like he had. And his foot is going to need urgent surgery, so call back and tell Chase that he's going to need to be ready for that as soon as we get back." Rogue ordered the teenager who nodded shortly and ran off in the right direction.
Lance was still moving the bigger rocks out of the way of Gambit, so that they could reach the plank easily enough to release the pressure quickly. Rogue knew that if you released the pressure off the injury of a crush victim, that it could cause more damage than wanted, and that the victim could possibly lose their limb or fall into crush shock, which was a dangerous condition that sometimes led to kidney failure.
So, Rogue constructed a crude plan, based on the first aid techniques that she knew. She would wait until the last possible moment to move Gambit, and then make sure they got home in the quickest time possible so that Chase could begin surgery straight away.
So in the time that they had, Rogue and Lance set about finding the best way to remove the plank without the danger of them dropping it, either on themselves or back on Gambit. Eventually, after tossing a few ideas around, it was decided that Rogue, using one of her borrowed powers would lift the plank off Gambit, and Lance, Jamie and his multiples would lift him onto the waiting stretcher Rogue would teleport the stretcher and Gambit into the Blackbird, which had the most room and was also equipped with basic first aid materials.
But they had to wait until Jamie returned.
***
Multiple ran as fast as he could towards the place that Jean told him he could find Kurt. He dodged through doorways that had become misshapen; over tables that had somehow become lodged in his pathway. At that point in time he wished that he had Kitty's power, but still he kept running as quickly as he could.
Finally the exit came into view and he made the last final sprint towards the doorway, where the door had come off its hinges and was now laying on the ground. He stopped at the doorway panting and looked both left and right for any sign of Kurt. Finally after a few seconds he heard the familiar "Bamf' noise that accompanied Kurt when he teleported and he ran wildly in that direction.
He skidded to a halt in front of the blue mutant. He looked worn out, but when Kitty appeared in the wall a determined look graced his features as he shouldered a mutant that Kitty handed him. He turned to look at him expectantly.
"What do you need Multiple?" He asked in a hurried voice, his eyes betrayed the exhaustion he was hiding.
"We need a stretcher for Gambit. When that tremor hit the building the floor collapsed underneath him, and he got his foot trapped under a big support beam. We need to get him out of there." Multiple explained hurriedly. "Rogue also sent me to help with the supervising of the rescued mutants. Apparently we have a shortage that I'm supposed to fill."
He quickly concentrated and several more Jamies appeared quickly.
Kurt nodded. "Grab hold of me guys," He said to the several Jamies who had appeared. Then to the original Jamie he said: "Wait here and I'll get the stretcher back quickly. Kitty can help you get it to Gambit, and then she has to go down and get the last few out of there. We're almost done."
Jamie nodded and Kurt teleported away. Kitty phased the rest of her body through the wall, and then leant back on it, closing her eyes, obviously catching her breath.
"We're almost done. Then we'll go home." Jamie said in a comforting voice. He hadn't talked to her much since she had come back. And even before the whole incident at the mansion, they had only had a few real conversations.
Kitty murmured her agreement, but kept her eyes closed.
"What's it like down there?" Jamie asked curiously. "Logan wouldn't let me go own there with him. He said I had to help Rogue."
Kitty opened one eye and looked at him inquisitively, but answered the question. "Chaos. Basically I go down, grab whoever looks the sanest and get back up here. From what I see, Logan, Toad, Bobby and Jean have their work cut out for them. But Logan made the right decision keeping you out of there."
Jamie flushed and said angrily "You were doing worse than that when you were my age."
Kitty didn't seem fazed by his anger, but replied. "That's not what I meant. Your power isn't suited for inside combat. You're an army by yourself, but you don't have any attack or defence mutations. You would get killed down there."
Jamie was taken aback. He thought that Logan had told him to go with Rogue because he wasn't ready for what would be in the basement.
"See, for me, inside and outside don't matter. It's the same for Kurt. Toad probably isn't that great inside, but he can use that spit of his and his tongue to do most of the inside work."
Jamie was saved answering when Kurt returned with the foldable stretcher. And as though someone had just injected her with a shot of adrenalin, Kitty was alive again. Jamie grabbed the stretcher off Kurt, and then Kitty grabbed his hand.
"You lead the way. I don't know where we're going. We won't hit anything." Jamie nodded at her instructions, and ran through the door he had come through.
At the first obstacle, he bit his lip and waited for the impact, but it didn't come, just as Kitty had promised, he ran through it. He didn't even notice that he was intangible.
Before he knew it, they were back with Rogue and Lance who were moving bricks out of the way.
He turned around to look at Kitty, who was still holding his hand. He gave her a warm smile and a soft 'Thanks' then watched as she dropped through the floor.
He then started to assemble the stretcher. He pulled the poles together to make the frame then attached the canvas and straps. In no time, it was all set up.
He placed it directly next to Gambit, so that when the moved him, they would only need to move him sideways and straight onto the stretcher.
Then, they waited for Jean's ok.
***
"How many left Logan?" Jean shouted out through the hallway to Wolverine. He growled menacingly at his opponent, who was trying as hard as he could to immobilise him. With one final swipe of his fist, hitting the guys face knocking him back into the wall. He looked over to where Bobby and Toad were fighting their own respective battles.
"Probably about five." he shouted back.
"Get them into the one area and I'll do the rest. Then we can get out. Gambit needs serious medical attention, and the Blackbird and velocity are packed.
Logan nodded and relayed the message to Bobby and Toad.
In no time at all, somehow the three of them had rounded the remaining few into her corridor, and with a quick psychic blast they all fell on the ground.
Almost instantly, Kurt teleported in, where they all grabbed onto him, and he teleported straight back out.
We're all out of there now. Get Gambit out. Jean sent a quick message to Rogue and her crew.
***
Lance and Rogue had finally finished moving the debris out of the way, when Jean sent them the message. Instantly Jamie multiplied himself so that 6 more Jamies appeared then they all moved to either side of Gambit. Lance took up a position at Gambit's foot, so he could make sure that the foot was not knocked or moved any more than it had to be, even though it was still being held in place by his thick leather boots. Then the original Jamie moved over to support the head.
Rogue moved over to the plank, and gripped the end that was sitting on Gambit's foot. "I'll lift the plank on three, you move him on four. Ok?"
Everyone else agreed quickly, so Rogue began the count. "One… Two…" Everyone prepared to lift Gambit. One 'Three' Rogue lifted the plank quickly and held it as high as she could, and continued counting. Each of the Jamies and Lance lifted Gambit to the stretched on 'four' and soon enough he was on the stretcher.
The movement woke Gambit with a start, and he tried to sit up, but the original Jamie held him down. "Gambit, we're about to take you to the blackbird. Just stay put."
Gambit relaxed back onto the stretcher, and the other six Jamies lifted the stretcher. Lance and the original Multiple supervised Rogue as she put the beam back down on the ground.
Soon enough, Rogue walked over and grabbed onto the stretcher. "Psylocke says that Kurt is too tired to do another trip, so I'll have to take us." Lance and Jamie nodded and grabbed onto the stretcher.
The next thing they knew was that they were outside the blackbird, which had already been uncloaked. All off the Jamies escorted the stretcher up the ramp, with Lance following shortly behind. Rogue ran up the ramp quickly and grabbed Psylocke, who was helping a girl of about 16 into a seat.
Psylocke waited until the girl was sitting, and was calm in her seat before she went with Rogue. And soon, she was standing outside the building, next to Jean, who was waiting expectantly.
"So, you just want us to collapse it? Shouldn't we make it look like an accident?" Psylocke asked sceptically.
"That's not a bad idea." Rogue said calmly. "You make sure the building collapses. I'll make an earthquake."
Jean and Psylocke nodded, and soon the ground began to rumble under their feet, as Rogue's eyes rolled into the back of her head. The building started to rock from side to side dangerously, before cracks appeared in the walls, which Psylocke and Jean immediately took advantage of, widening them so that instead of being only a few feet long, they grew to be huge gaps in the solid brick walls. Suddenly, with one last rumble of the ground, the asphalt in front of the building split, leaving a huge crater in the middle of the road, that led straight to the building. As soon as the crack reached the building, the building finally gave in, and the walls began to fall down.
That was when Jean and Psylocke began to rip down the walls with their minds. The main wet wall went down with a huge crash that shook the surrounding buildings dangerously. Jean and Psylocke gave the lower foundations a huge mental push, and soon they collapsed in on themselves. Within a few seconds, the area was filled with dust, and they knew that all that remained where the building used to stand was a pile of rubble.
Quickly, Rogue grabbed the two girls next to her, and teleported back to the Velocity, where they took off instantly, and headed home.
***
Disclaimer: I don't own them. All of the mutants in this story are not claimed as mine. Even the ones I made. I think they are stupid characters, all evil. Even Chase, who has purposely been ignored for a few chapters. (*grins evilly*)
A/N: Hmm, and so ends the big raid scene. Join in next chapter for much chaos and evilness!!
I apologise for the tardiness with this chapter, I really have no excuse because I am now on my summer holiday, and enjoying it to the fullest! 8 whole weeks of doing nothing! (Well now it's actually more like 6, but who cares?) I've been working more at my part time jobs so that my savings can actually become that: Savings. And I've been seeing a few movies with friends… Am seeing Scary Movie 3 with a friend tomorrow… hmm… but, I bet If I get 150 reviews, I'll get the next chapter out sooner *wink* *hint hint* that's only 10 reviews people! An even more than that will do even more for my ego and make it all good, and the next chapter might even be out sooner!
And just to be nice! SHOUTOUTS!!
Rogue151: Well Rogue got some airplay this time! Didya notice? I did it just for you! Feel special and loved.
FaDiNgSiLvErStAr: The girl making the building shake was just a random mutant I made up with an ability similar to Lance's. She wasn't really based on anyone from the original comics. If I'd researched, I probably would have found someone with a suitable power I could have inserted in there, but I was slack.
Suzaka: Unflichingly? When I'm writing all this I'm definitely flinching! I always want to find a different way to get the same result, and not resort to using a miracle. But they all sound really stupid. And I have a good friend who usually gets really annoyed when I do something like give Gambit a shattered foot, and she makes me flinch when I'm listening to what she'll do to me when she sees me next… but thankyou for the compliment.
UnknownSource: Yeah, Jean will get much more time to demonstrate her Psychic abilities, don't you worry. And Jamie and Rogue!! See they got action! Did you like it? I liked using Jamie, though it got a bit confusing for me as a writer to say something like: "One of the Jamies jumped up and down, while another Jamie rolled on the floor playing dead" It's a bit weird, you sort of need to keep track of how many there are.
DoWriter12: Pietro is now a Dead assassin now. Sadly, but at least there is hope for others who were put through his treatment.
ishandahalf: I'm really sorry for doing that to Gambit. I hope you didn't get too twitchy about it. But he's gonna be alright. I promise you. He'll be all ok. And sorry the update was slow. I'm slack. So sue me.
bloody_lady: I'll see what I can do about Emma Frost. Maybe I can fit her in later.
Morgannia: Welcome to the crazy bandwagon. Yeah, Kitty is one of my favourite characters too. But I'm trying to steer away from any particular pairings. I'm not good at the romance side of things.
And finally, my currently international friend! Zen Zen! Thankyou for reviewing! I know how hard it was, and I hope that you get to read this one ok as well. And yes you are very much appreciated! And Malice IS evil isn't she. Crazy evil bitch. *grumbles*. Yeah, Emily's death = real disturbing, and Northstar didn't get a big part, but that's why it's called a Cameo!! :P
Yeah, So, That's all for now. Review! Remember 150 and I'll be very happy!