One of the main things I was dreading about our visit to Alkali Lake was the Cerebro attacks. Suddenly and without warning, there was a terrible, high-pitched humming tone. It sent the feeling of piercing knives, burning fire, broken glass, beestings, and being skinned alive into the mind of every mutant on Earth. Kurt, the children, and Storm all dropped to their knees or just fell directly to the floor in unspeakable agony. I gritted my teeth and winced in sympathy. I lowered myself to the floor beside Kurt. He grabbed my hands in his and wrapped his tail around my leg. He squeezed them so hard that they hurt, but I didn't say anything to him to analogize that.
"Kurt," I said. "Kurt, It's all right. It's gonna be ok. I'm here for you." I hoped that my words were able to reach him through the pain that was killing him. A tear streamed down one cheek, on both Nightcrawler and myself. It was killing me as well to see him and all the others in such horrible torture. I could do nothing for Kurt except just be there for him and wait for it to stop. For the second time, I found myself praying for Magneto to hurry up and save us.
At long last, Cerebro's death tone stopped. The mutant's torture ceased. I let out a huge breath and a relieved sigh, raising my face to the ceiling. I was extremely thankful that hurdle was passed.
"Are you okay?" I asked Kurt. He nodded to me, and shakily got to his feet, unwrapping his tail from my leg. I helped him to steady himself. Storm and the children also gradually rose to their feet. Storm looked frazzled, to say the very least. She made sure that all the kids were okay before moving to Kurt.
"Are you all right?" she asked. He looked her in the eyes.
"Yes. Are you?"
Storm sighed and nodded. "I'll be all right." She turned back to the younger mutants. "Everyone fit to walk?" she asked them. They all nodded. "Then let's go." Storm and Kurt led the way down the hall towards Cerebro. The children and I followed closely behind.
No one said much for a long while, save for some frightened whimpers from the children. We rounded a corner and went down what at first seemed to be a dead-end, but Storm and I knew better. There was a round door at the end of the passage, and beyond that door was Stryker's dark Cerebro. We passed and stepped over a large amount of debris to get to the door. I knew that under that debris were bodies; soldiers who were casualties because they couldn't get rid of their grenades fast enough after Magneto pulled the pins. I frowned and tried not to think about that. I had bigger fish to fry.
"What's this?" Kurt gasped.
"Cerebro," Storm explained. There was a faint buzzing noise coming from it. I took a mental step backwards away from it. I'll admit, that simple round, metal door was very opposing.
"Storm," a male voice called from behind us. We all turned, and there was Cyclops and Jean. He was helping her walk, as it was obvious that she had hurt her leg. They hobbled pass the children and up to Storm.
"Jean, are you okay?" she asked, concerned and also noticing her friend's bad limp.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Jean breathed. Storm turned back to Cerebro.
"What's happening?" Storm sounded understandably frightened.
"The professor's still in there," Jean stated, using her newly developed heightened awareness. "With another mutant. He's trapped in some kind of...illusion." Storm and Scott looked at her. "Oh my God," Jean said, her eyes widening as she realized something. "Magneto's reversed Cerebro. It's not targeting mutants anymore."
"Who is it targeting?" Storm inquired.
"Everyone else," Jean said. I gulped and began to suck on my teeth, feeling tense. Everyone else there felt it too.
"Everybody stand back," Cyclops ordered, taking Jean's arm off his shoulders and preparing to blast the door open.
"Scott no," Jean objected. "His mind is connected to Cerebro. Opening the door could kill him and everyone his mind is linked to." This presented yet another problem for the X-Men: how to get safely inside Cerebro?
"Wait," Storm said. She faced Nightcrawler. "Kurt, I need you to take me inside."
"Storm, who is this guy? Who are you?" Scott demanded. I had to suppress a small involuntary smile. Kurt and Cyclops hadn't met yet, and meeting someone who looked like Kurt did and whom Storm and Jean already knew and trusted must have been one of the last things on Scott's mind of 'things to do' at the moment. He seemed like the type of person who doesn't like to be kept out of the loop.
"My name is Kurt Wagner," Nightcrawler introduced himself, going into his usual spiel. "But in the Munich Circus..." Storm put a hand to his lips, cutting the introduction short.
"He's a teleporter," she explained quickly to Scott. Storm looked into Kurt's eyes, asking, pleading for him to help her enter Cerebro.
"I told you," he said quietly. "If I can't see where I'm going..." Storm knew what could happen to them, but she also knew that there was no other choice, as I did.
"I have faith in you," she told him, going back to their conversation on the X-Jet the previous day.
"So do I," I said, placing a hand on Kurt's shoulder.
"Don't believe anything you see in there," Jean warned us.
Kurt looked at the door and gathered his courage. "Our Father, who art in heaven," he whispered, gathering Ororo in a tight embrace. I too grabbed onto Kurt, preparing myself for the teleportation. "Hallowed be thy name," Kurt continued. Storm shut her eyes tight. "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth..."
BAMF!
"Kurt," I said. "Kurt, It's all right. It's gonna be ok. I'm here for you." I hoped that my words were able to reach him through the pain that was killing him. A tear streamed down one cheek, on both Nightcrawler and myself. It was killing me as well to see him and all the others in such horrible torture. I could do nothing for Kurt except just be there for him and wait for it to stop. For the second time, I found myself praying for Magneto to hurry up and save us.
At long last, Cerebro's death tone stopped. The mutant's torture ceased. I let out a huge breath and a relieved sigh, raising my face to the ceiling. I was extremely thankful that hurdle was passed.
"Are you okay?" I asked Kurt. He nodded to me, and shakily got to his feet, unwrapping his tail from my leg. I helped him to steady himself. Storm and the children also gradually rose to their feet. Storm looked frazzled, to say the very least. She made sure that all the kids were okay before moving to Kurt.
"Are you all right?" she asked. He looked her in the eyes.
"Yes. Are you?"
Storm sighed and nodded. "I'll be all right." She turned back to the younger mutants. "Everyone fit to walk?" she asked them. They all nodded. "Then let's go." Storm and Kurt led the way down the hall towards Cerebro. The children and I followed closely behind.
No one said much for a long while, save for some frightened whimpers from the children. We rounded a corner and went down what at first seemed to be a dead-end, but Storm and I knew better. There was a round door at the end of the passage, and beyond that door was Stryker's dark Cerebro. We passed and stepped over a large amount of debris to get to the door. I knew that under that debris were bodies; soldiers who were casualties because they couldn't get rid of their grenades fast enough after Magneto pulled the pins. I frowned and tried not to think about that. I had bigger fish to fry.
"What's this?" Kurt gasped.
"Cerebro," Storm explained. There was a faint buzzing noise coming from it. I took a mental step backwards away from it. I'll admit, that simple round, metal door was very opposing.
"Storm," a male voice called from behind us. We all turned, and there was Cyclops and Jean. He was helping her walk, as it was obvious that she had hurt her leg. They hobbled pass the children and up to Storm.
"Jean, are you okay?" she asked, concerned and also noticing her friend's bad limp.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Jean breathed. Storm turned back to Cerebro.
"What's happening?" Storm sounded understandably frightened.
"The professor's still in there," Jean stated, using her newly developed heightened awareness. "With another mutant. He's trapped in some kind of...illusion." Storm and Scott looked at her. "Oh my God," Jean said, her eyes widening as she realized something. "Magneto's reversed Cerebro. It's not targeting mutants anymore."
"Who is it targeting?" Storm inquired.
"Everyone else," Jean said. I gulped and began to suck on my teeth, feeling tense. Everyone else there felt it too.
"Everybody stand back," Cyclops ordered, taking Jean's arm off his shoulders and preparing to blast the door open.
"Scott no," Jean objected. "His mind is connected to Cerebro. Opening the door could kill him and everyone his mind is linked to." This presented yet another problem for the X-Men: how to get safely inside Cerebro?
"Wait," Storm said. She faced Nightcrawler. "Kurt, I need you to take me inside."
"Storm, who is this guy? Who are you?" Scott demanded. I had to suppress a small involuntary smile. Kurt and Cyclops hadn't met yet, and meeting someone who looked like Kurt did and whom Storm and Jean already knew and trusted must have been one of the last things on Scott's mind of 'things to do' at the moment. He seemed like the type of person who doesn't like to be kept out of the loop.
"My name is Kurt Wagner," Nightcrawler introduced himself, going into his usual spiel. "But in the Munich Circus..." Storm put a hand to his lips, cutting the introduction short.
"He's a teleporter," she explained quickly to Scott. Storm looked into Kurt's eyes, asking, pleading for him to help her enter Cerebro.
"I told you," he said quietly. "If I can't see where I'm going..." Storm knew what could happen to them, but she also knew that there was no other choice, as I did.
"I have faith in you," she told him, going back to their conversation on the X-Jet the previous day.
"So do I," I said, placing a hand on Kurt's shoulder.
"Don't believe anything you see in there," Jean warned us.
Kurt looked at the door and gathered his courage. "Our Father, who art in heaven," he whispered, gathering Ororo in a tight embrace. I too grabbed onto Kurt, preparing myself for the teleportation. "Hallowed be thy name," Kurt continued. Storm shut her eyes tight. "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth..."
BAMF!