Author's Note: Hello readers. This is my first fanfic ever and I hope you enjoy it. I'm assuming you know about the X-Men and their nicknames/real names/powers etc, but if you have any questions, please feel free to ask! Whether you like what you read or not, please review, and if you do like what you read, please spread the word. All characters except for Shock, Spectre, Aero, and Aurora are property of Marvel Comics and the first scene in italics is my version of a segment from the X2:X-Men United movie. This is my plot, copyright 2004 by Galaxia-Dawn.
Chapter One: The Mission
"Where is Jean?" Cyclops looked around the vehicle in terror when he realized she wasn't inside with the rest of the crew. Everyone went silent. Xavier had been sitting without speech or movement, eyes closed, for the past 60 seconds even though everyone else was in disarray. The X-Men had just escaped the mansion where they fought and were held captive by the madman trying to destroy the mutant race. Now, the place was self-destructing all around them, the immobile aircraft, their only means of escape. Xavier finally spoke.
"I'm not coming with you," he said, more to Scott and Logan than anyone else. Scott froze and Wolverine advanced on the professor.
"What do you mean 'not coming'?" he growled in panic, trying to control his voice.
"I can save you. I'm your last hope," he said and the craft suddenly started up. Wolverine ran to the window and saw Jean, arms spread, eyes shut, face tense in concentration, levitating off of the ground. A tremendous wall of water and snow were rushing toward her at an alarming rate, let loose by the crumbling of the property's dam.
"She's talking through the professor," Logan realized aloud in a barely audible voice. As Bobby and Rogue began to figure out the plane controls, Storm tried her hardest to help her best friend hold back the water and Nightcrawler attempted to teleport through to the outside. "It's no use," Logan whispered. "She's controlling the plane." Scott rushed over and knelt down in front of the professor, taking his face in his hands.
"Jean? Baby, listen to me. You have got to get into this plane now. Let Kurt come get you, please, Jean." Scott pleaded to his girlfriend through the mind-controlled Xavier in a shaky, cracking voice, tears threatening to spill from behind his red eye cover. By now, the aircraft had risen off of the ground and the wave of destruction was barely being held back.
"I love you...all," she spoke, the professor's head now dropping limp. The plane lurched forward and began to pick up speed.
"We've got it," Bobby announced, steering away from the rushing water. Scott ran to join Kurt, Ororo, and Logan by the window, just in time to see his loved one drop her arms and disappear beneath a crashing tsunami.
The halls of Xavier's mansion were deathly quiet even though it was mid-afternoon. The loss of Jean Grey affected all of the mutants- students and teachers alike. It was three days later and all of the students were doing various things, whatever they wanted, for the professor had granted everyone a week with no classes to mourn for Jean. Really, he had been thinking more of the teachers' grief than the students', especially Storm, Scott, and Logan. Storm had gone immediately to her room in the attic, Logan had helped Xavier inside, and Scott had retreated to the Danger Room, where he could be heard crying and fighting in the late hours of the night.
In the kitchen, Wolverine sat at the table, an untouched coke in front of him and his head resting on his clasped hands. If anyone had walked in, they would have thought he was sleeping, but in reality, he was blankly frowning down at the swirls in the mahogany wood. Of course he was thinking of Jean; he couldn't erase the image of her from his mind. Her silky red hair, olive green eyes, and ivory skin. The way her ruby red lips looked whenever they would share a secret smile. The memories of their times together ran through his brain-the time they first met, when she had first read his mind, and them fighting evil together, to name a few. But the image which haunted him the most was the last he would ever have of her. Her brow was furrowed in concentration, her jaw clenched from the pressure of holding back the water, her beautiful body floating above the snowy ground and her arms spread wide-his telepathic angel. Wolverine had been ignoring the sounds of footsteps all day, but the sound of wheels made him slowly lift his head. The professor was looking at him with a twinkle in his eye. Upon first meeting the professor, Logan had been wary of him, his sanity and his intentions. Logan was still learning to trust him, but seeing that twinkle made him question whether or not Xavier was even sad about Jean's death.
"Mr. Wolverine, I would like for you to go get Mr. Cyclops from the Danger Room and bring him to my office," he said in his quiet yet powerful voice. Xavier had a bald, shiny head, thin body, and a wheelchair, but his eyes made him look a lot younger than he really was. His quiet wisdom, strength, powerful mind, and genuine care for all beings made his school and students a success. Logan raised an eyebrow.
"You mean to tell me that you wheeled all the way here from your office just to tell me that? Why didn't you just call me?" He said the last two words while tapping his right temple in a taunting manner. The professor's mouth turned up a tiny bit in the corner. He was completely used to Logan's trust issues, tough image, and sarcasm by now.
"Actually, I didn't come from my office...and my mind is still a bit tired," he replied before turning his chair around and leaving the room.
Assuming that Xavier meant his mind was weak from the day in the plane, Logan nodded slightly to no one in particular, stood up, and stroked the brown stubble on his face. The only reason he ever bothered to shave was because he thought Jean liked it, but now that she was gone, he'd go back to his wildman beard.
By traveling the second level of the school, he reached the Danger Room and began to wonder why Xavier wanted him to get Scott to his office. He had learned that there was no point in questioning Xavier's requests, but still was curious. He placed his thumb on the keypad and his identity was soon confirmed. The door clicked unlocked and he opened it to step inside. He spotted Scott lying in a heap on the floor, which at the moment looked and felt like snow. His heart wrenched inside of him when he realized what situation Scott had requested the room to form. They were standing outside of the mansion in the snow where Jean had been taken from them. He stalked over to the man and roughly pulled him up from the ground.
"Scott. Let's go." Cyclops jerked his arm out of Logan's grasp and scowled.
"Watch it," he spat and sat back down. Logan sighed in frustration.
"Look, Xavier sent for us. I think it's important."
"I don't care what that baldheaded freak says. If it wasn't for him letting those people into Cerebro, my girlfriend would still be alive!" he shouted.
"Ok, that's it." Logan bent down and pulled Scott up into a headlock. Instantly, red laser shots fired from his eyes toward the ceiling.
"That was just a warning," he said quietly.
"Oh yeah? Well so's this." Wolverine shot out his titanium claws and held one set near Scott's throat and the other at his heart. When Cyclops didn't reply, Logan began to lead him to Xavier's office.
When they arrived, Ororo and Kurt were already seated in front of Xavier.
"What's goin' on?" Logan commanded. No one answered.
"Uh, Wolverine?" Cyclops said.
"What?" he asked, agitated that no one was answering him.
"Claws," he reminded him. Wolverine relaxed a little, realizing how evil he must look holding Cyclops hostage like that. So that's why everyone was staring at us...He gently retracted his blades and pushed Scott away from him.
"I suggest you take a seat," Xavier said and they sat down warily. "I've brought the four of you here on a special mission," he continued, "and no one is to know of it until it is complete. You are to leave immediately after-" Scott jumped up.
"What do you mean "mission"?! Do you really expect me to go on a damn mission when...she...it's only been three days for God's sake!" he yelled.
"Mr. Cyclops, I'd appreciate your cooperation. I called you here for a reason. Now, unless you'd like to abandon your duties and stay behind, which I know she would not approve of, please retake your seat," the professor requested in a calm voice. Scott swallowed and took a shaky breath but sat down. He knew that the professor understood his grief and would only call him down if it were a true emergency. The professor had taken him in young. He not only taught him how to control his abilities, but he raised him like a son-his first X-Man. Xavier was more than a leader to Scott. He was the father he never had and Scott trusted him. "Now where was I?"
"Professor, you were telling us what the mission was," Storm spoke, her brow furrowing with concern and anxiety.
"Ah, yes, of course." Xavier smiled a small smile and his eyes twinkled merrily. "I've brought the four of you here to rescue Miss Jean Grey."
