Chapter 17: Parapets and Pain Killers
The reason the kids bought the skates was because they realized the pairs they had in the trunk were dull. Oh sure, they could have just gotten their skates sharpened, although how many times have you had somebody else's credit card a credit card at your disposal? But that's not all they did-Remember the seranwrap and the Canadian flag in the trunk?
Rogue turned them into a skating uniform by wrapping the flag around her as dress and using the seranwrap to hold the flag in place.
Rogue and Bobby had just been able to coax John out on to the ice-Ok, maybe "coaxed" is too lax a word, I think "dragged kicking and screaming" would cover the situation better when-
KRAK-BOOM
The entire sky lit up with lightening as bright as day over the ice rink at McGill.
"What the hell?" John looked up at the sky, "That didn't sound good."
Sleet the size of golf balls began to pelt everyone on the ice.
"Sleet-and-lightening at the same time?" Bobby looked around in confusion.
"You'd think some prophet would have taken the time out to warn us about this kind of weather in the Bible," John commented.
ZZZZZZzzzzzzt!
A bolt of lightening cut a 50 foot tree straight down the center. Bobby was able to stop the tree from causing anyone some unneeded damage, while John put out the flames along the trunk.
The three looked at each other.
"You don't think Ro-" Bobby trailed off.
"No, Ah know!" said Rogue.
"We've gotta get back to the Institute," said Bobby.
"Ya, well we better hurry before it gets any worse." said Py, "Rogue you have to drive. Bobby and I will keep the road clear."
John handed the keys to Rogue.
"Ah don't know about this," said Rogue nervously.
"All you have to do is drive," assured John.
Rogue took a deep breath and accepted the keys for Pyro.
They headed for the car.
-------------
"How's that pain killer coming, Hank?" asked Victor.
"Oh-My-" Storm began.
KRAK-BOOM!
The entire foundation shook.
"O-K, stay calm-yer fine-just keep breathin'." Victor was trying to keep Storm relaxed.
"Stay calm?! You-are-kidding me, right?" asked Storm sarcastically.
"Uh-Hank? What am I s'possed to be doin' here?" Vic looked through the doorway into the lab.
"Just what you're doing," said Hank as he filled a syringe.
"Just out of curiosity, where's that going?" asked Vic.
"In her lower back," explained Beast, "Ready?"
Hank looked over at Storm.
"Just do it before the next one hits." she said.
"Victor, you're going to have to act as a brace for her," said Hank.
"NNNgh!" Storm winced as the needle pierced her skin.
"I called some friends, one's an EMT and the others an OBGYN. They should be here shortly." said Hank as he disposed of the syringe.
"So what are we supposed to do in the meantime?" asked Ororo.
Hank tossed a pack of cards to Sabertooth, "Might I suggest gin rummy, while I get everything set up?"
-------------
The teens were able to make it back in record time. No one was on the roads-go figure. By the time they arrived at the Institute they found an unfamiliar van parked outside and the very familiar shadows of Cyclops, Wolverine, Nightcrawler and Toad in one of the parlors. One might go as far as to say too familiar.
Rogue killed the engine (not literally!).
"Wow, so this is how it's going to end," said John, "and here I was at least hoping to go down in a blaze of glory."
"Why am I not surprised?" said Bobby sarcastically as he rolled his eyes.
John ignored Bobby's comment and continued in a somewhat longing and definitely sarcastic tone, "If only I had been able to help Rogue experience the true pleasures of what it means to be a woman *mocking sigh*."
"Well Ah NEVAH!-Your ASS is GRASS!"
"Rogue, don't do anything drastic!" pleaded Bobby, "You'll only set Wolverine off more if you finish Py off before he gets a chance!"
"Ah don't care!" declared Rogue as she lunged for John's jugular.
-------------
BAM!
The front door to the Institute flew open.
In a split second John was on his back on the floor of the foyer and Rogue was on top of him, attempting to choke the life out of him, while Bobby had a taken firm hold Marie's foot in a poor to try and pull her off of Py before she did any real damage.
SKNIT!
All three teens looked up.
"Where in HELL were the three of you?!" asked Scott as he crossed his arms.
"Would you believe walking the parapets?" asked Rogue.
"You don't even know what a parapet is!" said Toad.
"Ah don't see what that has to do with anything!" said Rogue defiantly.
-------------
"OW!" yelped Storm.
KRACK-BOOM!
"What is it?" asked Victor quickly. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been this nervous.
"I think the pain killer's starting to wear off," said Storm.
"Hank, you might wanna step in here fer a minute." Victor called.
"What seems to be the problem?" asked Hank walking in with a clipboard. He had been sitting at a table with the EMT and OBGYN discussing a recent medical thesis that had just been published in the "Times".
"We're gonna need more drugs," said Victor.
"Fast!" growled Ororo.
Hank walked over to get a better look at one of the print outs, "Don't worry, if these readings stay as high as they are it won't be much longer."
-------------
Meanwhile up in the commons room the men were about to sentence the teens when the EMT came bursting out of the elevator-
"Which one of you is Mystique?" he asked.
"No one, she's in another part of the mansion," said Scott.
"Well, where is she?" pressed the EMT, "I've been asked to bring her to the medical lab."
"Uh, why don't you head back down to lab and we'll send her after you," said Toad.
"Ja, it's for your own good," assured Kurt.
The EMT looked like he was about to say something, but then caught sight of Wolverine's claws and beat a hasty retreat.
It was then Rogue felt that all eyes were upon her-
"Oh, no-Ah'm not goin' up there!"
"Oh, yes you are!" said Scott.
Rogue gave a frustrated sigh, "Whay meh?!"
"Because Mags actually doesn't mind you that much," explained Toad, "whereas if I went up there and walked in on something the next thing I would most likely notice was a metal doorknob lodged between my heart and my collar bone!"
"Just out of curiosity will this count as my punishment for the whole Montreal thing?" asked Rogue.
"Oh no," assured Wolverine, "this is just the tip of the iceberg."
"Shit," Rogue swore under her breath as she headed up the stairs.
As the four men turned their attentions back to the boys-
KRACK-BOOM!
The lights flickered.
CRACK!
BANG!
It sounded as though something heavy had fallen on the other side of Institute.
"That sounded like it came from the hanger," said Scott with a great deal of worry in his voice.
"Lets check it out," said Kurt.
BAMF!
The boys were left on the couch in the commons room.
-------------
BAMF!
The men appeared in the hanger.
"It doesn't look like any damage was caused," said Toad.
Logan looked up, "Flamin' Hell!"
Sure enough the doors over the basketball court had completely derailed. The slightest wrong move could have send them crashing down-
"AH-CHOO!" Kurt sneezed and-
CRASH!
"Nice," commented Wolverine sarcastically.
The doors had fallen in front of the only exit out of the hanger and Kurt who had been blown back into a wall was now unconscious.
-------------
Rogue made her way slowly down corridor after corridor until she reached the wing where Magneto and Mystique's room was.
She reached the door and froze.
She took a deep breath and was about to knock when-
The brass knob began to turn on its own.
The door glided open, revealing Magneto and Mystique sitting against the headboard.
"And just where have you been?" asked Magneto with mocking smile.
"Would you believe walking the parapets?" asked Rogue.
"You don't even know what a parapet is!" said Mystique.
"Ah don't see what that has to do with anything!" said Rogue defiantly.
Rogue hadn't noticed the top of her trench coat had begun to loosen.
Magneto squinted in the dim light cast by the lamps on the night stands, "Are you wearing seranwrap?!"
Rogue looked down and quickly covered the visible plastic sheet with her hand, "Uh-it's a long story."
"Which I'm sure we're going to hear-in great detail-later," said Mystique in a dangerous tone as she headed out the door and down the hall.
"-Um-Ok," said Rogue rather sheepishly as she visibly swallowed hard.
Rogue followed Mystique back down to the first floor-at a safe distance of course.
The reason the kids bought the skates was because they realized the pairs they had in the trunk were dull. Oh sure, they could have just gotten their skates sharpened, although how many times have you had somebody else's credit card a credit card at your disposal? But that's not all they did-Remember the seranwrap and the Canadian flag in the trunk?
Rogue turned them into a skating uniform by wrapping the flag around her as dress and using the seranwrap to hold the flag in place.
Rogue and Bobby had just been able to coax John out on to the ice-Ok, maybe "coaxed" is too lax a word, I think "dragged kicking and screaming" would cover the situation better when-
KRAK-BOOM
The entire sky lit up with lightening as bright as day over the ice rink at McGill.
"What the hell?" John looked up at the sky, "That didn't sound good."
Sleet the size of golf balls began to pelt everyone on the ice.
"Sleet-and-lightening at the same time?" Bobby looked around in confusion.
"You'd think some prophet would have taken the time out to warn us about this kind of weather in the Bible," John commented.
ZZZZZZzzzzzzt!
A bolt of lightening cut a 50 foot tree straight down the center. Bobby was able to stop the tree from causing anyone some unneeded damage, while John put out the flames along the trunk.
The three looked at each other.
"You don't think Ro-" Bobby trailed off.
"No, Ah know!" said Rogue.
"We've gotta get back to the Institute," said Bobby.
"Ya, well we better hurry before it gets any worse." said Py, "Rogue you have to drive. Bobby and I will keep the road clear."
John handed the keys to Rogue.
"Ah don't know about this," said Rogue nervously.
"All you have to do is drive," assured John.
Rogue took a deep breath and accepted the keys for Pyro.
They headed for the car.
-------------
"How's that pain killer coming, Hank?" asked Victor.
"Oh-My-" Storm began.
KRAK-BOOM!
The entire foundation shook.
"O-K, stay calm-yer fine-just keep breathin'." Victor was trying to keep Storm relaxed.
"Stay calm?! You-are-kidding me, right?" asked Storm sarcastically.
"Uh-Hank? What am I s'possed to be doin' here?" Vic looked through the doorway into the lab.
"Just what you're doing," said Hank as he filled a syringe.
"Just out of curiosity, where's that going?" asked Vic.
"In her lower back," explained Beast, "Ready?"
Hank looked over at Storm.
"Just do it before the next one hits." she said.
"Victor, you're going to have to act as a brace for her," said Hank.
"NNNgh!" Storm winced as the needle pierced her skin.
"I called some friends, one's an EMT and the others an OBGYN. They should be here shortly." said Hank as he disposed of the syringe.
"So what are we supposed to do in the meantime?" asked Ororo.
Hank tossed a pack of cards to Sabertooth, "Might I suggest gin rummy, while I get everything set up?"
-------------
The teens were able to make it back in record time. No one was on the roads-go figure. By the time they arrived at the Institute they found an unfamiliar van parked outside and the very familiar shadows of Cyclops, Wolverine, Nightcrawler and Toad in one of the parlors. One might go as far as to say too familiar.
Rogue killed the engine (not literally!).
"Wow, so this is how it's going to end," said John, "and here I was at least hoping to go down in a blaze of glory."
"Why am I not surprised?" said Bobby sarcastically as he rolled his eyes.
John ignored Bobby's comment and continued in a somewhat longing and definitely sarcastic tone, "If only I had been able to help Rogue experience the true pleasures of what it means to be a woman *mocking sigh*."
"Well Ah NEVAH!-Your ASS is GRASS!"
"Rogue, don't do anything drastic!" pleaded Bobby, "You'll only set Wolverine off more if you finish Py off before he gets a chance!"
"Ah don't care!" declared Rogue as she lunged for John's jugular.
-------------
BAM!
The front door to the Institute flew open.
In a split second John was on his back on the floor of the foyer and Rogue was on top of him, attempting to choke the life out of him, while Bobby had a taken firm hold Marie's foot in a poor to try and pull her off of Py before she did any real damage.
SKNIT!
All three teens looked up.
"Where in HELL were the three of you?!" asked Scott as he crossed his arms.
"Would you believe walking the parapets?" asked Rogue.
"You don't even know what a parapet is!" said Toad.
"Ah don't see what that has to do with anything!" said Rogue defiantly.
-------------
"OW!" yelped Storm.
KRACK-BOOM!
"What is it?" asked Victor quickly. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been this nervous.
"I think the pain killer's starting to wear off," said Storm.
"Hank, you might wanna step in here fer a minute." Victor called.
"What seems to be the problem?" asked Hank walking in with a clipboard. He had been sitting at a table with the EMT and OBGYN discussing a recent medical thesis that had just been published in the "Times".
"We're gonna need more drugs," said Victor.
"Fast!" growled Ororo.
Hank walked over to get a better look at one of the print outs, "Don't worry, if these readings stay as high as they are it won't be much longer."
-------------
Meanwhile up in the commons room the men were about to sentence the teens when the EMT came bursting out of the elevator-
"Which one of you is Mystique?" he asked.
"No one, she's in another part of the mansion," said Scott.
"Well, where is she?" pressed the EMT, "I've been asked to bring her to the medical lab."
"Uh, why don't you head back down to lab and we'll send her after you," said Toad.
"Ja, it's for your own good," assured Kurt.
The EMT looked like he was about to say something, but then caught sight of Wolverine's claws and beat a hasty retreat.
It was then Rogue felt that all eyes were upon her-
"Oh, no-Ah'm not goin' up there!"
"Oh, yes you are!" said Scott.
Rogue gave a frustrated sigh, "Whay meh?!"
"Because Mags actually doesn't mind you that much," explained Toad, "whereas if I went up there and walked in on something the next thing I would most likely notice was a metal doorknob lodged between my heart and my collar bone!"
"Just out of curiosity will this count as my punishment for the whole Montreal thing?" asked Rogue.
"Oh no," assured Wolverine, "this is just the tip of the iceberg."
"Shit," Rogue swore under her breath as she headed up the stairs.
As the four men turned their attentions back to the boys-
KRACK-BOOM!
The lights flickered.
CRACK!
BANG!
It sounded as though something heavy had fallen on the other side of Institute.
"That sounded like it came from the hanger," said Scott with a great deal of worry in his voice.
"Lets check it out," said Kurt.
BAMF!
The boys were left on the couch in the commons room.
-------------
BAMF!
The men appeared in the hanger.
"It doesn't look like any damage was caused," said Toad.
Logan looked up, "Flamin' Hell!"
Sure enough the doors over the basketball court had completely derailed. The slightest wrong move could have send them crashing down-
"AH-CHOO!" Kurt sneezed and-
CRASH!
"Nice," commented Wolverine sarcastically.
The doors had fallen in front of the only exit out of the hanger and Kurt who had been blown back into a wall was now unconscious.
-------------
Rogue made her way slowly down corridor after corridor until she reached the wing where Magneto and Mystique's room was.
She reached the door and froze.
She took a deep breath and was about to knock when-
The brass knob began to turn on its own.
The door glided open, revealing Magneto and Mystique sitting against the headboard.
"And just where have you been?" asked Magneto with mocking smile.
"Would you believe walking the parapets?" asked Rogue.
"You don't even know what a parapet is!" said Mystique.
"Ah don't see what that has to do with anything!" said Rogue defiantly.
Rogue hadn't noticed the top of her trench coat had begun to loosen.
Magneto squinted in the dim light cast by the lamps on the night stands, "Are you wearing seranwrap?!"
Rogue looked down and quickly covered the visible plastic sheet with her hand, "Uh-it's a long story."
"Which I'm sure we're going to hear-in great detail-later," said Mystique in a dangerous tone as she headed out the door and down the hall.
"-Um-Ok," said Rogue rather sheepishly as she visibly swallowed hard.
Rogue followed Mystique back down to the first floor-at a safe distance of course.