AN/ This chapter involves some scenes that were deleted from the movie due
to time. I've included them in this to help flesh out the chapter more. I
want to say a huge thank you to my reviewers. You guys are the best! I'm
sorry that I couldn't get this chapter up sooner, but you've motivated me
to write it and others much faster them I normally would have. I hope you
enjoy it and the rest of the story!
The walk to the entrance of the base didn't take as long as I thought it would. Nobody said anything, not even during the brief wait for Mystique to open the spillway doors. As soon as they did open, Storm's eyes clouded over. Thunder and lightening crashed and a very strong wind began to howl through the tunnel. Magneto used his magnetic influences to disable all the cameras and radios in the area. I must say, the expressions on some of the soldier's faces were absolutely priceless; mixtures of fear, surprise and a bit of confusion. Others were stupidly brave and tried to attack the mutants head-on. The combined efforts of everyone ensured that none of Stryker's men we came across remained conscious for much longer.
Logan tracked Mystique's scent to the control room. Jean quickly took care of the men trying to pry the damaged door open, and Magneto opened the door. (Well, if you call ripping a huge chunk out of the middle of the door opening it.) Beyond the master of magnetism I saw Mystique standing there facing us expectantly.
Erik was the first one inside the room. "Have you found it?" he asked Mystique with some urgency.
She turned to the computers behind her. "A large potion of energy from the dam has been diverted to this chamber," she said. A model of the base was on a screen. A large, round room was highlighted.
"Cerebro," Storm said.
"There it is," Magneto breathed in agreement.
"Can you shut it down from here?" Ororo asked.
"No," Mystique answered simply and almost venomsly.
"Come, there's still time," Magneto told his blue sidekick.
"Not without us," Jean stated. Magneto and Mystique traded looks and there was a brief, but tense pause.
"Oh my God," Storm said, noticing the captured students from the school on a display monitor. "The children. Kurt, will you come with me?" she asked, meaning to go save them. I nodded, knowing that he would go.
"Yes," Kurt agreed, not noticing my nod.
"Where are they?" Storm asked Mystique.
"They're being held in a containment cell one level down," she informed her.
"All right," Storm said. "We'll get the children and meet you at Cerebro."
"Okay," Jean replied. "I'll try to find Scott and the professor."
"Will you be all right without us?" Storm asked her friend, glancing at the Brotherhood.
"Yeah, we'll be fine," Jean assured her.
Storm paused and looked towards the doorway, realizing that something was amiss. "Where's Logan?"
We all looked back to where he had been standing. I bit my lip. I hadn't even noticed he'd gone until that moment. His earpiece lay to one side. There was no way of contacting him now. "He's gone," Jean sighed.
"Off to do some hunting," I said. "To find his past and fight a battle of his own, realizing what he could have become." Kurt glanced at me. His eyes were troubled, and I didn't blame him. He didn't want to be here anymore then I did.
"We'll have to go on without him," Jean said sadly. Storm nodded in agreement. We didn't waste anymore time. Jean, Magneto and Mystique went off in one direction, Storm, Nightcrawler and I went in another direction.
We ran down a flight of stairs. Kurt teleported ahead to check for danger. Finding none, he signaled us forward. We moved down a long hallway and came to a corner. There was a shorter hallway with a door at the end of it. The door had a dirty, rectangular window with rounded corners. Kurt glanced at me. I nodded. "This is it," I said.
Nightcrawler Bamfed through the door just as it opened. Storm and I caught up with Kurt a few meters away. He was almost invisible, save for his bright, golden eyes in the half-light.
Suddenly, a faint female voice called out from the right. "Help us, anybody!" It was the children! We rushed over to what almost looked like an elevated manhole cover with metal bars and glass covering it. Storm peered down one part that wasn't glass-covered.
"Jubliee?" she called.
"Storm!" one of the kids shouted.
"Help us out!" another cried. They all were relieved to see their teacher and protector there to save them.
"Ok. We're coming," Storm reassured the young mutants below. She looked to Nightcrawler, who knew what to do. He disappeared from my side in a puff of indigo smoke. I heard him land in the kid's cell and the children yelp in surprise.
"Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you" Kurt said gently. I smiled slightly, reminded of my little speech when Kurt and I first met. "My name is Kurt Wagner. Come here. I'll get you out."
I looked down the hole and saw one brave girl approach Kurt. He smiled at her and beckoned her into a bear hug. She smiled back weakly and complied. As soon as he had a good grasp on her, Kurt teleported them out. When they heard the girl's excited gasp from the surface, the other children became more willing to approach Kurt when he went back for the rest of them. One by one, Kurt teleported all of the children out of the cell. Storm made sure that they were all right and smiled proudly at Kurt. I was also very proud of him, as I knew how much energy it took him to teleport just one person, let alone six.
Artie, the young boy with a blue forked tongue, was the last one out. He looked pale and queasy. "I think I'm gonna be sick," he said. He hunched over and threw up, causing some of the other kids to jump away in disgust. Storm comforted Artie, and Kurt almost looked embarrassed. I offered him a smile.
"Don't worry about him, Kurt. He's fine. You should be very proud of yourself," I told him. He smiled back at me.
Storm was also about to congratulate Kurt when suddenly there was a loud explosion. The entire base and dam shook from the blast. I could feel the energy from the sheer, raw power that had caused it. This is what happens when you mix Cyclops' optic blasts with Jean Gray's super telekinetic powers.
"What was that?" one of the kids cried.
"I don't know," Storm confessed.
"Scott and Jean," I said. "Come on! We don't have much time. That blast has done some serious damage to the dam."
"Let's get out of here," Kurt urged.
"Where are we going?" one of the young mutants asked.
"We have to meet Jean and the others at Cerebro," Storm explained. "Come. Let's go." The nine of us ran back down the way we came and headed towards Cerebro. I frowned as I ran. It wouldn't be long now until the full potential of what Professor Xavier could do if he just concentrated hard enough would be realized.
The walk to the entrance of the base didn't take as long as I thought it would. Nobody said anything, not even during the brief wait for Mystique to open the spillway doors. As soon as they did open, Storm's eyes clouded over. Thunder and lightening crashed and a very strong wind began to howl through the tunnel. Magneto used his magnetic influences to disable all the cameras and radios in the area. I must say, the expressions on some of the soldier's faces were absolutely priceless; mixtures of fear, surprise and a bit of confusion. Others were stupidly brave and tried to attack the mutants head-on. The combined efforts of everyone ensured that none of Stryker's men we came across remained conscious for much longer.
Logan tracked Mystique's scent to the control room. Jean quickly took care of the men trying to pry the damaged door open, and Magneto opened the door. (Well, if you call ripping a huge chunk out of the middle of the door opening it.) Beyond the master of magnetism I saw Mystique standing there facing us expectantly.
Erik was the first one inside the room. "Have you found it?" he asked Mystique with some urgency.
She turned to the computers behind her. "A large potion of energy from the dam has been diverted to this chamber," she said. A model of the base was on a screen. A large, round room was highlighted.
"Cerebro," Storm said.
"There it is," Magneto breathed in agreement.
"Can you shut it down from here?" Ororo asked.
"No," Mystique answered simply and almost venomsly.
"Come, there's still time," Magneto told his blue sidekick.
"Not without us," Jean stated. Magneto and Mystique traded looks and there was a brief, but tense pause.
"Oh my God," Storm said, noticing the captured students from the school on a display monitor. "The children. Kurt, will you come with me?" she asked, meaning to go save them. I nodded, knowing that he would go.
"Yes," Kurt agreed, not noticing my nod.
"Where are they?" Storm asked Mystique.
"They're being held in a containment cell one level down," she informed her.
"All right," Storm said. "We'll get the children and meet you at Cerebro."
"Okay," Jean replied. "I'll try to find Scott and the professor."
"Will you be all right without us?" Storm asked her friend, glancing at the Brotherhood.
"Yeah, we'll be fine," Jean assured her.
Storm paused and looked towards the doorway, realizing that something was amiss. "Where's Logan?"
We all looked back to where he had been standing. I bit my lip. I hadn't even noticed he'd gone until that moment. His earpiece lay to one side. There was no way of contacting him now. "He's gone," Jean sighed.
"Off to do some hunting," I said. "To find his past and fight a battle of his own, realizing what he could have become." Kurt glanced at me. His eyes were troubled, and I didn't blame him. He didn't want to be here anymore then I did.
"We'll have to go on without him," Jean said sadly. Storm nodded in agreement. We didn't waste anymore time. Jean, Magneto and Mystique went off in one direction, Storm, Nightcrawler and I went in another direction.
We ran down a flight of stairs. Kurt teleported ahead to check for danger. Finding none, he signaled us forward. We moved down a long hallway and came to a corner. There was a shorter hallway with a door at the end of it. The door had a dirty, rectangular window with rounded corners. Kurt glanced at me. I nodded. "This is it," I said.
Nightcrawler Bamfed through the door just as it opened. Storm and I caught up with Kurt a few meters away. He was almost invisible, save for his bright, golden eyes in the half-light.
Suddenly, a faint female voice called out from the right. "Help us, anybody!" It was the children! We rushed over to what almost looked like an elevated manhole cover with metal bars and glass covering it. Storm peered down one part that wasn't glass-covered.
"Jubliee?" she called.
"Storm!" one of the kids shouted.
"Help us out!" another cried. They all were relieved to see their teacher and protector there to save them.
"Ok. We're coming," Storm reassured the young mutants below. She looked to Nightcrawler, who knew what to do. He disappeared from my side in a puff of indigo smoke. I heard him land in the kid's cell and the children yelp in surprise.
"Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you" Kurt said gently. I smiled slightly, reminded of my little speech when Kurt and I first met. "My name is Kurt Wagner. Come here. I'll get you out."
I looked down the hole and saw one brave girl approach Kurt. He smiled at her and beckoned her into a bear hug. She smiled back weakly and complied. As soon as he had a good grasp on her, Kurt teleported them out. When they heard the girl's excited gasp from the surface, the other children became more willing to approach Kurt when he went back for the rest of them. One by one, Kurt teleported all of the children out of the cell. Storm made sure that they were all right and smiled proudly at Kurt. I was also very proud of him, as I knew how much energy it took him to teleport just one person, let alone six.
Artie, the young boy with a blue forked tongue, was the last one out. He looked pale and queasy. "I think I'm gonna be sick," he said. He hunched over and threw up, causing some of the other kids to jump away in disgust. Storm comforted Artie, and Kurt almost looked embarrassed. I offered him a smile.
"Don't worry about him, Kurt. He's fine. You should be very proud of yourself," I told him. He smiled back at me.
Storm was also about to congratulate Kurt when suddenly there was a loud explosion. The entire base and dam shook from the blast. I could feel the energy from the sheer, raw power that had caused it. This is what happens when you mix Cyclops' optic blasts with Jean Gray's super telekinetic powers.
"What was that?" one of the kids cried.
"I don't know," Storm confessed.
"Scott and Jean," I said. "Come on! We don't have much time. That blast has done some serious damage to the dam."
"Let's get out of here," Kurt urged.
"Where are we going?" one of the young mutants asked.
"We have to meet Jean and the others at Cerebro," Storm explained. "Come. Let's go." The nine of us ran back down the way we came and headed towards Cerebro. I frowned as I ran. It wouldn't be long now until the full potential of what Professor Xavier could do if he just concentrated hard enough would be realized.