Virago
Chapter Eight

The four X-Men easily cut through the water towards the underwater base while Angel flew, enjoying the warm sun on his face and back, the saltwater smell and taste in the air. Rogue would love it. He made a mental note to take her here for a few weeks.

/ Angel, we're nearing destination. / Jean Grey's voice sounded inside his head.

He looked down and saw that the jet had began to slow as Jean used a palm-sized device to determine their exact location. He matched the jet's speed and it wasn't long before they came to a stop. He hovered above them, waiting.

'This is it, it's right under us,' Jean said, putting away her device. 'Shadowcat?'

'On it.' Shadowcat slipped through the bottom of the jet and disappeared into the water. She reappeared quickly, dry as she had been when she left. 'It's not far down, about ten meters. There's very little space between the roof of the building and the top of the cave so we'll have to go straight into the building.'

'Nightcrawler, you take Angel. Shadowcat, you've got me and Wolverine.'

The young man looked up at him and grinned. 'Are you coming down? Or should I port into your arms?'

Angel laughed. 'As romantic as that sounds, I think I'll come down.' He descended into the boat, waiting until three of the X-Men had gone before landing.

Nightcrawler took his arm. 'Here we go.'

*

Scott didn't appear that night for dinner.

'He has taken a ride on his bike,' Storm's soft voice spoke beside her, having noticed her staring at the empty place across the table. 'A birthday gift from Logan.'

Rogue looked at her companion, sighing. 'I don't know what to do, Storm.'

'The boy finally told you how he feels.' Storm sounded so matter of fact.

Rogue was surprised. 'How did you know?'

Storm smiled enigmatically at her. 'It feels like I have spent all my life watching them all grow up. You see things, you hear things. You know things.'

'But Jean…?'

The older woman lost her smile. She now looked sad. 'Jean. She loves Scott so, and she will not dare read Scott's mind without his permission. She believes that Scott never developed feelings for you further than friendship, but he did. I do not think he realised it himself, but it was clear that he felt strongly for you after you had left. And now that you have returned…'

Rogue looked down at her half-empty plate. 'I never expected-' She closed her eyes. 'I never wanted any of this.'

'Actions always produce consequences, Rogue. Unfortunately, they are not always what we expect or want. When you left, many hearts were broken. Not all of them have managed to heal.' Storm stood up. 'Come on, Rogue. It is time to get you to bed.'

She tried to stand, but couldn't. Her muscles wouldn't support her weight. Her heart started to pound. 'Please no…'

Storm bent and wrapped a gentle arm around her waist, lifting her. 'It will be okay, Rogue.'

Rogue's last thought was of Warren.

*

Following Shadowcat – and the blueprints of the building Charles had sent them – they quietly made their way down to the laboratory on the lowest floor. The building's silence was eerie and unnatural, but they all did their best to ignore it. Their objective was to get Garrison to safety before the commandos arrived, and they concentrated on that.

But it was not to be.

The explosion was deafening. The impact sent them all flying backwards into a heap of bodies and rubble.

Wolverine was the first one of them to get back up, and he roared. 'Damnit, they beat us! Come on!'

Angel shook his head, ignoring the strident ringing in his ears. He struggled to stand, but noticed that a body and a particularly large piece of cement pinned down his left wing. 'Shadowcat, are you okay?' he asked, reaching out to the shake the young woman.

Shadowcat groaned and slowly opened her eyes. 'I'm fine.' Realising that she was on his wing, she scrambled to her feet. 'Sorry.'

Angel noticed the piece of rubble float up and fly down the hallway from where they had arrived. He looked up.

'Let's go,' Jean commanded, looking shaky but her voice strong. 'Wolverine's gone and he can't take them all by himself.'

Angel nodded, his mind returning to their objective. Garrison to safety.

Rogue's life depended on it.

*

'Professor?' Scott walked into the older man's office. 'You wanted to see me.'

Professor Xavier smiled at him, pointing to a chair along the side of his office. 'Take a seat, Scott.'

He did as he was told, back straight as he waited for his mentor to stop in front of him. He kept silent, wary about the reason for his summon.

'Scott, is there anything you want to talk about?'

Rogue.

His clenched his jaw hard, shaking his head. 'No, Professor.'

'Are you certain? You know that if there was-'

'I'm fine, Professor, but thank you,' he interruptedly, a little more curtly than he wanted.

Professor Xavier sighed. He suddenly looked old. 'All right, Scott. That is all.' He wheeled himself back and then forward towards his desk.

Scott stood and took a couple of steps towards the door. He hesitated. 'Wait…' He turned back to face the other man. 'There is something I need to know, but I don't, I can't…'

The Professor said nothing, but he looked deep in thought.

'Seven years ago, when Rogue left, I remember being desperate to find her,' Scott continued quietly. 'You insisted that we don't and that we shouldn't worry, but I couldn't stop. Then one day, I did. I stopped. One day I just stopped caring.'

He thought of her easy laughter, of a smile that appeared effortlessly. Of eyes that danced with such joy that it made his heart ache.

'Then she came, and all I can think about is grabbing her and never letting go.' He stopped, swallowing hard as he realised the implications of his words. 'And in the process, neglected everyone and everything else. The X-Men, the other students, my responsibilities. Jean…'

Scott looked desperately at the Professor. 'I can't seem to remember why I stopped caring, and I know that whatever happened, it's connected to how I'm feeling right now.'

*

25 July 2002

'Cyclops! Where are you going?'

'It's her…I have to see…'

'Cyclops, there's no time! You have to get to Nightcrawler right now!'

'I just need half a minute, Jean!'

'There's no time, damnit! Hang on, Nightcrawler! Cyclops!'

'I'm almost there, just-'

'Shadowcat, can you- No! Shadowcat!'

'It's her, I know it is…'

'Scott, Kurt is going to die if you don't get to him now!'

More than the dire warning, it was Jean Grey's use of their proper names that finally commanded his attention. Summoning all of his will power, Cyclops tore his eyes away from the figure that was quickly disappearing into the crowds. And out of sight.

A girl that could have been Rogue.

He pivoted and raced back towards the epicentre of the chaos. He managed to reach the unconscious Nightcrawler, but he was too late. The building collapsed on top of them both.

*

26 July 2002

'Scott?'

The boy slowly stirred. 'Professor?'

He smiled gently down at someone he considered a son. 'You're going to be fine, Scott.'

Nightcrawler. The disintegrating building. Then all-encompassing darkness.

Charles was assailed with Scott's last memories of the attack, but he didn't push away the images and thoughts. Not just yet.

'Kurt!'

He couldn't lie. 'He's in very bad shape, Scott.' Nor could he tell him what they all feared. That the younger boy was on the very verge of death.

Pain clouded Scott's face. 'It's my fault.'

'It's no one's fault.'

Scott turned away. 'I killed my bestfriend.'

Though he was not actively probing, Charles sensed a new and sudden change in the boy lying on the medical bed before him. Although the lights were as bright as ever, a darkness, a hardness, had entered the boy's heart. He'd lost hope. Innocence.

Absorbed in his anguish over what he believed to have been his fault, Scott had ceased being a boy and had grown into a man. In doing so, he seemed to have left behind something – someone – else.

Rogue.

end chapter eight.