Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men!!! Maybe I can take over Marvel, though…
John sighed and sprawled out on his bed, staring at the ceiling. Remy suddenly walked in and sat down on the other bed that was his and began shuffling his ever-present deck of cards. "Remy wants to know something, John," he said suddenly, watching his Aussie friend closely, as if trying to find something.
John lifted his head slightly off his pillow to look at Remy over his rising and falling chest. "What is it, Remy?" asked the Aussie, curious as to what the Cajun wanted to discuss.
Remy looked at John seriously. "Remy wants to know if you'd be trying to steal Remy's girl," he replied, watching John with suspicious eyes.
John laughed. "What gave you that idea, mate?" he asked, trying to keep the smile off his young face.
"Remy saw you hugging Rogue."
John smiled. "Rogue was just helping me through something. Don't worry, mate. I like Ali," he explained. The mention of his missing girlfriend suddenly made his happiness drop. He missed her so much. He didn't know where she was, what happened to her. Heck, he didn't even know if she was alive. But a feeling in his gut told him that she was.
Kitty suddenly phased through the door, her blue eyes gazing at John and Remy tiredly. "Hey, guys," she said and she flopped onto a desk chair.
"Geez, sheila! You think you could knock first!" John yelled, pretending to cover up his chest as if he was revealing something that shouldn't be seen by anyone, when in reality he was wearing a black Spitfire t-shirt.
Kitty smiled. "Whatever," she replied. "How are you holding up, John?" she asked, suddenly serious and worried for her friend.
John shrugged. "All right. I miss Ali like hell, though," he replied, looking at his hands. Lately, the mere sight of his hands disgusted him and reminded him of his failed attempt to save Ali. He shifted his gaze to his lamp, where he began to wonder how long it would take for it to turn to ashes.
Kitty nodded understandingly. "Just don't give up hope, John," she replied. "We'll find her, I promise."
John nodded. "I know. I just wish it would happen sooner."
*
The girl stood in the middle of the room, dressed in a set of black pants, a black turtleneck, and a black trench coat. Her green eyes blazed with indecipherable emotion. Her face was a mask of calm, holding behind it all the emotions that pushed to break through. She raised her head slightly at the sound of door opening and closing, only to find a woman a little taller than her enter. Her red hair flowed past her shoulders, and her cold blue eyes gazed proudly at the girl before her.
"Hello, my daughter," said the woman, walking out to hug the girl.
The girl merely nodded and hugged her mother back. "Mother, when are we going to leave?" she asked.
Her mother smiled at the amount of respect shown by the remodeled girl. She had wiped away all the "poisonous" thoughts and memories and remolded her, making her the perfect daughter and fighter. "Soon, my dear. When your father tells us to," she replied, tucking some hair behind her daughter's ear.
Suddenly, the door opened and closed again. A tall, muscular man walked in. His green eyes met with his daughters, and in the instant, she knew it was time to go. "We're going to go pay a visit to him. To Xavier," he announced.
The girl nodded. She would get revenge. She would hurt the man that had hurt her. Xavier would die.
*
Rogue glanced out her dormitory window and frowned. Wind whipped the trees back and forth and swirled the charcoal gray clouds overhead in the sky. A storm was coming, but it wasn't natural. Something was wrong, she could just feel it. She dropped the book that was in her hands and left the room. The professor had to know about how she was feeling.
Xavier was sitting in his wheelchair in behind the glass front doors. His chin rested on his folded hands, and his maroon eyes stared at the brewing storm in concentration. A fight was coming; he could feel it. The only questions were when and why.
Rogue suddenly appeared behind the professor. "Professor, something bad is coming," she announced, watching the storm with intrigued concentration. Why did she have such a bad feeling about it? What was going to happen that was making her so nervous?
Xavier nodded his agreement. "Rogue, go put all the students on alert," he said after a moment. "I have a bad feeling about this."
Rogue nodded and left for the rec room, leaving the professor to ponder his thoughts. What is going on? he thought. Why is this happening?
The wind picked up speed even more, nearly ripping the trees out of the ground. Thunder boomed overhead and lightening flashed brilliantly. It was both exciting and terrifying at the same time.
The students dressed in their uniforms, the tension in the air thick enough to cut with a knife. No one dared speak at all, for fear that something bad might happen. The adults were all worried. They didn't know what to expect, and could only assume the worst.
Finally, the worst expected moment arrived. The X-Men were all crowded into the foyer, looked out the windows nervously. The younger students were in the lower levels, locked into the rooms with a security system that even Berserker couldn't hot-wire.
Out beyond gates on the horizon, seven figures formed. They slowly drew closer, as if taking their precious time in arriving. With every passing second, the suspension in the air grew to its breaking point. Scott finally slammed his fist into the wall, drawing all the attention in the room to him. "When are they going to get here?" he demanded angrily. Everyone knew that he was actually aching to find out whether or not Ali was really returning. The thought was riding heavily on all of their shoulders.
Finally, the figures arrived at the gates. Even as close as they were, no one could make out any features of the figures. All they knew was that there was one short person and six other tall ones. They were all dressed in dark clothes.
Suddenly, the intercom system crackled overhead. "Professor?" said a voice quietly, almost sweetly. The voice sounded as if it had been wounded, but everyone knew better. There was something about the voice that sent a chill down all of their spines. Kurt shuddered visibly, as did Kitty. Logan clenched his jaw; Remy and John cracked their knuckles.
"Yes?" answered the professor cautiously. He didn't show it, but he was scared. He had a bad feeling that this wasn't the same person returning to them. And he didn't know whether or not they were hostile. He didn't even know if his students' lives were in danger at the moment. But he had a sneaking suspicion that danger was too close to them.
"I'm back." The intercom went dead then. Suddenly, the wrought-iron gates were ripped from their hinges and flung backwards. The seven figures continued to advance slowly. Logan began to growl. Sabertooth was among them. The stench was recognizable anywhere.
Professor Xavier swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. Magneto was leading the group. And with him were Ali and her parents.
But the teenager wasn't the same one that had been abducted the day before. There was an air about her that sent an involuntary shudder up everyone's spine. Her green eyes were cold and unforgiving, narrowed angrily at the X-Men. Her power radiated off her body in waves, shocking the students. She had never been this powerful before. Before, they knew that they had stood a chance in defeating her. Now, the outcome was questionable, especially since her parents were present. And Ali's mother was the most powerful telepath in the world.
The metal-framed glass doors were suddenly torn from the building and thrown backwards, twisting as they flew through the air. "Hello, Charles," said the taunting voice of Magneto.
Xavier nodded curtly. "Eric," he replied shortly. "And to what do I owe the honor of this visit?"
"Well, Charles," Magneto began. "I just happened to meet up with Ali's parents one day, and so I decided to team up with them. We reached an understanding, so I helped them regain their daughter that you tried to steal away."
Xavier's eyes widened. "I did nothing of the sort! Ali didn't want to go with her parents. I had nothing to do with the decision!" Xavier defended.
"It's one thing to lie, Charles, but to lie in front of your students is a completely other thing," Magneto said with a twisted smile. "Now, I think that you and Ali have a little 'talking' to do."
At the mention of her name, Ali's eyes rose from the ground and she smiled maliciously. "Yes. The professor and I have to 'talk'," she agreed.
The professor swallowed again. He didn't like the looks of Ali's eyes. He had a bad feeling in his gut that told him to run. But he didn't. There was a chance of saving Ali, and he would take that chance, no matter how small.
Logan growled. "No one's touching the professor," he rumbled.
Sabertooth grinned. "I don't think so, squirt," he replied. "You and I have a score to settle."
Logan growled again and suddenly charged forward, tackling Sabertooth to the ground. It was then that all hell broke loose. Colossus charged forward, taking out three of the X-Men. Ali's parents stood on the sidelines, helping every once in a while. They watched the chaos unfold before them with amused, twisted smiles.
Ali, meanwhile, stood opposite of Xavier. "Hello, Professor," she said with a smile that could freeze even Logan to his bones.
"Ali may I ask one thing?" he asked.
"Oh, I suppose I could grant that to you before you die," she replied nonchalantly. No matter how casual she spoke, there was a sick smile on her face. The look didn't suit her, at least not the Ali that the X-Men knew.
Xavier froze for a moment. Did Ali really say that? He regained his senses quickly. "Why do you want to kill me?" he asked, his eyebrows scrunched together in concentration.
Ali's eyes blazed. "I suggest that you don't try to enter my mind, Xavier," she said, her voice iced with frozen fury. "It will only make your death more painful."
Xavier looked taken aback at this development. How did she know? Realization dawned on his face. "Your mother set up mental blocks," he said softly.
Ali nodded, her eyes still hard. "And as for your previous question," she began, "I want to kill you because you tried to isolate me. You tried to keep me from my parents, who only wanted to raise me for the short amount of time left before I'm old enough to be on my own. You tried to kill who I really am!"
"What?" said the Professor. "I tried to help you. Ali, I would never try to do any of that to you. Your parents are lying to you!" he cried desperately.
Ali's eyes glowed electric blue and the electricity began to form around her hands, crackling with the energy behind it. "You liar!" she screamed. "How dare you insult my parents and myself! You will pay for that remark!"
Xavier backed up his wheelchair a bit, afraid at the amount of power radiating from her. "Ali! Please, stop this nonsense! I never meant to hurt you! But your parents lied to you! Please, stop!" he yelled.
Ali's eyes flashed. "Stop it!" she screamed, sending a bolt of energy flying past his head and onto the steps behind him. Xavier froze, his eyes wide. He had come close to being hit, to possibly dying. He had to stop her, now.
"Ali—"
"Shut up! I'll make you pay for what you did to me! You tried to keep me from the truth! Well this is your punishment! Now die!" Ali yelled as she thrust her hand out, electricity flying from her hand towards Xavier.
Professor Xavier closed his eyes, anticipating the impact of the energy. But it never came. He opened his eyes to find a barrier of fire surrounding him, as well as Kitty. She had jumped in front of him, and using her phasing powers cut the electrical current. John had thrown out his element just in time to protect Kitty from any other attacks.
Meanwhile, Ali was glaring furiously at John. "How dare you!" she screamed. "How dare you interfere!"
John's eyes widened. "Ali, don't you remember me?" he asked, his fire shield dropping to nothing as he took a step forward. He was hurt, and the emotions clearly shown in his gorgeous brown eyes. "Don't you remember who I am?"
Ali took an involuntary step backwards. Her eyes lost their cold look, and instead were replaced by a puzzlement and curiosity. She studied John for a moment, studying his every feature. "Who…who are you?" she asked.
John felt his heart shatter for a moment. "You mean…you don't remember me?" he asked, his voice soft.
Ali shook her head. "Should I?" she asked curiously.
Ali's mother interrupted then. "No, Ali, he means nothing," she cut in. "Ignore him."
"Ali, please, listen to me!" John pleaded. "Before you were taken by your parents, you and I were dating. We were boyfriend and girlfriend. Do you remember any of that?" he asked.
Ali shook her head. She was becoming frustrated with herself. The lack of remembering this boy made her mad. She should be able to remember something so simple!
John's eyes became, if possible, even more hurt. Tears seemed to coat his delicate eyes as he looked upon his girlfriend. "Don't you remember that I love you?" he whispered.
The full force of the words hit Ali instantly. Her eyes widened in disbelief. "Wh…what?" she whispered.
"Don't listen to him, Ali! He's trying to trick you!" yelled her mother.
John continued to yell at Ali about times that they spent together and how much he loved her. Meanwhile, Ali's mom kept yelling that John was a liar. Ali clutched her head as she tried to comprehend all the words and sentences that were being flung at her.
Suddenly, it hit her like a heavy brick: John. She remembered him. She remembered laughing with him, crying on his shoulder, his hugs, and how much he really cared for her. She looked up at John. Her realization shown on her face, for John ran forward and swept her up his arms.
"God, Ali! I missed you so much!" he yelled.
Ali was surprised by this. No one had shown her so much care in the two days that she could remember. She slowly reached up and hugged John back. It felt good to have someone's arms around them.
Suddenly, Ali was ripped from John's arms by her father, who shot John backwards with a powerful blast of water. The teen flew through the air and hit the wall of the Institute. "Never touch my daughter again!" yelled her father.
Ali looked up at her father with wide eyes. "Father!" she yelled. Why did he hurt John?
Her father ignored her and pulled her towards her mother. "Magneto! We've got to go!" yelled her father.
Magneto looked back and nodded. "Piotr! Mastermind! Retreat!" he barked. Ali's father controlled the falling rain and sent it all flying towards the X-Men, holding them back as the group escaped.
John watched Ali slip out of his grasp again, only this time, he knew that she remembered. He swallowed, praying that Ali would come back to him. Or at least come to realize the truth that laid dormant in her repressed memories.
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well, what do ya think? I thought its pretty cool. Longer than usual, but that's good. Sorry I haven't updated in a while, but track just started, and last weekend I was busy. So here goes. I'll try to update again by next Sunday, but I can't promise anything. I will TRY.
Reviews:
Karakin: It's not my fault that I update late. It's the stupid track schedule. Every other day, and my brother steals the comp from me. Actually, kicks me off. But anyway…I'm glad this story introduced Pyro to you. He's my fave character.
o scorched eggy: ya, I'm starting to think that you don't have one sappy bone in your body. Yea, I'm taking a break. Don't worry. Track messes things up, though.
damien455: I'm glad it was intense. I was hoping for that.
Well, R&R. BE PATIENT WITH THE NEXT CHAPTER!!
~Jojo~