Not a huge update, but an update none the less. Think you know
what's gonna happen? Bet you don't...thanks to all who are
reading...review, please!
For awhile, Ororo was able to keep on top of what was happening at Salem Center via updates on the TV. Finally, though, after several hours, the local channel broke away to go to their regularly scheduled prime time shows. She paced back and forth in Charles' den, eagerly awaiting word. What could possibly be taking them so long? She would have thought that the rally would have broken up after it started to get dark.
"Ororo," the professor said from where he was using Cerebro to monitor the others, "I wouldn't worry. If anything happens, I'll be the first to know."
"I know, Charles," she said. "It just bothers me that I can't be there. The not-knowing is maddening. How can you stand it?"
Charles never got the chance to answer, though. He suddenly began furiously hitting buttons on Cerebro, frowning. Storm could tell that he was trying to telepathically contact someone, but from the looks of it, wasn't succeeding. She ran over to him, "What is it? What is happening?"
"Scott!" Charles exclaimed. "Scott, report!" He shook his head, and removed the helmet that kept him connected to Cerebro. "Turn on the television, quick!"
She immediately switched it on, not being able to imagine what was going on. Had something happened to one of her friends? She soon found out, as the local channel had just broken in with a newsflash.
"I'm standing here on Main Street in the heart of Salem Center, where a seemingly peaceful demonstration has turned violent," a young blond reporter was saying. Behind her, Storm saw a few stray people running here and there. Most of them looked scared, but some where obviously taking advantage of the situation to create small riots. The reporter continued: "I have just gotten word that there may be injured people here. Apparently, a few people, who bystanders have said may be mutants, started verbally attacking the speaker of the Friends of Humanity, where we believe it turned ugly from there. Fistfights broke out, and then we understand someone, although at this time we are unable to tell whom, brought out a gun, and we believe at least one person, and possibly more, may have been shot. Now, we don't have any confirmation on any of this, so we will bring you more details when they become available."
Ororo turned away from the set. What she had heard chilled her to the bone. "Oh, Charles," she whispered. "Do you think anything has happened to one of them?"
Charles rubbed his temples slowly. He didn't want to think about what could have happened, or why he couldn't get in contact with any of the X-Men. But it didn't take a man of his immense knowledge to know that something was very wrong there. "I don't know," he said in a tired, flat voice. "I don't know what is going on there," he looked up suddenly in alarm, "but I sense that we will find out very soon."
She soon realized what he was talking about as the she heard the sound of screeching tires, and voices. Both Ororo and Charles headed as fast as they could to meet the others in the garage and find out what happened.
"Get him to my lab immediately!" Hank was saying. Storm watched in horror as Bishop jumped out of the van holding Bobby in his arms. He was covered in blood, and it looked as if he had been shot in the chest. Bishop and Hank didn't give the two of them a second glance as they ran toward Hank's lab. The others immerged one by one, all of them looking somewhat dazed.
The professor looked at his team, scanning to see what had happened, but realized that he had better get down to the lab to assist Hank if he needed it. He spun his hover chair around 180 degrees, and took off after he and Bishop.
Ororo stood with her mouth agape, not entirely sure she wanted to know what happened. But even if she had, the words were stuck in her throat. She stared at the others helplessly.
"It all happened so fast," Warren said, almost in a daze.
"What happened?" Storm whispered. "What happened to Bobby?"
Remy stepped forward, grasping the side of his head. It was already turning black and blue, all the way from his scalp to his eye, and the towel he had pressed against the wound was covered in blood, as where his clothes.
"Oh my..." she said, running over to him. "Remy, are you okay? What happened?"
He tried to nod, but cringed when he realized how much it hurt. "I'm okay," he said. "Got hit wit' a bottle. Drake...uh...Bobby, he got the worst of it, I'm 'fraid."
So the blood on his clothes was Bobby's and not his. That means he must have lost an awful lot of blood. "What happened to him?" She asked to no one in particular.
The others glanced at each other, and then at the floor. Finally, Jean cleared her throat. "He was...shot. We didn't see by whom. It was...chaos, utter chaos, there for a few minutes. One minute, the F.O.H. man was speaking, the next, a few mutants started protesting. I don't know what happened then, it was so fast."
"Everyone just started going crazy," Warren said, shaking his head. "Betsy and I were watching from the opposite side, so we didn't get a very good look at what really started it, but all of a sudden we heard shouting, and people starting throwing things, and then we heard a gunshot, and..."
"It was all my fault," Remy interrupted.
Jean turned to him, surprised. "It was not your fault. There was no way that you could have prevented what happened."
"It was my fault," he protested. "I shoulda been watchin' him. He was right next to me. I saw someone with a gun, actually all I really saw was a gun, and I turned to yell to Bobby to get down, but then I got hit with that damn bottle."
"When the gun went off, most everyone took off," Warren added. "We didn't bother to leave anyone there to track down who did it. Bishop was the closest, and he just grabbed Bobby, and we got back here as quick as possible. Maybe if Logan had been there, he could have tracked the guy down, but..." he stopped, and blushed slightly when he realized what he was saying. He suddenly remembered that Ororo blamed herself for Logan taking off.
Remy kicked at the floor, shaking his head. "Goddamn F.O.H.," he muttered. "I shoulda been able to stop it. I shoulda been payin' attention."
"If it was anyone's fault," Scott said, "It was mine. I was in command out there, and I should have been more careful. I shouldn't have broken up the team. Then Bobby wouldn't have been by himself."
There almost looked as if there might be a fight about, of all things, who was responsible for Bobby getting shot. However, Kurt, perhaps the softest-spoken of all the X-Men, but clearly the most forgiving, held out his hands. "My friends," he said in his heavy German accented voice, "I would like to say to you that I do not think it matters who is responsible, even if it were one of you, which, of course it is not. Neither of you pulled the trigger, and neither of you is responsible for young Bobby's welfare. I'm sure he would feel the same way. I suggest that we set aside our feelings of guilt and anger, and say a prayer that Gott will spare us our friend."
Remy and Scott looked slightly ashamed. "You're right, Kurt," Scott said. "Why don't you lead us in a prayer?"
The former German monk known as Nightcrawler nodded solemnly, and everyone bowed their heads and joined hands. They prayed to God to watch over Bobby, to heal him and spare him pain. They prayed for Hank to have the wisdom and focus needed to save his life, and forgiveness if they were in any way responsible. The X-Men prayed for all those mutants that felt like outcasts and outsiders, and those who didn't have the support and understanding of friends like they did. But they didn't stop there. They also prayed for Ororo's unborn child, that it be born healthy, and that it may be spared the torment that all of they felt growing up as mutants. And finally they prayed for God to watch over and protect those that they had lost along the way, and those who were separated from them, including Logan.
As Kurt finished up the prayer with an 'a-men', everyone looked up and at each other. Nobody spoke, but nobody had to. They all knew what the others were thinking.
For awhile, Ororo was able to keep on top of what was happening at Salem Center via updates on the TV. Finally, though, after several hours, the local channel broke away to go to their regularly scheduled prime time shows. She paced back and forth in Charles' den, eagerly awaiting word. What could possibly be taking them so long? She would have thought that the rally would have broken up after it started to get dark.
"Ororo," the professor said from where he was using Cerebro to monitor the others, "I wouldn't worry. If anything happens, I'll be the first to know."
"I know, Charles," she said. "It just bothers me that I can't be there. The not-knowing is maddening. How can you stand it?"
Charles never got the chance to answer, though. He suddenly began furiously hitting buttons on Cerebro, frowning. Storm could tell that he was trying to telepathically contact someone, but from the looks of it, wasn't succeeding. She ran over to him, "What is it? What is happening?"
"Scott!" Charles exclaimed. "Scott, report!" He shook his head, and removed the helmet that kept him connected to Cerebro. "Turn on the television, quick!"
She immediately switched it on, not being able to imagine what was going on. Had something happened to one of her friends? She soon found out, as the local channel had just broken in with a newsflash.
"I'm standing here on Main Street in the heart of Salem Center, where a seemingly peaceful demonstration has turned violent," a young blond reporter was saying. Behind her, Storm saw a few stray people running here and there. Most of them looked scared, but some where obviously taking advantage of the situation to create small riots. The reporter continued: "I have just gotten word that there may be injured people here. Apparently, a few people, who bystanders have said may be mutants, started verbally attacking the speaker of the Friends of Humanity, where we believe it turned ugly from there. Fistfights broke out, and then we understand someone, although at this time we are unable to tell whom, brought out a gun, and we believe at least one person, and possibly more, may have been shot. Now, we don't have any confirmation on any of this, so we will bring you more details when they become available."
Ororo turned away from the set. What she had heard chilled her to the bone. "Oh, Charles," she whispered. "Do you think anything has happened to one of them?"
Charles rubbed his temples slowly. He didn't want to think about what could have happened, or why he couldn't get in contact with any of the X-Men. But it didn't take a man of his immense knowledge to know that something was very wrong there. "I don't know," he said in a tired, flat voice. "I don't know what is going on there," he looked up suddenly in alarm, "but I sense that we will find out very soon."
She soon realized what he was talking about as the she heard the sound of screeching tires, and voices. Both Ororo and Charles headed as fast as they could to meet the others in the garage and find out what happened.
"Get him to my lab immediately!" Hank was saying. Storm watched in horror as Bishop jumped out of the van holding Bobby in his arms. He was covered in blood, and it looked as if he had been shot in the chest. Bishop and Hank didn't give the two of them a second glance as they ran toward Hank's lab. The others immerged one by one, all of them looking somewhat dazed.
The professor looked at his team, scanning to see what had happened, but realized that he had better get down to the lab to assist Hank if he needed it. He spun his hover chair around 180 degrees, and took off after he and Bishop.
Ororo stood with her mouth agape, not entirely sure she wanted to know what happened. But even if she had, the words were stuck in her throat. She stared at the others helplessly.
"It all happened so fast," Warren said, almost in a daze.
"What happened?" Storm whispered. "What happened to Bobby?"
Remy stepped forward, grasping the side of his head. It was already turning black and blue, all the way from his scalp to his eye, and the towel he had pressed against the wound was covered in blood, as where his clothes.
"Oh my..." she said, running over to him. "Remy, are you okay? What happened?"
He tried to nod, but cringed when he realized how much it hurt. "I'm okay," he said. "Got hit wit' a bottle. Drake...uh...Bobby, he got the worst of it, I'm 'fraid."
So the blood on his clothes was Bobby's and not his. That means he must have lost an awful lot of blood. "What happened to him?" She asked to no one in particular.
The others glanced at each other, and then at the floor. Finally, Jean cleared her throat. "He was...shot. We didn't see by whom. It was...chaos, utter chaos, there for a few minutes. One minute, the F.O.H. man was speaking, the next, a few mutants started protesting. I don't know what happened then, it was so fast."
"Everyone just started going crazy," Warren said, shaking his head. "Betsy and I were watching from the opposite side, so we didn't get a very good look at what really started it, but all of a sudden we heard shouting, and people starting throwing things, and then we heard a gunshot, and..."
"It was all my fault," Remy interrupted.
Jean turned to him, surprised. "It was not your fault. There was no way that you could have prevented what happened."
"It was my fault," he protested. "I shoulda been watchin' him. He was right next to me. I saw someone with a gun, actually all I really saw was a gun, and I turned to yell to Bobby to get down, but then I got hit with that damn bottle."
"When the gun went off, most everyone took off," Warren added. "We didn't bother to leave anyone there to track down who did it. Bishop was the closest, and he just grabbed Bobby, and we got back here as quick as possible. Maybe if Logan had been there, he could have tracked the guy down, but..." he stopped, and blushed slightly when he realized what he was saying. He suddenly remembered that Ororo blamed herself for Logan taking off.
Remy kicked at the floor, shaking his head. "Goddamn F.O.H.," he muttered. "I shoulda been able to stop it. I shoulda been payin' attention."
"If it was anyone's fault," Scott said, "It was mine. I was in command out there, and I should have been more careful. I shouldn't have broken up the team. Then Bobby wouldn't have been by himself."
There almost looked as if there might be a fight about, of all things, who was responsible for Bobby getting shot. However, Kurt, perhaps the softest-spoken of all the X-Men, but clearly the most forgiving, held out his hands. "My friends," he said in his heavy German accented voice, "I would like to say to you that I do not think it matters who is responsible, even if it were one of you, which, of course it is not. Neither of you pulled the trigger, and neither of you is responsible for young Bobby's welfare. I'm sure he would feel the same way. I suggest that we set aside our feelings of guilt and anger, and say a prayer that Gott will spare us our friend."
Remy and Scott looked slightly ashamed. "You're right, Kurt," Scott said. "Why don't you lead us in a prayer?"
The former German monk known as Nightcrawler nodded solemnly, and everyone bowed their heads and joined hands. They prayed to God to watch over Bobby, to heal him and spare him pain. They prayed for Hank to have the wisdom and focus needed to save his life, and forgiveness if they were in any way responsible. The X-Men prayed for all those mutants that felt like outcasts and outsiders, and those who didn't have the support and understanding of friends like they did. But they didn't stop there. They also prayed for Ororo's unborn child, that it be born healthy, and that it may be spared the torment that all of they felt growing up as mutants. And finally they prayed for God to watch over and protect those that they had lost along the way, and those who were separated from them, including Logan.
As Kurt finished up the prayer with an 'a-men', everyone looked up and at each other. Nobody spoke, but nobody had to. They all knew what the others were thinking.