Disclaimer: see chapter one.
"Ah'm gonna kill 'im!" Angela screamed as she slammed the French doors into the kitchen open. Wrapping a flannel shirt tightly around her, she leaned against the wall and tried to catch her breath. Hearing snickering, she looked up through her wet hair and noticed Remy, Logan, and Scott sitting at the kitchen island, trying not to laugh.
Standing up and heading over to the sink, she said, "What the hell are ya'll laughin' 'bout?" She tried to dry of her shirt.
"We jus' concerned about your pre'dic'men', chere. Wh' happened?" Remy asked, a rich smile spreading across his face.
"Really, darlin'. And why are ya wearin' my shirt?" added Logan.
"Bobby happened," Angela said in reply to both of their questions, "Ah walked out this mornin' t'check mah roses, when Bobby pops outta nowhere an' splashes me wi' a bucket a' ice cold water!"
"That still don't explain the reason fer all the flannel." Logan retorted.
Angela gave him a cold glare and said, "The reason Ah'm wearin' this is because, somehow, Bobby knew Ah wouldn' be wearin' a bra today."
"So?" All the guys replied in unison.
"Oh, come on. Ya'll can't tell me that ya actually don't know. 'Specially you, Remy. Ah know ya've been in a coupl'a water fights in yo' tahme." Angela rolled her eyes.
"Their nipples get hard," Bobby said, coming in from outside, a triumphant smile on his face. "That, joined with a white T-shirt," he made his hands look like a box and stared at Angela's torso through it, "instant x-ray vision. Unfortunately, it only lasted until Angie here grabbed one of Logan's flannels off the clothesline and ran in here." He chuckled, "Wait till I tell the guys about this."
Angela was next to him faster than any of the men could react. She grabbed Bobby by the collar and lifted him an entire foot off of the ground, "Why wait when Ah kin kill ya now?" She said through clenched teeth.
"Angela." Cyclops warned.
Keeping her hand firmly wrapped around Bobby's collar, Angela dutifully dropped the teenager and said, "Watch yo' back, Bobby. When ya least expect it, Ah'll be playin' chutes 'n laddas with yer insides. Now go." She released him and walked back to the sink.
"Remind me to never get you mad," Logan said, the last bite of toast disappearing into his mouth.
"Well, I'm gonna go find Bobby before he gets into more trouble. Logan, you coming?" Cyclops got up and put his dish in the dishwasher. "Yeah, sure. Ya comin' Cajun?" Wolverine asked Gambit.
"No, I'm gonna stay here fo' a bit."
"Suit yerself, Gumbo."
By then, Angela had taken off the over-shirt and turned the tank top around so that the dry part of was on her front. Gambit stood behind her and then wrapped his arms around her stomach.
"Wanna go do something before I gotta go teach some kids parler Francais?" He asked, kissing her neck.
She turned around in his arms and placed both hands on his chest. "Sorry Remy. Me an' my momma are gonna spend some time together at the mall. Ah'm just gonna go change now." She kissed him soundly on the lips and walked down to the main hall.
Angela unlocked her bedroom door and stepped in. Her roommate, Oriana Spencer, walked out of the adjoining bathroom, toweling her hair.
"Late night?" Oriana asked. She was a senior, too, and also Angela's best friend outside of the X-men. Oriana's power was to dry things rapidly. Angela watched Oriana's hair become dry and bouncy as she shook her head around.
"Do ya mind, Ori?" Angela pointed to the back of her T-shirt. Oriana placed a finger on her friend's shoulder blade and the tank top was instantly dry.
"What happened?" Ori asked.
"Bobby."
"You mean that dorky kid in our English class. I remember that time you went on a road trip together. How did you begin to hang out anyway?" She asked. Oriana didn't know who was on the X-men, just like everyone else.
"Ah guess you could call it a hazard of th' trade." Angela cracked.
Ori's expression didn't change. "You sure have been acting strange these last few months, Rogue. Are you okay?"
Angela looked at her friend. Oriana had jet-black hair and her steel gray eyes blended into her pale skin. She remembered something.
"Oh my gosh!" I totally forgot to tell you something!" Angela dragged Oriana over to her bed and sat down with her. Oriana flinched when Angela took off her gloves and held her hand. Her eyes widened.
"Holy crap, Rogue! You can touch?"
"Mrs. Summers taught me. That's why I've been acting so strange. And Dr. McCoy found out that Mister and Misses Summers are my parents!"
"Are they really that old?"
"I guess so." Angela lied. Civilians weren't supposed to know about X- dealings and Oriana wouldn't understand the significance of Mr. Sinister's interference. "Please call me Angela or Angie or something along those lines, but not Rogue."
"That's fine with me. So, where we you last night?"
Angela turned her head away, thinking. Then, just as quick, she turned back to her friend, grinning wildly. Oriana shifted excitedly. "Okay," Angela said. "Ah'll tell you as long as you promise not to tell anybody."
Oriana held up her left hand and put her right hand over her heart. "I solemnly swear, by the hotness of Brad Pitt, that I will only tell people who you allow me to tell. Now tell me!"
"Last night, I slept in Remy's room."
"Mr. Lebeau?" Couldn't you get in, like, major shit for sleeping with a teacher?" Oriana raised her eyebrow.
"For one thing, we did not 'sleep' together. We just shared a bed," Angela said, "Plus, Ah've known Remy since way before he started teachin' an' we been datin' for most of the time Ah've known him."
"Ok. Hey, is it alright if Darren comes over today?" Darren was Oriana's fiancé.
"Sure, Ah'll be out until lunch anyway. Jean an' me are going to the mall. Want me to pick up anything for ya?"
"Just some double A's."
"Okay." Angela threw an over shirt on and grabbed her purse. "See ya lata'."
Sam Guthrie set his bags down next to the easel he had claimed since the beginning of the year. Art was his favorite class since it was one of the only classes that he was free from Lauri's attention. His friend, Electra Gemini, sat down in the easel next to his. She handed him a note when the bell rang. Opening it, he read, "Hey Hayseed. Me and Tor found the perfect girl for you. She works at the coffee house down on eighth. She is totally for the whole mutant thing too. You should call her. 555-1708." Sam smiled at his friends' persistence.
He looked up from his note and found Ms. Munroe lecturing the class on the importance of texture. He learned about this last year so he let himself drift into his thoughts. He knew who Electra was talking about and he had always thought of the girl as being too self-centered. As he folded up the note, he had the feeling that he was being watched. Looking around quickly, he dismissed the feeling as just being paranoid. Suddenly, it felt as if the breath was pulled from his body and he blacked out. When he came to, he was standing in front of the Professor's office with no memory of what had happened or how he had gotten there, just the urgent sense that he was to see the school's founder immediately. He opened the door to find five students sitting in front of Xavier's desk.
"Professah?" He began to pop his knuckles, "Ah need ta speak ta ya."
Xavier's eyes focused on him. Ordinarily Sam would never barge in without knowing he was in the right. Seeing the tension and worry on the young man's face, Xavier turned to his students. "Your homework is to do pages sixty through sixty-two, numbers one through five on each. You are dismissed."
Sam watched the students leave. He mentally groaned as he noticed an ex-girlfriend of his toss her hair in his direction. He would have found that attractive, him being a sucker for hair, had it been anyone except for her: Lauri. When he had been with her, he would have done anything to please her. He used his X-men salary to buy expensive gifts for her. He had even gone so far as to change his entire look for her; he cut his hair how she liked and dressed preppy. After awhile, his friends finally convinced him that she was just using him and he dumped her. His hair grew out again and he became much more picky. He looked up in time to see Lauri bat her eyes at him. He rolled his eyes and faced the professor.
"Is everything alright? You seem different." The professor rolled forward to meet him.
"Yeah, Ah'm fine. It's just, Ah don't know how to say this so don't laugh, Ah think mah body was possessed for a little while back there." He placed his hand on his forehead.
"Are you yourself again?" Xavier asked. Sam nodded and his mouth, out of it's own volition, began to tell them both what had happened. It seemed to Sam as if his mouth had been wound up to a breaking point and now it was let loose. When he was done, Xavier activated his powers and turned to face a spot to Sam's left.
"Hello young lady. How are you today?" The breath was pushed out of Sam's lungs again and when he came to, the professor was longer using his powers. Instead, he was on the intercom.
"All classes are dismissed for the rest of the day. There will be no after school activities. All X-men report to my office immediately. Everyone else may go back to their dormitories."
The professor looked around at his team. "This is a mission for seven of you. It will be to enter enemy territory and retrieve a hostage. We have suspected that she was stolen from us for a while. Your target's name is Aurora Winthrop." A thump, as of a body hitting the ground, was heard and Beast lifted Sam from where he had fainted.
"See that he be taken to the infirmary. The following X-men are expected to be suited up and in the hanger in ten minutes: Cyclops, Psylocke, Gambit, Beast, Iceman, Wolverine, and Storm. The rest of you may resume what you were doing or join your fellow students in the dorms."
The Blackbird landed with its usual man-made grace and the seven X-men exited the large aircraft. They found themselves in a remote part of Canada, facing a cave. A light dusting of snow lay on the ground.
"I don't get it," Cyclops said to Beast and Storm after the other X- men had left to explore. "We're at the correct coordinates. There's just nothing here."
Just then, Iceman jogged out of the cave. "Maybe you guys better take a look at this." He panted. After catching his breath, he led them into the cave.
The whole thing looked as though someone had tried very hard to make it look like they hadn't been there. Branches that had been used to sweep away tracks were strewn about. Bare-footed footprints were hastily covered up. Wolverine squatted down and sniffed. "Smells girly. She couldn'a gone far."
"Wolverine, you take Gambit and follow her scent. We'll stay and look for more clues." Cyclops said.
Bobby circled the cave and found some writings on the wall. He called it to Betsy's attention. She read it to herself, "This is what the Professor was tawking about when he gave us our position. Metis Cave. What would the FoH want in Canada?"
As Wolverine and Gambit left the cave, Wolverine pulled a cigar out of a pouch on his belt. He sliced the end of it off with a claw, and then held it out to Gambit.
"Ya mind?" he asked.
"No prob." Gambit charged one end of the card and made a homemade lighter. He held it out to Logan who took it and held the cigar to the flame. Shaking out the flame and putting the cigar into his mouth, he breathed in deeply, taking the smoke into his lungs.
"Want one?" he asked.
Gambit shook his head. "Naw, gave it up fo' her."
"Yeah, I heard you two were real close last night." He took another puff. "She's been hurt too many times, Cajun. The majority by you. If it happens again, she ain't comin' back. Ya betta be serious this time."
"I know. I don't wanna lose her again." Gambit stopped talking when he noticed that his compatriot was no longer beside him. He spotted the man up in a tree to his left. Gambit watched as Wolverine pressed his COM button, spoke into it, then flipped down from his perch. Landing like a cat, he put his finger to his lips. He jerked his thumb to his right and Gambit followed his lead.
As they walked, Gambit began to hear sounds ahead. At Logan's signal, they began to sprint. At last, they came to a huge clearing and ran inside.
A big, purple fireball flew at Logan's chest. It threw him against an evergreen. Another fireball flew towards Gambit but he ducked it and ran to help his teammate. He held out his hand to Logan and looked to the center of the clearing.
A woman stood there, surrounded by what appeared to be a purple bubble. The same fireballs that had attacked them were forming at her wrists and being thrown at the advancing humans.
"What the hell was that for?" Wolverine threw off Gambit's hand and stood up, holding his head. Another fireball came at them. They dodged it and it disappeared.
"She don't reco'nize us as de good guys." Gambit noticed a man running up behind the woman while his partner kept her busy in the front. Gambit charged a card at the human and he flew back from the impact. As the woman finished off the man in front of her, a strange robot landed. It looked like a Sentinel, but its skin was made of a silver material that glinted blindingly in the sunlight. It knelt down and looked at her as it raised its hand to shoot her.
"Target: mutant. Come peacefully or with force." The robot read of in its monotone voice. The laser in its palm charged up with an orange glow.
The woman looked at it defiantly. Then she allowed a smirk to cover her mouth. She raised her hands in what seemed to be a gesture of surrender until they went over her head and forward. The bubble surrounding her grew and separated from her to slam into the robot. It tore away at the metal skin and unbalanced him. Just before the Sentinel fell back into the trees, the laser shot from its palm and burned the back of her calf. She clasped it with both hands and winced. Gambit attempted to help her but Wolverine held him back.
As more Sentinels landed, she stood tall and choked back the pain. Now that the haze didn't surround her, Gambit got a good look at her. She was tall, of medium build. A tattered skirt drifted around her waist and a thin top barely protected her from the sudden onset of winter. Long purple hair floated on top of her backpack. She faltered a bit on her feet that were uncovered in the snow.
Gambit heard running behind him and turned around to find the rest of his team joining them. At Cyclops' signal, everyone ran towards the Sentinels and began to fight. Seeing the coming up, the woman fled the clearing.
Unfortunately, everyone was already engrossed in defeating the Sentinels so the only one to notice her was Gambit. He took off after her into the woods.
Her could see her limping up ahead and quickened his pace. He heard a yelp and the footsteps in front of him stopped. Continuing, he came upon her.
She was on the ground, her foot jammed under a fallen log. As he approached her, she looked up at him with purple eyes and clenched her hands into fists in front of her face. Opening them, she formed a new, smaller bubble around her. As he watched, the bubble flickered and went out. Her eyes widened and the pupils disappeared into a sea of violet.
"Xavier." she gasped, going limp.
Gambit checked her pulse and loosened her foot from under the log. Draping his coat over her, he gathered her into his arms.
Back at the clearing, everyone was examining the fallen Sentinel. As Gambit came into view, Beast rushed up to him.
"Is the girl?" He asked, taking her from Remy and laying her on the ground, the trench coat beneath her.
"I guess so. Before she fainted, she said 'Zave'yer'" Gambit shrugged.
"Judging by the damage she did to the Sentinels, she must be ten times more powerful than we thought." Storm mused. "I'd say she'd be a double- Alpha at least. Why, if she joined the X-men, she'd be the youngest member to join the Gold Team."
"She don't look dat old t' me. She couldn'a be more dan twen'y." Gambit put in.
"Actually her record says she's only fifteen."
"She'll be one of his adoring fans sooner or later." Bobby cracked. 'Man,' he thought 'too bad Hayseed couldn't be here to see this.'
Beast pried open one of the comatose girl's eyelids. Everyone gasped when they noticed that she had no pupils. Her ankle was also twisted at a strange angle. "Her ankle is broken. And she has third degree burns on the back of her leg. We need to get her back to the ship, quickly," Beast noted. "If we don't do it soon, we'll have no chance of speeding up the healing process of removing any scars afterward."
When they pulled into the hanger at five PM, a stretcher was waiting for them. All the team members that had gone on the mission followed the stretcher to the infirmary. Cecilia and Beast moved the girl to the bed next to the bed that Sam was laying on. Sending the other out, they quickly set her ankle and put it in a cast, using a special healing cream given to the school by Lilandra. They also smeared some of it on the burns on the back of her leg. While Cecilia got the girl ready for bed, Beast checked Sam's vitals. Noting that the boy was now just sleeping, he unhooked the machines.
"Um, Hank?" Cecilia came out of the adjoining room. "I think you had better have a look at this."
She led him into the lab where she had done a last screening of Aurora with a device known to the Shi'ar as the Separator. It checked for any foreign substances in a human's system. This time it had found a tiny chip in Aurora's ankle. Hank extracted it with a scalpel, being careful not to hit any blood vessels, and then sewed it back up with some sutures. Holding it between a pair of tweezers, he examined it closely.
"Should we destroy it?" Cecilia asked.
"Yes, but not here. If it is here, whoever planted this will have evidence of where we are. I will send someone out to the city to attach it to a dog or something." Hank placed it in a plastic baggie. They went back out to where to beds were and laid her back in hers. Hank connected the machines up to her and closed the curtain surrounding her. Cecilia and Beast turned off the lights and shut the door behind them.
"Ah'm gonna kill 'im!" Angela screamed as she slammed the French doors into the kitchen open. Wrapping a flannel shirt tightly around her, she leaned against the wall and tried to catch her breath. Hearing snickering, she looked up through her wet hair and noticed Remy, Logan, and Scott sitting at the kitchen island, trying not to laugh.
Standing up and heading over to the sink, she said, "What the hell are ya'll laughin' 'bout?" She tried to dry of her shirt.
"We jus' concerned about your pre'dic'men', chere. Wh' happened?" Remy asked, a rich smile spreading across his face.
"Really, darlin'. And why are ya wearin' my shirt?" added Logan.
"Bobby happened," Angela said in reply to both of their questions, "Ah walked out this mornin' t'check mah roses, when Bobby pops outta nowhere an' splashes me wi' a bucket a' ice cold water!"
"That still don't explain the reason fer all the flannel." Logan retorted.
Angela gave him a cold glare and said, "The reason Ah'm wearin' this is because, somehow, Bobby knew Ah wouldn' be wearin' a bra today."
"So?" All the guys replied in unison.
"Oh, come on. Ya'll can't tell me that ya actually don't know. 'Specially you, Remy. Ah know ya've been in a coupl'a water fights in yo' tahme." Angela rolled her eyes.
"Their nipples get hard," Bobby said, coming in from outside, a triumphant smile on his face. "That, joined with a white T-shirt," he made his hands look like a box and stared at Angela's torso through it, "instant x-ray vision. Unfortunately, it only lasted until Angie here grabbed one of Logan's flannels off the clothesline and ran in here." He chuckled, "Wait till I tell the guys about this."
Angela was next to him faster than any of the men could react. She grabbed Bobby by the collar and lifted him an entire foot off of the ground, "Why wait when Ah kin kill ya now?" She said through clenched teeth.
"Angela." Cyclops warned.
Keeping her hand firmly wrapped around Bobby's collar, Angela dutifully dropped the teenager and said, "Watch yo' back, Bobby. When ya least expect it, Ah'll be playin' chutes 'n laddas with yer insides. Now go." She released him and walked back to the sink.
"Remind me to never get you mad," Logan said, the last bite of toast disappearing into his mouth.
"Well, I'm gonna go find Bobby before he gets into more trouble. Logan, you coming?" Cyclops got up and put his dish in the dishwasher. "Yeah, sure. Ya comin' Cajun?" Wolverine asked Gambit.
"No, I'm gonna stay here fo' a bit."
"Suit yerself, Gumbo."
By then, Angela had taken off the over-shirt and turned the tank top around so that the dry part of was on her front. Gambit stood behind her and then wrapped his arms around her stomach.
"Wanna go do something before I gotta go teach some kids parler Francais?" He asked, kissing her neck.
She turned around in his arms and placed both hands on his chest. "Sorry Remy. Me an' my momma are gonna spend some time together at the mall. Ah'm just gonna go change now." She kissed him soundly on the lips and walked down to the main hall.
Angela unlocked her bedroom door and stepped in. Her roommate, Oriana Spencer, walked out of the adjoining bathroom, toweling her hair.
"Late night?" Oriana asked. She was a senior, too, and also Angela's best friend outside of the X-men. Oriana's power was to dry things rapidly. Angela watched Oriana's hair become dry and bouncy as she shook her head around.
"Do ya mind, Ori?" Angela pointed to the back of her T-shirt. Oriana placed a finger on her friend's shoulder blade and the tank top was instantly dry.
"What happened?" Ori asked.
"Bobby."
"You mean that dorky kid in our English class. I remember that time you went on a road trip together. How did you begin to hang out anyway?" She asked. Oriana didn't know who was on the X-men, just like everyone else.
"Ah guess you could call it a hazard of th' trade." Angela cracked.
Ori's expression didn't change. "You sure have been acting strange these last few months, Rogue. Are you okay?"
Angela looked at her friend. Oriana had jet-black hair and her steel gray eyes blended into her pale skin. She remembered something.
"Oh my gosh!" I totally forgot to tell you something!" Angela dragged Oriana over to her bed and sat down with her. Oriana flinched when Angela took off her gloves and held her hand. Her eyes widened.
"Holy crap, Rogue! You can touch?"
"Mrs. Summers taught me. That's why I've been acting so strange. And Dr. McCoy found out that Mister and Misses Summers are my parents!"
"Are they really that old?"
"I guess so." Angela lied. Civilians weren't supposed to know about X- dealings and Oriana wouldn't understand the significance of Mr. Sinister's interference. "Please call me Angela or Angie or something along those lines, but not Rogue."
"That's fine with me. So, where we you last night?"
Angela turned her head away, thinking. Then, just as quick, she turned back to her friend, grinning wildly. Oriana shifted excitedly. "Okay," Angela said. "Ah'll tell you as long as you promise not to tell anybody."
Oriana held up her left hand and put her right hand over her heart. "I solemnly swear, by the hotness of Brad Pitt, that I will only tell people who you allow me to tell. Now tell me!"
"Last night, I slept in Remy's room."
"Mr. Lebeau?" Couldn't you get in, like, major shit for sleeping with a teacher?" Oriana raised her eyebrow.
"For one thing, we did not 'sleep' together. We just shared a bed," Angela said, "Plus, Ah've known Remy since way before he started teachin' an' we been datin' for most of the time Ah've known him."
"Ok. Hey, is it alright if Darren comes over today?" Darren was Oriana's fiancé.
"Sure, Ah'll be out until lunch anyway. Jean an' me are going to the mall. Want me to pick up anything for ya?"
"Just some double A's."
"Okay." Angela threw an over shirt on and grabbed her purse. "See ya lata'."
Sam Guthrie set his bags down next to the easel he had claimed since the beginning of the year. Art was his favorite class since it was one of the only classes that he was free from Lauri's attention. His friend, Electra Gemini, sat down in the easel next to his. She handed him a note when the bell rang. Opening it, he read, "Hey Hayseed. Me and Tor found the perfect girl for you. She works at the coffee house down on eighth. She is totally for the whole mutant thing too. You should call her. 555-1708." Sam smiled at his friends' persistence.
He looked up from his note and found Ms. Munroe lecturing the class on the importance of texture. He learned about this last year so he let himself drift into his thoughts. He knew who Electra was talking about and he had always thought of the girl as being too self-centered. As he folded up the note, he had the feeling that he was being watched. Looking around quickly, he dismissed the feeling as just being paranoid. Suddenly, it felt as if the breath was pulled from his body and he blacked out. When he came to, he was standing in front of the Professor's office with no memory of what had happened or how he had gotten there, just the urgent sense that he was to see the school's founder immediately. He opened the door to find five students sitting in front of Xavier's desk.
"Professah?" He began to pop his knuckles, "Ah need ta speak ta ya."
Xavier's eyes focused on him. Ordinarily Sam would never barge in without knowing he was in the right. Seeing the tension and worry on the young man's face, Xavier turned to his students. "Your homework is to do pages sixty through sixty-two, numbers one through five on each. You are dismissed."
Sam watched the students leave. He mentally groaned as he noticed an ex-girlfriend of his toss her hair in his direction. He would have found that attractive, him being a sucker for hair, had it been anyone except for her: Lauri. When he had been with her, he would have done anything to please her. He used his X-men salary to buy expensive gifts for her. He had even gone so far as to change his entire look for her; he cut his hair how she liked and dressed preppy. After awhile, his friends finally convinced him that she was just using him and he dumped her. His hair grew out again and he became much more picky. He looked up in time to see Lauri bat her eyes at him. He rolled his eyes and faced the professor.
"Is everything alright? You seem different." The professor rolled forward to meet him.
"Yeah, Ah'm fine. It's just, Ah don't know how to say this so don't laugh, Ah think mah body was possessed for a little while back there." He placed his hand on his forehead.
"Are you yourself again?" Xavier asked. Sam nodded and his mouth, out of it's own volition, began to tell them both what had happened. It seemed to Sam as if his mouth had been wound up to a breaking point and now it was let loose. When he was done, Xavier activated his powers and turned to face a spot to Sam's left.
"Hello young lady. How are you today?" The breath was pushed out of Sam's lungs again and when he came to, the professor was longer using his powers. Instead, he was on the intercom.
"All classes are dismissed for the rest of the day. There will be no after school activities. All X-men report to my office immediately. Everyone else may go back to their dormitories."
The professor looked around at his team. "This is a mission for seven of you. It will be to enter enemy territory and retrieve a hostage. We have suspected that she was stolen from us for a while. Your target's name is Aurora Winthrop." A thump, as of a body hitting the ground, was heard and Beast lifted Sam from where he had fainted.
"See that he be taken to the infirmary. The following X-men are expected to be suited up and in the hanger in ten minutes: Cyclops, Psylocke, Gambit, Beast, Iceman, Wolverine, and Storm. The rest of you may resume what you were doing or join your fellow students in the dorms."
The Blackbird landed with its usual man-made grace and the seven X-men exited the large aircraft. They found themselves in a remote part of Canada, facing a cave. A light dusting of snow lay on the ground.
"I don't get it," Cyclops said to Beast and Storm after the other X- men had left to explore. "We're at the correct coordinates. There's just nothing here."
Just then, Iceman jogged out of the cave. "Maybe you guys better take a look at this." He panted. After catching his breath, he led them into the cave.
The whole thing looked as though someone had tried very hard to make it look like they hadn't been there. Branches that had been used to sweep away tracks were strewn about. Bare-footed footprints were hastily covered up. Wolverine squatted down and sniffed. "Smells girly. She couldn'a gone far."
"Wolverine, you take Gambit and follow her scent. We'll stay and look for more clues." Cyclops said.
Bobby circled the cave and found some writings on the wall. He called it to Betsy's attention. She read it to herself, "This is what the Professor was tawking about when he gave us our position. Metis Cave. What would the FoH want in Canada?"
As Wolverine and Gambit left the cave, Wolverine pulled a cigar out of a pouch on his belt. He sliced the end of it off with a claw, and then held it out to Gambit.
"Ya mind?" he asked.
"No prob." Gambit charged one end of the card and made a homemade lighter. He held it out to Logan who took it and held the cigar to the flame. Shaking out the flame and putting the cigar into his mouth, he breathed in deeply, taking the smoke into his lungs.
"Want one?" he asked.
Gambit shook his head. "Naw, gave it up fo' her."
"Yeah, I heard you two were real close last night." He took another puff. "She's been hurt too many times, Cajun. The majority by you. If it happens again, she ain't comin' back. Ya betta be serious this time."
"I know. I don't wanna lose her again." Gambit stopped talking when he noticed that his compatriot was no longer beside him. He spotted the man up in a tree to his left. Gambit watched as Wolverine pressed his COM button, spoke into it, then flipped down from his perch. Landing like a cat, he put his finger to his lips. He jerked his thumb to his right and Gambit followed his lead.
As they walked, Gambit began to hear sounds ahead. At Logan's signal, they began to sprint. At last, they came to a huge clearing and ran inside.
A big, purple fireball flew at Logan's chest. It threw him against an evergreen. Another fireball flew towards Gambit but he ducked it and ran to help his teammate. He held out his hand to Logan and looked to the center of the clearing.
A woman stood there, surrounded by what appeared to be a purple bubble. The same fireballs that had attacked them were forming at her wrists and being thrown at the advancing humans.
"What the hell was that for?" Wolverine threw off Gambit's hand and stood up, holding his head. Another fireball came at them. They dodged it and it disappeared.
"She don't reco'nize us as de good guys." Gambit noticed a man running up behind the woman while his partner kept her busy in the front. Gambit charged a card at the human and he flew back from the impact. As the woman finished off the man in front of her, a strange robot landed. It looked like a Sentinel, but its skin was made of a silver material that glinted blindingly in the sunlight. It knelt down and looked at her as it raised its hand to shoot her.
"Target: mutant. Come peacefully or with force." The robot read of in its monotone voice. The laser in its palm charged up with an orange glow.
The woman looked at it defiantly. Then she allowed a smirk to cover her mouth. She raised her hands in what seemed to be a gesture of surrender until they went over her head and forward. The bubble surrounding her grew and separated from her to slam into the robot. It tore away at the metal skin and unbalanced him. Just before the Sentinel fell back into the trees, the laser shot from its palm and burned the back of her calf. She clasped it with both hands and winced. Gambit attempted to help her but Wolverine held him back.
As more Sentinels landed, she stood tall and choked back the pain. Now that the haze didn't surround her, Gambit got a good look at her. She was tall, of medium build. A tattered skirt drifted around her waist and a thin top barely protected her from the sudden onset of winter. Long purple hair floated on top of her backpack. She faltered a bit on her feet that were uncovered in the snow.
Gambit heard running behind him and turned around to find the rest of his team joining them. At Cyclops' signal, everyone ran towards the Sentinels and began to fight. Seeing the coming up, the woman fled the clearing.
Unfortunately, everyone was already engrossed in defeating the Sentinels so the only one to notice her was Gambit. He took off after her into the woods.
Her could see her limping up ahead and quickened his pace. He heard a yelp and the footsteps in front of him stopped. Continuing, he came upon her.
She was on the ground, her foot jammed under a fallen log. As he approached her, she looked up at him with purple eyes and clenched her hands into fists in front of her face. Opening them, she formed a new, smaller bubble around her. As he watched, the bubble flickered and went out. Her eyes widened and the pupils disappeared into a sea of violet.
"Xavier." she gasped, going limp.
Gambit checked her pulse and loosened her foot from under the log. Draping his coat over her, he gathered her into his arms.
Back at the clearing, everyone was examining the fallen Sentinel. As Gambit came into view, Beast rushed up to him.
"Is the girl?" He asked, taking her from Remy and laying her on the ground, the trench coat beneath her.
"I guess so. Before she fainted, she said 'Zave'yer'" Gambit shrugged.
"Judging by the damage she did to the Sentinels, she must be ten times more powerful than we thought." Storm mused. "I'd say she'd be a double- Alpha at least. Why, if she joined the X-men, she'd be the youngest member to join the Gold Team."
"She don't look dat old t' me. She couldn'a be more dan twen'y." Gambit put in.
"Actually her record says she's only fifteen."
"She'll be one of his adoring fans sooner or later." Bobby cracked. 'Man,' he thought 'too bad Hayseed couldn't be here to see this.'
Beast pried open one of the comatose girl's eyelids. Everyone gasped when they noticed that she had no pupils. Her ankle was also twisted at a strange angle. "Her ankle is broken. And she has third degree burns on the back of her leg. We need to get her back to the ship, quickly," Beast noted. "If we don't do it soon, we'll have no chance of speeding up the healing process of removing any scars afterward."
When they pulled into the hanger at five PM, a stretcher was waiting for them. All the team members that had gone on the mission followed the stretcher to the infirmary. Cecilia and Beast moved the girl to the bed next to the bed that Sam was laying on. Sending the other out, they quickly set her ankle and put it in a cast, using a special healing cream given to the school by Lilandra. They also smeared some of it on the burns on the back of her leg. While Cecilia got the girl ready for bed, Beast checked Sam's vitals. Noting that the boy was now just sleeping, he unhooked the machines.
"Um, Hank?" Cecilia came out of the adjoining room. "I think you had better have a look at this."
She led him into the lab where she had done a last screening of Aurora with a device known to the Shi'ar as the Separator. It checked for any foreign substances in a human's system. This time it had found a tiny chip in Aurora's ankle. Hank extracted it with a scalpel, being careful not to hit any blood vessels, and then sewed it back up with some sutures. Holding it between a pair of tweezers, he examined it closely.
"Should we destroy it?" Cecilia asked.
"Yes, but not here. If it is here, whoever planted this will have evidence of where we are. I will send someone out to the city to attach it to a dog or something." Hank placed it in a plastic baggie. They went back out to where to beds were and laid her back in hers. Hank connected the machines up to her and closed the curtain surrounding her. Cecilia and Beast turned off the lights and shut the door behind them.