Thanks for the feedback: raniatlw, DemonRogue13, Beaubier, Steven P. P
Steven: I'm missing the "Beyond Evo" message board as well, and I hope things look up.
I'm not sure what Evo-Apoc's powers are supposed to be myself, so I decided they'd be telekinetics on a molecular level, he's manipulating the air to form shock waves and vacuums.
Matt heard a child running toward the mansion's lobby. A minute later the door opened and slammed shut. "Moira!" A young boy exclaimed. He sounded breathless. "The Professor's on line. They're headed back, with injuries, a lot of them."
"Excuse me." Moira said in a perfunctory manner. The smell of her perfume dissipated as she hurried away.
Matt heard the boy start after her then stop with a soft sound of agitation. There was a scuff of shoe leather against polished hardwood then the boy muttered. "I'd probably just be in the way."
"Why don't we get dinner started?" Matt suggested. "I bet everyone would appreciate having a hot meal waiting for them."
There was a rustle of clothing as the boy straightened. "Yeah, they'd like that." He said.
Matt followed the sound of the boy's footsteps to what had to be the kitchen from the smells and the echoes. "Do you have things for a stew?" Matt asked. "We can leave it on the stove so it'll be hot and ready whenever they stop to eat." Also the amount of chopping and peeling would keep the kid busy for a while, Matt thought.
The sound of Moira's voice drifted up from the basement. "Forge, I need ye to come build something to help oxygenate Strom's blood until her lungs heal."
Matt kept his expression neutral he didn't want to worry the boy. "We skipped introductions." He said as he extended a hand. "I'm Matt."
"Jamie. What do we do first?"
"Where there any leftovers from the roast?" Matt asked as he picked out a lingering scent from the air.
"Yeah, with everything that happened at school and with the police, no one was hungry that night, not even Blob… Hey how'd you know we had roast?"
"I'm a man of many talents. Why don't you start chopping it up? I'll put some water on to boil if you tell me where to find a big enough pot."
"Two cupboards to the left of the fridge." Jamie replied as he retrieved the roast and a knife.
Matt pulled out the largest pot he could find and took it over to the sink. As it fill the changes in the sound of the echoes as well as the weight told him how full it was.
Shortly after the meat and seasonings were added to the boiling water the mansion's front door slammed open. Matt listened as a boy, Forge undoubtedly, questioned Moira about a few last minute specifications then they headed back toward the med lab.
The jangle of someone wearing more than a few pieces of jewelry headed toward the kitchen. Matt cringed a little and the overwhelming smell of too much perfume when the door opened. "Hey Jamie." A girl said. "I saw Dr. MacTaggart. This is bad business huh?"
Jamie gave a nervous sigh. "I think a lot of the team got hurt Tabby."
"Lets not dwell on it." Matt suggested. "There might be things you can do to help once they get back but getting worked up now won't make anything better."
Matt could feel Tabby staring at him. "Hey, you're blind aren't you?" She said waving a hand in front of his face.
Matt caught her wrist and pushed her hand down to her side. "Yes and you're obnoxious. Why don't you do something useful and chop up some onions? Jamie, see if you can find carrots, celery, potatoes…"
"You know you're pretty cute even if you are bossy." Tabby continued unperturbed as she pulled a bag of onions out of the pantry. She glanced from the onions to a knife and wrinkled her nose then glanced at Matt's cane and grinned. "What he doesn't know can't hurt him." She thought and she pushed a small time bomb into the first onion.
Matt didn't notice. His attention was captured by the sound of a jet firing breaking thrusters above the mansion.
An explosion of heat and the stench of onions brought his attention back to the kitchen. "Oops." Tabby said carelessly.
"Yuck." Jamie announced.
Matt sighed and scrapped a fragment of onion off his cheek. "Clean it up. Do the job right." He said.
Tabby had just gotten started when Matt heard people being unloaded from the X-Jet.
"Forge, get Storm hooked up." Moira ordered. "She's fighting to get enough air."
"Will do."
"The other's?"
"Amara took damage to the ribs." A new voice answered. "Pietro is dehydrated, suffering second degree sunburn and his ankle's broken. Pyro suffered a cracked skull. Magneto is concussed and unconscious."
"I'll take Pyro, the danger room has been reconfigured into an operating room." Moira replied. "Start Pietro on an IV. There's some of Mattie's burn salve left in the cupboard. Get X-Rays of Amara and Erik. Let me know if you find anything urgent."
"I'm on it."
Matt turned back to the pain in the kitchen. "You two have things under control?" He asked.
"Carrots in ten minutes, onions as soon as Tabby chops them, potatoes in twenty and celery right before the potatoes finish, got it." Jamie replied.
"Good." Matt said. "I'll leave you to it." As he walked through the front hall he leaned his cane up in the corner then followed the voices downstairs. "I overheard. Let me deal with the boy." Matt's voice bounced back off the man Moira had been talking with. Matt got the impression that the man was covered in dense fur.
"And you are?"
"Matt Murdock, a friend of Charles'."
Beast turned toward the back of the room. "Rogue, stay with Pietro. Yell if anything seems off."
"I'll consider myself warned." Matt replied. He started toward the feverishly warm body. "Could you get a saline solution for me?" He asked Rogue. She nodded.
Matt listened to the echoes in the room and used them to locate a needle.
"What are you going to do?" Pietro asked.
"I'm going to put in an IV then set your ankle." Matt replied calmly. "I'll let your lady friend deal with the burn cream."
"Ah'll go get that." Rogue said as she set the IV bag down on the table beside Matt.
Matt picked up Pietro's wrist. He could feel the blood racing through the boy's veins. "Easy kid, I'm not going to hurt you."
"I'm not nervous. That's just my mutation." Pietro insisted. Matt heard the boy's heartbeat change, but that wasn't the sort of lie you called a person on.
Matt carefully ran his fingers over the boy's wrist noting the slight bulge of the vein and inserted the needle.
"Alright Amara." Beast said. "Nothing is broken, just a few cracked ribs. Take these, they should ease the pain."
After he finished taping Amara's ribs Hank carefully removed Magneto's helmet and set it aside.
"Why'd we have to bring him here?" Pietro demanded then gasped as Matt started working on his ankle.
Carefully Matt nudged the broken bits of bone back into alignment. It was like trying to put a puzzle together after putting all the pieces in a bag, only this puzzle moaned and wriggled with pain as the pieces were fitted together.
"I'm sorry." Rogue whispered. Matt could smell the presence of warm salt water on her face.
Pietro stilled. "It's not that bad." He said. "It's not your fault anyway."
While Matt continued working on Pietro's ankle Hank X-rayed Magneto's skull. "Well it seems Mr. Lehnsherr's skull is a hard literally as it is figuratively, he should be waking up any minute now." Hank said. "If he'd just waited until we were able to act as a team Ororo might not have taken such grievous injuries."
"He's-going-to-wake-up!" Pietro exclaimed as he lunged toward the door. Rogue kept him from jumping to his feet when he forgot his broken ankle. "I-don't-wanna-be-here. I-don't-I-don't-I-don't!"
"Pietro calm down!" Matt ordered as he helped Rogue restrain the panicked teen.
"Perhaps it would be best if Pietro were relocated to his room." Hank suggested.
Matt scooped Pietro up. "Rogue grab the IV stand and lead the way." He ordered. "There's a helicopter landing." He called back to Hank as they left. "More injuries?"
"Predominately exhaustion." Hank answered as he moved Magneto to one of the beds then headed for the hanger.
"Scott, Todd, Gambit, Wanda, I want you all to rest." Xavier ordered. "You're free to return to your rooms. Logan, Colossus please move some beds into my study. I want to monitor Kurt and Ray until they regain consciousness. Jean could you take responsibility for getting the two of them there? Fred, Evan, I know you both think you're completely recovered but I'd be happier if you'd report to the infirmary for a check up."
"I'll take charge of them." Hank volunteered as he steered Fred and Evan back in the direction from which he'd come. "I believe I saw Jamie and Tabby putting together dinner."
"We'll go help." Sam said with a nod toward Rahne and Bobby.
"Charles," Hank added as the others scattered, "there's a Matt Murdock here to see you. Currently he's volunteered to look after Pietro. I have Rogue looking after him."
"I have faith in Matthew's abilities and intensions." Xavier replied. "I'll speak with him once things are settled. Before anything else I'd like to check on Ororo."
"She's in the Danger Room under Forge's care." Hank replied. "The damage to her lungs was the only pressing concern."
Xavier nodded. He and Hank split up at the door to the infirmary. Xavier frowned at the odd sense of darkness coming from the room but dismissed his concerns in the face of the numerous concrete issues vying for his attention.
Xavier continued on to the converted Danger Room. Moira had surgical drapes over Pyro's head and was working intently on him.
Forge watched over Ororo on the other side of the room. When former goddess saw Xavier she smiled weakly. "Storm shouldn't talk until she heals some." Forge said seriously. "It'll put more stress on her lungs, cause she's gotta breath to talk."
Xavier nodded. "Thank you for your assistance Forge." //How are you doing Ororo?//
//I have been better. Please tell Forge his device is much appreciated. My chest, nose and ears all hurt, but I don't feel like I'm suffocating and my chest hurts less now that I am not fighting to breathe.//
Xavier nodded then winced as Pietro's mental shout struck him. //Uncle Charles!//
//Pietro you don't need to shout.//
//I don't want to be here with Magneto. Make him go away!//
//Pietro he's injured…//
//I don't care!//
//…and we need every edge against Apocalypse.//
//I wanna call my parents. I don't wanna be here! Not with him!//
//Pietro!//
//I don't wanna be here when he wakes up!//
//Alright Pietro, I'll call Magda.//
"Are you okay Professor X?" Forge asked.
"Yes, thank you." Xavier said. "Ororo asked me to pass on her appreciation for your help."
"Hey, always happy to help." Forge said as he tipped his head to Storm.
****** ****** ******
When Hank walked back into the infirmary Magneto was standing up although he had to lean on the counter for support. "Where is my helmet?" He demanded. "How dare you remove it!"
"I found it difficult to obtain X-rays through a metal plate." Hank replied shortly.
"Where is it? Is Charles here?"
Beast picked up the helmet from the floor where he'd set it earlier and threw it at Magneto. "Frankly no one here cares about what you think." He exclaimed irritably. "Your son very nearly suffered a panic attack at the thought of being in the same room with you. Doesn't that bother you at all? Mystique tried to murder him because of her issues with you. Because of you, he's in considerable pain right now."
Magneto used his powers to catch the helmet and calmly settled it in place. "My relationship with my son is no concern of yours. Were you able to locate Wanda and Gambit?"
"They're resting." Beast replied shortly. "I have more important things to do than speaking with you. Either leave this building or sit there and shut up."
"We need each other Mr. McCoy. Apocalypse must be defeated."
****** ****** ******
Moira washed the blood off her hands with a sigh. "There was reason why I went into research." She said to herself. She stripped off her scrubs and headed over to check Ororo.
"Shh." Forge said putting his finger to his lips. "Mr. McCoy checked on her earlier. She's sleeping."
Moira discreetly checked Ororo's vitals. "I'll be back by later." She quietly told Forge. "Have you gotten dinner yet?"
Forge shook his head.
"I'll send someone down with a plate." Moira said. She left to continue her rounds.
Her next stop was the infirmary. Hank waved to her tiredly.
"Can I go sit with Auntie O?" Evan asked as Moira checked him over.
"Yes, you seem to be fine." Moira replied.
"My bones heal almost as fast as Mr. Logan does." Evan said with a shrug.
"Hank, could you move Pyro in here?" Moira requested and the blue furred mutant followed Evan out of the infirmary.
Amara and Fred were chatting quietly on one side of the room. On the other side of the room Magneto lay back on his bed reading.
"How are you two feeling?" Moira asked.
"I'm fine." Amara said.
"I'm hungry." Fred replied as he finished off the last spoonful of stew that had been brought down for him. "I'm going to go see if there's any seconds left. Could you stay? I don't want to leave Amara alone with him." He glared at Magneto.
"Fred, follow the pen with your eyes." Moira instructed. After a few more tests she moved on to look at Amara's X-rays. "Okay, I'm releasing both of you." Moira said. "I don't want to hear about either of you exerting yourselves and Fred be sure to keep on drinking a lot of liquids."
"Thanks Dr. MacTaggart." Amara said as she waved. They passed Hank on his way back with Pyro. Moira turned her attention to Magneto's X-rays.
After getting Pyro squared away Hank handed Moira another set of X-rays. "Pietro's ankle. Don't ask about the gymnastics it took to get him back in this room long enough to take these."
"Who ever set the break did a very nice job." Moira remarked. "I take it the rumors about him leaving are based on fact?"
"His parents will be picking him up this evening." Hank confirmed.
"Django Maximoff is not Pietro's parent." Magneto interjected with an irate glared at them.
"Unfortunately." Moira stated coolly. "Hank, has anyone put a cast on Pietro yet?"
"He's still in a splint. I thought it best to give you the chance to check his leg before proceeding."
Moira nodded "Give me twenty minutes then go ahead and send up the plaster." She instructed.
Moira headed upstairs. She ducked into the kitchen long enough to grab a bowl of stew. Jamie, Tabby, Bobby and Sam had moved on to making cookies. Scott, Jean, Logan and Colossus were quietly going over the battle while they ate. Todd was perched on the counter. He was animatedly recounting his adventures to Rahne. Fred took a break from eating to offer a correction to Todd's tale.
Kurt stumbled in while rubbing sleep from his eyes. "I am too hungry to sleep." He complained.
Tabby pushed him into a chair then got him a bowl of stew.
Moira continued eating as she made her rounds. She found Remy and Wanda asleep on the couch in the living room under a pile of blankets. The pair looked like a couple of lost children clinging to one another.
With a sigh Moira shook them awake. "Sorry to bother ye but I need to check for frostbite and concussions. Ye did fall off a cliff into ice water after all."
"How is my father?" Wanda asked.
"He's alive and well." Moira replied. "And I've already got my hands full so ye'd best not do anything to change that fact m' girl."
"I'd never hurt my father!" Wanda declared, outraged. Moira cocked a skeptical eyebrow at that.
After a few moments Moira completed her examinations. "Remy I'd appreciate it if ye'd ask yer Tante Mattie if she'd mind visiting. I'd like her to take a look at both Ororo and Pyro, see if she can do anything to help. Ororo's lungs were damaged by explosive decompression. Pyro suffered a sub-dermal hematoma. I believe they'll recover given time but her methods might speed their healing along."
"How'd y' know 'bout Mattie?" Gambit demanded.
"Other than you asking her to come here and help Lance?" Moira asked factiously. "She stayed here for over a month, remember? Yer both fine. Ye'd probably be more comfortable sleeping in your rooms rather than on a couch."
The pair stared after her in confusion as Moira picked up her bowl and left.
Moira went up to Xavier's office. He and Matt were talking quietly. "Nice work on Pietro's leg. From what I'd heard I thought I'd have to operate to get the small bones back in place. Ye'll have to tell me how ye did that."
Matt shrugged. "You loose one sense the others get sharper to compensate. I could feel where the bones were misaligned."
Moira snorted disbelievingly but didn't argue the matter. "I came up to check on Ray." She told Xavier.
"He's still out." He said gesturing to the bed where the boy lay.
"Vitals are strong." Moira reported after a few minutes. "If he hasn't woken by tonight I want him moved to the infirmary where we can monitor him more closely. Also I'd prefer not to have Erik cluttering up my space. There's no reason for him being there. If ye must collaborate with that man could ye not do it over the telephone?"
Xavier sighed. "Moira, the fact remains we do need him… And as long as he stays Gambit and Wanda will also stay. I would like to understand how he persuaded them to come around to his way of thinking."
"Ye mean Wanda wasn't working for him as a ploy to get close enough to kill him?" Moira asked. "I hadn't imaged that there was any other possibility."
"To all appearances Wanda is currently quiet devoted to her father." Xavier said.
Moira shook her head in disbelief. "I've still a few patients to look in on." She said. Then she headed for Pietro's room.
"And here I was worrying you'd be late." Hank said as he met her at the door.
Moira smiled. She took the bandages and plaster. "Who's watching the infirmary?" She asked.
"Logan heard Erik was up, he volunteered." Hank replied. "Scott intended to keep him company but the boy had been awake for better than thirty hours. He's currently making good use of one of the beds we set up, as is Evan."
"The adrenaline's wearing off." Moira replied. "I wouldn't be surprised if it became very quiet around here for the next dozen hours or so. It's been a long day for all of us."
Hank smothered a yawn. "You'll find none to debate that." He said.
"I can take things from here." Moira suggested.
"Then I'm off to dreamland." Hank replied as he left her with the medical supplies.
Light from the hall spilled into the darkened room. Pietro glanced toward the door. He blinked sleep from his eyes and ran a hand through already tousled hair. Rogue murmured a sleepy complaint. Her cheek was pillowed on Pietro's chest, her hands folded beneath her chin. "Your talking woke me up." He complained as he smoothed Rogue's hair away from his face.
"I'll be quick about this." Moira said as she set the plaster beside the bed. She removed the splint and started applying the cast.
"I had time to think about it. Magneto did something to Wanda didn't he?" Pietro asked.
"Charles thinks so." Moira replied.
"She wouldn't just forgive him." Pietro said. "When we were seven she was in a play at school. He promised to come. It took him three months before Wanda would talk to him again. I think she'd be less forgiving about being locked up in a nuthouse for nine years."
"We'll find a way to help her." Moira promised. "Your parents are arriving in a few hours, unless you've decided to stay?"
"Nu-huh." Pietro said. He shook his head. "Not with Magneto here."
"I sympathized with that. I can't say I want Erik here either." Moira said as she shook her head. "Charles and I used to double date with your parents. I can't believe how much Erik has changed since then… Get some more sleep. I'll wake you when your parents get here. For now I'd best be getting Rogue back to her own bed."
"Can't she stay?" Pietro asked. He brushed a finger across her cheek.
Moira gasped.
"It's okay." Pietro said. "I didn't get a chance to tell her yet but when Mystique kidnapped us Rogue's power didn't work on me."
"You're sure?" Moira said.
Pietro leaned down and kissed Rogue's forehead. Rogue woke she blinked at him her eyes bleary and bewildered.
"Go ahead and tell her." Moira said. "Then she's going to bed… in her own bed. We'll figure out the how and why later."