I own none of these characters, I promise.
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Scott's eyes flickered open. He saw a pretty, smiling comforting face. Hey eyes were slender, Asian. Her dark purple hair hung low over her shoulders, framing her face.
"Good morning, sleeping beauty." She murmured to him in a familiar accented voice. Suddenly Scott noticed he was colors he hadn't seen in a long time. A pure white ceiling and walls, the brownish tint of girl's face, the blue tables he and Jean had been pinned to, and the silver implements sitting on trays in the room. All of this in the quick glimpse Scott was able to get before he instinctively realized he wasn't wearing his rose quartz shades. He rapidly clenched his eyes shut. The smile on the corners of the girl's lips turned down. "It's alright, Scott." she said.
"I need my glasses."
"No, Cyclops. The collar on your neck, it dampens your powers… You can open your eyes, Scott." He slowly opened one of his eyes and looked around the room. He saw the girl's smiling face yet again. Once he determined it was safe, he opened his other eye. He looked over at Jean. She was pinned down to an operating type table with metal cuffs at her wrists and ankles. She was also wearing a thick electronic collar with a blinking red light, just like him. She, on the other hand, was still unconscious. She looked to him like a sleeping angel, but she was in trouble.
"Why hasn't she woken up?" he barked at the friendly aid sitting beside his table.
"Well, I imagine that without her telepathy, it's as if we've dropped her in the middle of nowhere without her compass. It's a good deal more difficult, but she'll still find her way back. I'll do everything in my power to help her. I promise I won't let anyone hurt either of you if you'll quiet down." Scott's fists unclenched and he began to relax. "I'm Psylocke… er… well… Elizabeth Braddock. My friends call me Betsy, but nobody's called me that since my friend got out of here two years ago." The two paused as Scott contemplated everything she'd said.
"Why do you want to help us?" he finally said to Betsy, with suspicion.
"You two and your X-Men are going to help me escape."
"Why didn't you just bolt when you were free last night?"
"Please," Betsy remarked, "Vertigo and Slab would've squashed me like a bug if I tried to run. You X-Men, on the other hand… you're quite the force to be reckoned with if I must say. And I know about your little credo there, and I knew that you all would help me." The words tumbled off her tongue with British sophistication. The corners of Scott's lips turned up as he took in what she said.
"So, Betsy, what exactly are your powers?" She reveled as Scott spoke her name. She loved the sound of her name. It had been so long since anyone cared to get to know her well enough to say it. It made her feel human again. It gave her purpose… jut to hear it again, and she wasn't going to pass up the opportunity.
"Well, Scott, my powers are quite finicky." Betsy said with a smile, "I'm a rather well developed telepath. Nothing new to you, I suppose, but then I've got this other thing." She raised her fist and it began to develop the purple aura Scott had seen the night before.
"What is that?" He said in awe. The glow was hypnotizing.
"To be perfectly honest," she continued, "I'm not really sure." She looked away from her luminescent hand and back at Scott's innocent brown eyes. Then she looked back at her hand. "I call them my psionic knives or daggers." He raised an eyebrow at her. "I believe it's a channeling of my telepathic power."
"So those knives are composed of complete thought?" Scott asked. Betsy smiled as the glow in her hand dissipated.
"Yeah… imagine that," she had never thought of it like that before and it led her to other conclusions. "Guess that little laser beam of yours wouldn't do much against these babies." she said waving her fist. The two smiled.
Suddenly Vertigo burst into the room. Betsy, shocked, quickly wiped the smile from her face and turned to stare at her. "The doctor wants you to get them ready." Vertigo announced.
"Uh… right" Betsy muttered. Vertigo looked at her like she had just caught two kids making out in the janitors closet. She thought Betsy looked like a deer caught in headlights.
"What have you been up to, Psylocke?"
"Nothing," Betsy barked defensively, "just tending to the new test subjects, that's all."
"TEST SUBJECTS?!?" Scott shouted from behind her.
"I'll explain as soon as she leaves." She responded to his anxiety telepathically. He relaxed a little, but his face was still composed of worry and vexation as he watched the two girls interact.
"Why hasn't that one woken up yet?" Vertigo gestured to the still unconscious Jean Grey. "Sinister is gonna be pissed off if finds out you killed the Phoenix." Vertigo crossed her arm and drew a cocky smile across her face.
"I didn't kill her," Betsy pleaded, "she's just rather dependant on her telepathy. I'll make sure she wakes up before the doctor arrives."
"Whatever." Vertigo said as she left the room.
Betsy once again heard a scared voice from behind her. "Betsy, what's going on?" Her calm, comforting face became worried as she pondered just how to explain the truth to her new friend.
* * *
Logan leaned over the fire place, becoming lost in the dancing flames as he waited. He was waiting for the only man he could trust to never try to kill him. It was just as he began to forget about all that had plagued him throughout his life that his gaze was broken by the sound of wheels scurrying across the carpet of the large study that could pass as a library to most.
"I've brought you some aspirin," the bald man in the wheel chair said. Although he was reduced to a paraplegic, his presence hovered high over the tall, Canadian man.
"Thanks, Charles." Logan said as he turned away from the fire place and took the two pills and cup of water from Professor Xavier's hand. "Have you found the kids yet?"
"Unfortunately, I can't find a trace they've ever existed." He paused as he pondered. "I have begun to put a team together to go rescue them, however. We'll just have to wait until cerebro finds something."
"How did the intruders get on the grounds without tripping cerebro's surveillance system?" Logan's deep, scratchy voice inquired.
"I suspect there was something greater at work here, someone who knows a lot about the institute, and all of us." His voice became solemn and he began to wheel out of the room. "Go lie down Logan; we'll need you to shake off that headache."
* * *
Kitty dashed into her bedroom and was shocked to see Rogue still awake. "Oh, hey, Rogue," she said, "I thought you were like, going to sleep or something?"
"Ah can't sleep." Rogue replied. She was sitting up in bed writing in her diary. "What 'er y'all up to?" She asked as Kitty was changing into her X-Men uniform.
"Scott and Jean have been kidnapped. The prof. wants us to be ready to go at a moment's notice… as soon as he can find them on cerebro.
"Oh…" Rogue mumbled. Then there was a knock on the door.
"Who is it?" Kitty shouted.
"It's me, Kitty," She heard the professor say, "I'd like to speak with Rogue for a moment."
"Oh, sure professor." Kitty said as she slipped on her last boot, "Just a sec." As she zipped up the zipper on her uniform, she walked the door to open it. She found the professor was sitting directly in front of her. "Catch ya later, Rogue." She said as she phased through the professor on her way out. He winced at her as she made her way down the hall; he hated it when she did that.
"How are you feeling, Rogue?" He asked in a calm, soothing voice as he wheeled into the room and made his way through the piles of clothes and books on the floor to Rogues bedside.
"Ah dunno." She mumbled like a sick child trying to get out of going to school.
"I know your mind is as strong now as it's ever been. Maybe it's time you start to get beck into the routine of daily life." He suggested.
"Well…"
"I don't understand? Why are you hesitating?" He wouldn't fall over at her reluctance.
"Ah dunno… ah guess…" She paused. Sometimes she wished he would read her mind so she didn't have to admit the truth aloud. "Ah guess… ah guess ah'm just scared now…" she trailed off.
"I'm not sure I understand?" Xavier pushed the girl to expound on her feelings.
"Well, ah'm scared 'bout touchin' someone now, more 'n ever. What if it all builds up in mah head again and go crazy again? What if ah actually hurt someone this tahm?" The professor was startled at her feelings, but not shocked.
"Rogue, in the whole time I've had the pleasure of knowing you, you've never been scared of who you are." He paused to give a chance to absorb what he was saying. "But after all that's happened to you recently, I can understand how you'd feel that way." She smiled knowing that wasn't being chided for her fears. "But Rogue, this is a place, and time, to overcome your fears. To prove to yourself that you're stronger than your powers, that you are in control." Rogue humored the man with a smile even though he said the exact opposite of what she wanted to hear. "You know I'm not going to force you to do anything, but your presence and support would be greatly appreciated."
"Ah'll think about it." She responded.
"Well, you've got plenty of time; we can't go anywhere until we know where we're going." He was almost all the way out of the room as he said, "If you want to talk at all, I'll be in my study."
"Thanks, Professor." She said as he disappeared. She thought about how kind and generous he was to her, how kind they all were. Kitty was the only girlfriend she had that hadn't betrayed her yet, Kurt was her only family member that wanted nothing more from her than to smile or chuckle at him once in a while. Then she thought about all the trouble she'd caused them since her powers manifested, and all they ever wanted to do was help her. Before she knew it, she was standing at her dresser, rummaging through the drawers for the uniform she hadn't worn in a long time.
