Chapter Twenty:
Charles Xavier looked out the window of his office, listening to the lingering sounds of fire trucks and ambulances in the distance. His brow was furrowed in concentration, and he touched his temples lightly with his fingertips. After a few moments, he lowered his hands and smiled with relief.
"So...it's definitely gone?" Scott asked, and Xavier nodded reassuringly.
Scott stood with his arms folded near the Professor's desk, while Bobby, Mary and Peter sat in the scattered chairs leftover from the previous day's classes. They all looked tense as they waited for Xavier to confirm that the creature had been destroyed.
"It is gone," Xavier said, stressing every word firmly, "I sense no lingering danger here, or in the church, or anywhere else in the immediate vicinity."
The X-Men seemed to exhale a collective sigh of relief, but Mary kept her eyes focused on the Professor.
"The immediate vicinity?" she asked quickly, wringing her hand anxiously, "Does that mean there's a danger somewhere else..."
Xavier paused a moment before replying.
"Unfortunately..." he began, "There is always danger somewhere. Though I doubt anyone else will be bothered by the demon you all faced tonight. However, believe me when I say...we are not the only ones capable of protecting the innocent."
Mary nodded and sat back against the cushioned chair. She trusted the Professor's judgment...but that had only been one demon...one page from a massive volume of powerful creatures...
Xavier sensed her continued discomfort, and he doubted anything he would say now would assuage her fears. She had come face to face with evil tonight. Not for the first time, but past experiences cannot always prepare a person for what they may encounter in the future. One must simply learn what they can and move forward, without living in constant fear of the shadows around them.
Therefore, he shifted their conversation to the positive end of their most recent adventure.
"How are Storm and our guest faring?" Xavier asked.
Scott sighed wearily but grinned, "Storm will be fine. She is still unconscious but Henry says her concussion was mild. As for Faith...well...let's say she's been a more challenging patient..."
--------------------------
"This is really boring...just so you know," Faith said with a pouting frown as Dr. McCoy adjusted her injured arm into a sling.
Henry did not reply, and glanced up at her with annoyance as she chided him.
"It's not like I've never dislocated a shoulder before..." the Slayer continued, "Can't you just pop it back in?"
Henry rolled his eyes, and wrapped his large hands around her arm carefully.
"Despite what Mel Gibson has taught a generation of movie-goers, my dear," he replied, "It is really not the best idea to just pop a disjointed limb back into place."
Faith shrugged, though her one arm remained limp, "Always worked on, Doc, you don't have to baby me...just get it back where it should be...the pain's not a problem...I won't faint or anything..."
"Believe me, Miss Faith," he said, "If I thought the procedure would cause you to loose consciousness and finally grant me some silence...I would have done that the moment you walked in."
Faith chuckled as the doctor continued his much gentler approach to repairing her arm. She glanced to her right and spotted Kurt sitting fretfully by Storm's bedside. He was holding one of her hands politely, and Faith guessed by the expression on his face that the blue mutant was praying again. Dr. McCoy had promised him that Storm would wake soon, but she figured a little convo with the Big Guy Above couldn't hurt anything either.
Faith turned her head back toward Henry and regarded him carefully. After a moment, she shook her head and grinned.
"I'm blue...da boo dee da boo da..." she began to sing softly, and chuckled again as the doctor glanced up at her in surprise, "I'm not making fun, Doc. It's just I was calling Kurt 'Blue'... but you're blue, too. So who wins the knick name?"
Henry smirked and waggled a finger in her face, "Considering the number of bruises you have recently earned...I would say you'll be stuck with it."
"I've looked worse," she said, her humor fading slightly under a strange sadness.
"You know...I have heard that from quite a few of the students here," he replied kindly.
"I'm not student," Faith replied quickly, "I'm a little old for grammar school..."
"I believe I also said that same thing when I arrived here," he continued, keeping his expression even and pleasant in spite of her quick and angry tone.
Faith regarded him curiously, "You...you haven't always been a mutant...have you?"
"Nope," Henry said with a new grin, and held his large hands out toward her, "This...is still quite new for me. My old life is gone...but...I think I've settled into this new one very well."
His patient glanced away from him doubtfully, "It's not always that easy, Doc."
"You're right..." he said, easing his massive body to his feet, "But then...what fun would it be if it was easy?"
Faith glanced up at him, and Henry patted her shoulder and winked at her before he walked away.
--------------------------
Kurt opened his eyes after he finished his prayer, just as heard Storm finally stirring on her cot.
With a soft groan, Storm struggled awake from the darkness the demon had thrown her into, and she felt Kurt's strong hand around her own. She knew it was Kurt...he was the only mutant she knew with only three fingers.
Storm blinked against the medical lab's bright lights, and smiled softly when she finally was able to focus on the worried Kurt Wagner.
"Ororo..." he said softly, relief washing over his face, "You are awake..."
"Ug...getting there..." she muttered and winced as she touched her head, "What happened? Were you able to stop it?"
Kurt nodded, "Yes...Faith and the others arrived shortly after you were...after you..."
"Got K.O.ed?" she finished for him with a grin, "Was anyone else hurt?"
"Dr. McCoy is helping Faith, but no one else was seriously injured..." he answered her quickly and then tightened his hold on her hand, "Not like...you have been..."
Storm tilted her head slightly to look at him, and she noticed the new tears on his cheeks, expressing both his relief and his lingering anger. She lifted a hand toward his face and brushed her finger tips along his cheek gently.
Kurt inhaled sharply in surprise, and stared at her, wide-eyed and anxious.
"You know..." she said, feeling her own face flushing, "Someone so beautiful...shouldn't cry so much..."
Hearing his own words to her so many months ago echo from her lips, Kurt smiled and held her hand to his blue skin. Storm sat up carefully, and wrapped her arms around his neck. Kurt sobbed with elation and relief as he held her back, silently thanking God for answering more than one of his prayers.
--------------------------
Xavier held out his right hand toward Faith, so that she could easily shake it with her left. Her right arm was still held securely with a sling, which had been healing incredibly quickly considering it had only been a week since the demon's attack on the church.
Faith shook the Professor's hand and smiled appreciatively.
"You know, you are always welcome to stay," Xavier said, as he moved his chair back slightly and positioning himself amongst the other X-Men.
They were standing outside at the top of the mansion's long driveway, Xavier, Faith and the others who had taken part in their little demon adventure. Faith nodded in reply as she glanced around at her new allies.
"Yeah, I know," she said, shifting the duffle bag on her shoulder to a more comfortable position, "But...this is kind of what I do now. Freelance Slayer...saving the world one expensive mansion at a time."
She glanced once at Dr. McCoy, who smiled kindly, and then at Kurt. He was holding hands with Storm again as they stood with the others to see her off.
"I'm kind of okay with this life right now," she said and then looked back at Xavier, "But if I ever need a place to crash on the east coast...I'll know where to come."
Xavier nodded, "Anytime, Faith...and hopefully the next time will be under more amicable circumstances."
"Yeah...me, too," she replied, "And...Thanks...to all you guys...for everything..."
Faith began to walk off, but paused by Kurt and held out her hand toward him. Kurt tilted his head with surprise and shook it carefully.
"I just wanted to say..." she began, taking a long breath before continuing, "...I'm sorry. you for that thing. I think...I'm more of a monster than you are."
Kurt shook his head, "No, you're not. Do not concern yourself about offending me. I think any debt you had to me has been paid. Have faith in that..."
"Was that a bad joke?" Faith asked with a smirk, before heading off, "See you around, Blue."
The X-Men all called out their goodbyes to the Slayer as she walked down the lane back out into the world beyond the gates of Xavier's school. She was a Slayer after all, and she had work to do. Maybe...she would head back west...