Hope Returns
Chapter Two
By: Lily Handle
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Author's Note: First I want to personally thank those who have reviewed, Richard Raven Croft, Scrawler and Life of L.A. and Silverwolf, you're all so nice to review. Well, also, look forward to a fun little one shot from a contest, but the group who issued the contest gets first dibs so you'll have to wait. Please read and review the next chapter in Hope Returns.
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Hope was at ease, relaxing on the steps of the Institute. It was the end of the day, the winter had eased up and she had been sent to supervise a snowball fight. She was just there to make sure no one went over board with their powers, as the students often liked to do. Hope herself was smiling at the antics, there was nothing quite like watching a snowball fight between combat trained mutants. Kurt popped in and out of the fire, Bobby was particularly unpopular because of an ice shield and Kitty just let the snowballs phase through her. The students were allowed to use their powers as long as they didn't use them on each other, if they did Hope would step in with threats of Logan training sessions. She was enjoying herself, tomorrow she'd be on a plane with Hank to talk with the greatest minds on mutants, and then she'd be speaking before Congress. It was going to be an exciting week, if the anti-mutant groups, which had rallied in Washington, didn't ruin the events. Hope glanced up as the laughter suddenly stopped; everyone was looking at her, and grinning.
"Oh, don't you dare!" Hope yelled, a little too late. Covering her face with her arms she was pelted with snowballs. Laughing like the kids Hope got to her feet, and started packing snow, "That was brilliantly fair!" She hadn't even seen snow until she had started working at Charity, but she'd picked up the proper way to pack a snowball, and now was winging snowballs towards the sound of laughter. By the time she called a stop to it, she was breathless and still laughing.
"Alright, alright, you all win, uncle!" She laughed, fending off the last few snowballs, "Go inside already, and get dry before dinner." The students left in a flurry of noise, while Hope dusted the snow from her jacket, occasionally snorting out a giggle. Hope sighed a bit, checking her watch. There was a good thirty minutes before dinner, and she hadn't been in town to get her mail for a while, she might as well go get it before the trip and tell the PO box company to hold all mail for her while she was gone. Stuffing her hands in her pockets Hope started towards the front gate.
"Doc, hey Doc!" Hope glanced over her shoulder to see Jean running towards her. Hope stopped to wait while the red head caught up to her, "Where are you going?"
"I thought I'd walk to town and pick up my mail before dinner," Hope explained, smiling.
"Can I come with? It sounds more appealing than fighting my way to the bathroom." Jean rolled her eyes, which Hope grinned at.
"Of course, I'd never turn down such wonderful company." Companionably Hope started for the gate with Jean at her side, "So tell me, are you excited to watch over the Infirmary while I'm gone?"
"Worried, a little bit, with just Logan here I can't tell what will walk through the doors."
"Mr. Logan knows to go ease on you all while I'm away," Hope said, opening the gate and letting Jean through first, "If he doesn't you call me and I'll talk with him."
"I've seen you with Logan," Hope froze for a second. Jean had seen her and Logan together? "That time you yelled at him for pushing Berserker too far and stopping his heart." Hope let out a sigh, that was what Jean had been talking about. Not that she and Logan had anything together anyway, just a little tension.
"Well, I use to deal with frustrating people all the time back when I worked trauma. I yelled at people much more intimidating that Mr. Logan."
"It's hard to believe there's someone more intimidating than Logan," Jean joked, and Hope laughed.
"Oh, I had a three hundred pound Neo-Nazi come in once, and all of those pounds were muscle. We had to tie him to the bed, and when he broke the restraints we sedated him. All the while I'm yelling at him, telling him to stop moving, lye still and where does it hurt. We were happy to see him go," Hope said, remembering how the man had come in swinging and left in handcuffs.
"What happened to land him there?"
"Drunk ran at a window where a display of rap music was. Apparently it offend his believes," Hope managed to say through chuckles. The whole incident had been frustrating and for some reason looking back now she found it funny. For it being late in the afternoon, down town Bayville was surprisingly quiet. A few cars rolled down Main Street, a few people braved the cold, but mostly the streets were empty. It was a peaceful winter afternoon, and for a moment idly chatting with Jean while she walked Hope could forget about the turmoil of the outside world. She got the same sensation at the Chandler mansion when she'd sit out on the front porch. Outside the post office, lining one wall were PO box after PO box. Hope's was in the middle, one of the lower boxes and she jingled the keys in her pocket as she approached.
"Wait," Jean called, and Hope frowned at her over her shoulder.
"Jean, please," Hope knew she was scolding, but it was just her PO box.
"No, something's wrong," Jean put a hand to her head, "Really, Doctor Chandler, something's wrong." Hope sighed, put her keys back in her pocket and turned towards Jean.
"Is the Professor calling for you? Am I needed?" Hope said, calmly, believing it was something important.
"Get down!" Jean yelled, and then was drowned out in a violent whoosh of noise. Hope was thrown forward, landing hard on the sidewalk as a wave of heat rushed over her. She saw Jean lying in front of her, and Hope could see she was holding back flames and what looked like carpet tacks. A bomb, Hope thought, numb for a second, someone set off a bomb. Then she was scrambling for her cell phone, dialing 911 and asking for the police.
"Please, I need an ambulance, and the fire depart and police!" She said to the operator, trying to be calm as Jean helped her to her feet, "At the post office, down town, right away please."
"Alright, what seems to be the problem?" The reasonable voice of the operator made Hope take a deep breath.
"A bomb went off," Hope turned to look at the post office, there was a gaping hole in the wall of PO boxes and Hope's was gone completely. Some one hand placed a bomb in her PO box, Hope realized. Feeling numb again Hope felt her knees going weak.
"Here, let me," Jean said gently, taking the phone from Hope, and easing her to the curb. Oh god, if Jean hadn't been with her, she'd have opened the box and gotten the full force of the bomb. Jean kneeled down in front of Hope, looking calm and composed, unlike Hope.
"Are you hurt, Dr. Chandler?" She asked, and Hope shook her head.
"No, just a few scrapes from the fall," Hope held out her hands, palms up where the gloves had been torn and underneath her skin was an angry red color.
"And your powers?" Jean said softly, "That's under control?" Hope blinked, her power?
"Oh, that, well, I haven't sparked have I?" Hope pulled off her glove, "Well, I guess it's a little uneasy." Her hand was coursing with tiny bolts of white, her power was acting as started as she was. Taking a deep breath she concentrated hard on relaxing and as she settled the bolts began to disappear. Sirens started getting louder and louder, until the flashing lights of emergency vehicles were all around Hope and Jean.
"Pardon me," A police officer said, "Are any of you injured?"
"No, we're fine," Hope said, taking charge of herself and the situation. The officer nodded, then edged around Hope and Jean to steer them away from the scene.
"Can you tell me what happened?" The officer asked, once they were far enough away.
"I was going to check my mail," Hope started, "I have a PO box here."
"And the bomb went off before you had a chance to open the box?"
"Yes, I was just there." Hope pointed a few feet away from the gaping hole, "When it went off."
"I'm going to have to take you down to the station," The officer fixed a look on both of them, "We'll need statements and names." Hope nodded, as did Jean and the officer showed them to a patrol car.
"You did good," Hope whispered to Jean as they rode towards the police station, "Thank you for saving me."
"It's okay, Doc," Jean whispered back, "That's what I'm trained to do."
"Well, I would have ended up looking like Swiss cheese without you," Hope took Jean's hand in hers, "I can't thank you enough." Jean smiled brightly back. "They're going to ask why there's such little damage."
The smile faded, "I tried to contain it, that's all."
"I know, but they're going to ask a lot of questions," Hope glared at the back of the police officers head, "You're old enough to be questioned alone, but once they figure out I was the target."
"You can't be sure of that," Jean gasped.
"Oh, I can, with the way things are in Washington, and my very public image as a mutant supporting mutant rights, it's most likely I was the target." It was anger now that Hope was feeling, how dare someone risk innocent lives just to get at her. She'd prefer her death threats to be personal, such as a bullet or something of the like. Actually, she'd prefer no death threats at all. Once they reached the police station, the officer ushered them to a desk, where another chair was pulled up and they were told to sit and wait for a detective who would take their statements.
"We should call the Professor," Hope said after a few minutes of sitting there.
"I told him," Jean said, "He and Logan are on their way."
"Why Mr. Logan?"
"Driving," Jean answered, watching the passing officers. They sat for almost an hour before a lanky man of about six feet tall walked towards them. His suit was rumpled, his hair untidy brown, and his nose was tilted to the left, probably it had been broken.
"Sorry, just got back from the scene," the detective said, "Uh, so let's start with you, miss. What's your name?"
"Dr. Hope Chandler," Even though the detective had been talking to Jean, Hope went first. She didn't know if Jean had any experience with police, but she'd given statements about patients to police before, and when she'd been found after Magneto had kidnapped her. She also wanted to give Jean more time to prepare herself for the questions by hearing them asked to Hope.
"Oh, hey, a celebrity. Nice to meet you Doctor," The detective was actually pretty pleasant, of course he'd frown when Jean said she had used her powers, but just frowned. Hope had to admit she was surprised; this guy was being polite and nice, about this, when she'd been expecting blame. How, odd that something like that should make her suspicious.
"Well, here's what we think so far," The detective said, leaning back in his chair, "Because the bomb squad hasn't had a chance to look over the evidence in detail the best they got is it was a time bomb, or a remote bomb. You check you mail the same time every day, Doctor?"
"No, just whenever I can spare a few minutes."
"Alright," The detective scribbled down a few notes on a pad of paper, "Any threats in the mail, phone calls?"
"No, nothing," Hope said shaking her head.
"Well then," The detective flipped his notebook closed, "If there's anything else, we'll be giving you a call. Got any trips planed, we have to be able to reach you, you know."
"Oh, yes, actually I have to speak before Congress. I'll write down the number for you." Hope quickly jotted the number of her cell phone and hotels down.
"You're free to go, Doctor, Miss. Gray." Hope sighed as she walked back towards the entrance with Jean, she had the beginnings of a head ach and her stomach was grumbling loudly. Charles and Logan were waiting outside, the limo's engine humming.
"You're alright, Doctor, Jean?" Charles asked once Jean and her had settled into the limo.
"Yes," Jean said first, and Hope nodded in agreement.
"Good, well, I can tell you that every anti mutant group who has seen the news reports is taking credit for it," Charles said, "It seems you're a very popular target."
"I figured that part out," Hope sighed, "Has the Institute received any threats?"
"None, and once Jean contacted me we locked the Institute down."
"You'll want to lock me up too, I take it," Hope said resigned, "I'll cancel my travel plans."
"Not necessarily, Doctor, we'll talk more in my office once we get back." Hope nodded, and Charles shifted his attention to Jean, "You did very well, Jean."
"Thank you, Professor," Jean said, a genuine smile on her face for the first time since they'd been hauled into the police station.
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Hope and Jean were greeted with concern, warm smiles and cold sandwiches from Hank. And while the students escorted off Jean, Hope was instantly herded into Charles's office with the other instructors. She settled into one of the armchairs, and waited for the arguments to begin.
"We'd like you to leave for Washington tonight," Charles said, and Hope almost choked on her sandwich.
"Pardon?" She gapped, astonished with the finality which Charles had said the statement.
"We want you under FBI protection, they won't come here," Hank explained, "With the bomb threat here, we believe that it would be what is best for you."
"There's only two days before Hank and I go to Washington, do you honestly believe that in those two days this bomber will try for me again?"
"What we believe is irrelative," Charles said, raising a hand as Logan opened his mouth to speak, "What's important is that the bomber won't know you've left early, and in Washington you will be safe."
"I haven't packed, I have notes to get together for my presentation," Hope frown, "I can't leave."
"You'll go," Snapped Logan, "You want the Institute to be this guy's next target?" Hope paused, Logan had a point, the public knew she worked at the Institute and if this bomber had private information, like her PO box number, he might make a move on the Institute. Humbled, Hope looked down at her lap.
"You can leave in the morning, to give you more time to get ready, Dr. Chandler," Charles said, more sympathetic than Logan's snap.
"Alright, thank you. I'd like to get started now." Hope rose, "I'll bring my bags down to the hanger tonight, so I'll be able to leave right away tomorrow." Hope cast a smile around the room before she left.
"Well, quite a nice way to put it, Logan," Hank said sarcastically, "She'll be angry at you before long. I'll go talk with her."
"I'm going to prepare the Velocity," Ororo said, rising from her seat, "Must make sure everything is working in top condition in case someone makes an attempt on it. Come on Hank, I'll walk with you." Charles and Logan watch the two leave, talking quietly with one another.
"Anger won't help you get on her good side, you know, old friend," Charles said, slightly smiling.
"She doesn't need someone to sugar coat this," Logan growled, "Who cares anyway what she thinks?" Charles smile widened as he watched Logan march from the room, shoulders stiff.
"My old friend, it's nice to see someone's getting through to you."
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"You'll go," Hope muttered, throwing more clothes into a suitcase, "Who does he think he is?" She glared into the collection of suits hanging in her closet.
"I've heard talking to yourself is a sign of insanity," Hank commented when Hope turned around holding an arm full of suits.
"Well, I must be crazy," Hope snapped, throwing the suits down on her bed, then braced her self on her arms, "What do you want, Hank?"
"First off, I can't leave with you tomorrow."
"What?"
"I'm rather noticeable, and with two days for you to do nothing but wander in the city," Hank explained, "The anti-mutant groups would notice you in a second."
"Everyone who gets Time magazine will know my face," Hope reasoned.
"Yes, but with me along they'll notice you much quicker. We're trying to protect you, Hope."
"I don't want to be protected!" Hope yelled, "I'm sick and tried of being pushed into a corner every time some one comes after me."
"Hope, please," Hank tried to cut in, but Hope was feeling the anger, and for once let it ride.
"Yes, with out Jean I would have been killed today, but that doesn't mean I'm helpless. I know how dangerous these times are, I've had friends die and even after threats they didn't hide. I…" Hope broke off with a groan, and rubbed her temples, "Great, a stress headache." Hope sat on her bed, "Just go Hank, I'm in no mood for company." When Hank placed a hand on her shoulder, Hope just shrugged it off. She didn't want anyone around, not when her head was steadily aching. It wasn't common for her to get headaches, but when they came, they came with a lot of force. Only now, they were dangerous, now. Hope waited until she heard the door close before letting go. Her power raced outwards, bolts skittering here and there as she battled the pain. She hated that just the little pain of a headache could make her lose control, but that's the way it was. The headaches never lasted long though, and after a minute it was gone, and Hope regained control. Of course she was also exhausted, now. She pushed her suitcase off the bed, along with the suits and curled up fully clothed. She'd just take a few minutes to regain her strength, and then she'd be all right to start packing again.
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Author's Note: Sigh, I wish I had more time to write. Every time I tried to sit down and take a minute to work on this, someone or something would call me away. My job at a summer camp is taking up so much time, but the kids are nice. I've been writing this on paper, then running down to the local library to type it up and post it. So, if things take a little longer than normal, you'll know why. Thanks for your patience, and reviews!
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