A/N: Special thanks to SperryDee & MoonlightPhoenix3 for your reviews of the last couple of chapters.
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Professor Xavier, dressed in his plain brown flightsuit, sat grimly in his Ready Room. It was a room that he had created far below the mansion as both a private workroom and as a personal refuge from the rest of the house. It was in here that, arguably, the most powerful mind on Earth was allowed to be alone with his thoughts. He watched intensely as the hi-tech video equipment in front of him displayed news and communication feeds from around the world on numerous monitors.
"…believe that those involved in last night's prison escape were mutants themselves, one reportedly wielding a flamethrower, another able to create small earthquakes. Graydon Creed, chairman for the Friends of Humanity and recently announced Senatorial candidate, gave us his reaction…"
"This is a perfect example of an administration that has failed to deal with the mutant…dilemma in an effective manner. The actions of these mutant terrorists should serve as a wake-up call to the American public about their danger to national, as well as, global security..."
"Senator Kelly, who in recent months has become an unexpected advocate for mutant rights, could not be reached for comment…"
Professor Xavier continued watching coverage of the prison escape of one of the original X-Men's oldest foes. He also paid close attention to the eyewitness accounts, stating that one of the participants in the escape seemed able to control fire by sheer thought. He knew of only a handful of individuals with that particular talent, one being a former student of his. Xavier remembered the difficulty that he had felt himself when Eric Lensherr, the man who had helped him build his School for the Gifted, first faced him as an enemy. He knew a day was fast approaching when his students would be placed in a similar situation. As his thoughts continued to drift through days long past and days yet to come, an alert flashed across several of the monitors in the Ready Room. It seemed a part of the past had arrived on the front doorsteps of the school.
"Computer, continue to archive feeds 2-6, 13, 18-24, 27 and 33-35." The Professor said as he turned to wheel out of the Ready Room and towards the elevator that would take him to the mansion's first floor.
"Request processed, archival sequence 03146 initiated." The automated voice responded.
"I was beginning to wonder if the cordial invitation to converse with you in your home had been revoked." A solidly-built man in his late 20's said to the Professor as he wheeled into the living room. The almost middle-aged gentleman had been talking with Kurt, Jubilee, and Dani, who had run into him on their way to a game of softball.
"Hank, you don't need an invitation. This is as much your home now as it has always been." Xavier replied.
"It makes this prodigal son realize that the person who said 'You can't go home again', has never spent any significant time in Westchester County." Dr. Henry McCoy, successful scientist and founding member of the X-Men, replied.
"Hi Professor. We were just on our way outside to play a game of softball when Dr. McCoy rang the doorbell. Dr. McCoy, you were telling us that you were one of the original students at this school?" Dani asked him, continuing the conversation that they were having before the Professor arrived.
"Indeed, my inquisitive young friend. But back then they didn't call me Dr. Henry McCoy. I was known simply as Hank or by my more descriptive nickname, the Beast. I would rather you call my either of those two names, Dr. McCoy makes me feel like I'm still at work in the laboratory." Hank replied.
"I think I've seen some pictures of you and the older X-Men around here." Jubilee said to him.
"I hate to interrupt, especially when my students actually seem eager to learn about the history of this institution, but Hank and I have some urgent business that we need to discuss. I am sure he will be more than happy to answer all of your questions later at dinner." Xavier said as he looked at Hank, "You will be staying, of course?"
"You make it sounds like an offer that I can't refuse!" Hank joked as he and the Professor walked towards the elevator.
"It was nice meeting you Herr Hank." Kurt said as the two men started to depart.
"We had better hurry if we want to make it to the field before they pick teams." Dani said as she stood up.
Last one there is a rotten egg." Jubilee said as they got up to join the rest of the students that were gathering to play softball on a warm spring day.
"It will not be me, Liebchen." Kurt Wagner smiled as he prepared to teleport himself out of the mansion.
"No, wait Kurt, don't." Jubilee said as she tried to stop Kurt, but she was too late. All that was left in the living room was a cloud of smoke and the sulfuric stench that was the trademark of Kurt's instantaneous departure.
"I guess we're the rotten eggs, or at least that's the way it smells in here." Dani said as she held her nose.
"Whatever. Just open the door so I can get some fresh air." Jubilee said as she and Dani walked outside.
Hank, who was still in earshot of Kurt and the girls, made a comment as the elevator arrived.
"They remind me so much of when Scott, Jean, Ororo, Warren, and I were their age living here. My sense of nostalgia seems to keep growing the longer that I stand in these hallowed halls." Hank told the Professor.
"I'm glad to hear you say that." Professor Xavier smiled, as the elevator doors closed and began its descent to the lower levels.
While the students, plus Kurt and Logan, gathered to play on the baseball field of the estate, Professor Xavier and Hank continued their journey below the grounds of the estate. They were going to meet with another former resident of the school who had been working on Cerebro, or what was left of it, for nearly half of the night.
"So Professor, you said that you needed to talk with me about a matter of urgent importance." Hank asked him.
"Yes, I have a very large favor to ask of you." The Professor replied.
"Then it sounds to be of gargantuan proportions." Hank stated as they got off of the elevator and walked down the corridor.
"I am planning a trip to Muir Island to visit an old friend, Dr. Moira MacTaggert, and I intend to be gone for a few weeks. I will also be taking a student along with me, Theresa, the daughter of our old friend Sean Cassidy. He asked if I would bring her along so that they can spend some time together. Ororo has been tending to some personal business in Africa and will be rendezvousing on the island with us as well." The Professor then paused, "I was hoping that you wouldn't mind staying here and acting as temporary headmaster of this school in my absence."
"It would be an honor, but why me?" Hank asked him.
"Scott is on a temporary leave of absence visiting with Alex and Lorna. And Logan has been hinting that he intends to leave soon, to continue to try and unravel the mystery of his past. With everybody gone from the mansion, I want to leave this school in good hands and I know that you are more than capable of carrying on in my place." Xavier told him.
"Logan?" Hank said as he thought for a moment, "Oh yes, the interesting individual that arrived here some months ago."
"Interesting is one way of putting it. But he is a good man and I want to do everything in my power to try and help him." Professor Xavier added as they finally reached the chamber that contained the gutted remains of Cerebro. As the door opened, Hank and the Professor saw a man hard at work, mustering every bit of ability from his mutant gift.
"Forge, it has been too long since we've seen one another, my mechanically inclined friend." Hank said as he greeted an old ally of the X-Men.
"Good to see you too, Beast. But after spending the last 12 hours in this room, I finally remembered why I avoid your school reunions. Charles, those soldiers that came in here certainly did a number on Cerebro. It seems like they tried their best to damage the parts that they didn't bother to take with them." Forge replied as he continued piecing together components of the main console, "It may take me longer to repair this unit than I had originally anticipated."
"Whatever help that you can provide will be greatly appreciated old friend." Professor Xavier said to him.
"Speaking of old acquaintances, I assume that you saw the news reports this morning." Hank said to the Professor.
"Indeed I did." He replied.
"I've been cooped up in here, what's happened?" Forge asked while he continued to work.
"Somebody, or somebodies I should say, broke Frederick Dukes out of prison last night." Hank said.
"The Blob? That's a name I haven't thought of in a long time." Forge said as he stopped to take a short break, "Any idea who was behind it?"
"I suspect Magneto is involved." Professor Xavier said.
"Do you think he's up to something major?" Forge asked.
"At this point I'm not sure, but it's been our experience that Eric always has something major in mind." Professor Xavier stated.
"Then more reason to get this unit back together as soon as possible." Forge said as he turned to get back to work.
"Hank and I will give you a hand." Professor Xavier said as the three men started working, in an attempt to get the Cerebro unit functional again.
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Meanwhile at the baseball field on the grounds of the estate…
"Batter up!"
With that Roberto Dacosta, aka Sunspot, walked up to home plate, bat in hand. He was definitely ready to hit a home run this day.
"Remember 'Berto, no usin' your powers so ya can hit the ball halfway across the state." Sam Guthrie, aka Cannonball, said to him from the pitcher's mound.
"I don't need my powers to hit a homerun, especially with the way that you pitch my friend." Roberto replied, trying to get under Sam's skin.
"If you two would quit runnin' your mouths long enough, we might actually finish an inning or two. So let's play ball!" Logan, who had been designated as an umpire along with Kurt, instructed them.
Sam threw the first pitch with all of the strength that he could muster.
"Strike one!" Logan called out as Roberto swung and missed.
"It's alright, you get two more chances. Just don't waste them." Bobby said to Roberto from the catcher's position.
"Don't let them psyche you out Roberto, you can do it!" Theresa told him from the dugout area.
"Yeah, you can do it!" Rogue added, also trying to encourage her teammate from the bench.
"I will only need one more chance." Roberto thought to himself as he got into a hitting stance at the plate.
Sam wound up and pitched the softball, and Roberto put all of his focus and strength behind his swing. The next sound heard was the crack of the bat as the ball went flying past the properties boundary line.
"Man, Randall's gonna be chasing that ball until sunset." Dani said, referring to her teammate who was left with the task of retrieving the ball.
As Roberto rounded the bases, his teammates began cheering loudly for him. But they hardly noticed as one of the other players out in left field suddenly dropped his equipment and started heading towards the mansion. There was one player, however, that did notice.
"Where are you going Peter?" Kitty asked him as he passed by her on third base.
"The Professor spoke to me telepathically. He told me not to delay and to come to the mansion immediately." Peter replied, unsure of why he was being summoned, "Don't worry, I'll be back soon."
"Okay." Kitty replied as she saw Peter walk off into the distance.
The game continued and the team that Rogue, Roberto, and Theresa were on ended up winning. But winning or losing was the last thing on Kitty 's mind as she walked back to the mansion after the game.
"What's the matter?" Rogue asked as she caught up to Kitty, who had a concerned look on her face.
"The Professor called Peter to the mansion during the game a couple of hours ago. But Peter hasn't come back." Kitty told her.
"Maybe the Professor had some special training session that he needed Peter to run through." Rogue guessed.
"Yeah, maybe." Kitty replied, her concern far from diminished.
When they arrived back at the mansion, Kitty headed straight for the Professor's office. She hoped that he was there and not in some other part of the mansion. She knocked at his office door and waited.
"Professor, are you in there?" Kitty asked.
"Yes Kitty, please come in." Xavier answered.
"I'm sorry to interrupt you, but I just came to see if Peter was still in here?" Kitty asked him as she opened the door.
"There's no need to apologize, I am actually glad that you came here. I'm afraid that I have some bad news." The Professor started.
"Um, what kind of bad news?" Kitty inquired, worried about what the answer might be.
"Peter has had a death in his family. I received a call this afternoon that his older brother has died." Xavier told her.
"Oh my God, what happened?" Kitty inquired.
"He was a Russian astronaut and was flying an experimental space craft, when it exploded right after leaving Earth's atmosphere." He continued.
"Peter must be crushed. Where is he, I want to make sure he's okay?" Kitty asked him.
The Professor did a mind scan of the estate and located Peter Rasputin within a matter of seconds.
"He is still out by the Lake." Xavier told Kitty as she hurried out of the office, phasing through the door.
Kitty hurried out to the Lake and arrived just as the sun was setting. She could see Peter sitting on the grass, leaning up against a tree that was near the Lake's edge. Kitty saw a completely emotionless look on Peter's face as he stared out at the water. So she slowly walked up and sat down next to him.
"Peter," Kitty started, "the Professor told me about what happened to your brother. I just wanted to tell you that I was sorry and I wanted to see if there was anything that I can get you."
"Thank you, but I think I'll just sit out here for a while." Peter replied, not looking at Kitty. Instead, he continued to stare out at the Lake.
"Okay, well…uh, I'll let you be alone for a while." Kitty said in a soft voice as she started to get back up.
"Katya, you don't have to leave." Peter said, still staring at the Lake.
"Are you sure?" Kitty asked as she knelt back down next to him.
"I would really like it if you would stay with me." Peter said, as he finally looked Kitty directly in her eyes. She could see the pain in his eyes as he looked at her for a moment and then turned his gaze back to the Lake.
"Okay," Kitty agreed as she sat back down, "You told me that your brother was in the military, but I didn't know he was an astronaut?"
"Yes, it was his dream to become one ever since we were children. He wanted to be the first Russian to walk on the moon." Peter revealed, "It is the only thing that makes it all a little easier, knowing that he died doing something that he loved so much."
Peter was never one to really express his emotions openly. Kitty could see that despite his words and him trying to hold his feelings back, that tears had started to roll down Peter's face. She didn't know what words she could say to make things better, or if those words even existed. So she did what came naturally to her, she put her arms around his large torso and rested her head against his shoulder. Peter put one of her hands into his and they both sat there, staring at the beautiful reflection on the water's surface as a result of the sun's red rays. It was the kind of scene that Peter would normally put down on canvas without hesitation, but right now, that was the furthest thing from his mind.
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Next Chapter: From Siberia with Love…