Okay this is the last and final chapter of this story. I'll get the sequel up as soon as I can. I want to thank Mark C for putting me on your favorites list, and ldypebsaby for putting me on your watch list. Does anyone think I should make a C2 community for the Warriors? I have a few other stories that I'll be writing with them, a Spiderman one, a Smallville one, a Teen Titans one, even a Static Shock one, not to mention the sequel to this one. lol. Anyone think that a C2 community would be a good idea? Would anyone even join it?
Chapter 11: Loose EndsBy the time that James and the others had gotten to the room Megan had for the most part filled everyone in on what had happened. Scott however was still curious to why Megan had left, but that would be a question for another time he realized as Thomas appeared in the doorway behind them all. "Is Robaldi okay?" He asked suddenly as he appeared making a few people, including Rogue and Scott jump.
"Wear a bell or something man! Robaldi's fine, he's right here." Will said pointing to the horribly disfigured and scarred man sitting slightly away from the other teenagers. Megan was sitting next to him making sure he was okay.
"What happened?" Thomas asked as the others all took their own seats.
"Dustin paid me a visit." James said with a slight nod.
Thomas lowered his shades ever so slightly looking at James. "How'd he find you?" He asked with authority.
"You remember that old man that I saved from getting mugged yesterday? And I got that knife cut for it?" James asked.
Thomas raised his brow ever so slightly as he readjusted his shades. "Yeah?"
"Well it seems they work for him now, he's moved up here to the city." James answered as he stood up.
"Well then it's a good thing that you're getting out of here." Thomas said with a sound of pity in his voice. "How long do you think before he calls that Johnson fellow?"
"Knowing him, he's on the phone right now." James said with a slight frown.
This entire conversation left everyone else in the room very confused and bewildered. "Do you two want to go somewhere privately and talk, or is this conversation over now?" Nathan asked, ending the second of silence that was hanging in the room.
"We're done. Actually I want all of you to go home, and pack up your things as soon as possible." Thomas said looking around the room. "The professor wants Rogue and Scott to go back with him today to the Institute, and James if you don't mind, I'm going to send you and Jessica with him today too. The rest of you don't leave for another few days until everything is settled."
Jessica stood up. "Fine be me." She said stretching a bit. "I just need to grab something from my room and we can be ready to go." She said with a yawn.
James just shrugged. "We'd better I guess."
"Good." Thomas said as he turned and looked towards Rouge and Scott. "The professor is waiting for us at the Hub, he's already cleaned out the hotel rooms, all your stuff is ready to go." He turned and looked at James. "I'll send your stuff to you with the others."
"Okay." James said nodding as he and Jessica, and Rogue and Scott all stood up. Jessica put on her hoody and boots again, getting all covered so that no one could see her fur. Rogue wondered if Thomas was going to teleport them to the Hub, but he didn't offer, so she guessed not.
"Bye guys. We'll see you in a few days." Scott said as they neared the door.
"Bye ya'll." Rogue said as she gave a slight wave to Joe and the others and left with Scott, Jessica, and James.
The coldness of the air was like walking into a brick wall for Rogue, she had forgotten that the season was Christmas. Her breath hung in the air for her as she walked out the front door of the Robaldi Music Center.
"We're taking the alleys and back streets, if you don't mind." James said, as he was the last one out the door. "It's just on the other side of the block there, we cut across this alley and we're there." James said as he started walking.
Rogue looked to Scott who shrugged and followed James, Rogue and Jessica did the same. "Is he always commanding like that?" Rogue asked as the boys went ahead and the girls dropped behind a bit.
"Sometimes. Right now he's scared." Jessica answered.
"Scared of what?" Rogue asked surprised, James didn't seem the type that would be afraid of anything or anyone.
"Scared that someone might see me, or that I'll be discovered, or that something might happen to me. It's a rough city." Jessica explained.
"Wow. He's a really protective fella ain't he?" Rogue asked looking over to Jessica.
"Well yeah. I mean he sort of has to be. He's always been that way. It's kind of odd, he and I are close friends more than siblings, we don't squabble or fight, he's just like my best friend."
"That seems... odd."
"Well I suppose it does, but it doesn't really." Jessica explained. "You see all I had growing up was him, and all he had was me, we're the only family either of us have left, and well, with my mutation being so obvious, he's a little protective."
"Oh." Rogue said with a little sympathy in her voice.
Jessica fell silent for the rest of the trip, usually she was bright and energetic and happy, but the subject of the conversation had sobered her for the moment.
James breathed deep as they rounded the corner of the alley, the Hub now in sight just across the street with a nice almost antique car waiting out front of it. Thomas had by all bets beaten them there, but when they got there the two people to greet them in the front room were AI-9 who let them in, and the Professor.
"I'll be right back." Jessica said running off towards the stairs. She returned a few moments later with two things in her hands, a pen, and a fancy looking brown book with a small clasp on the one side of it, her diary.
The professor smiled kindly and warmly, as was his habit when she returned. "Well then, are we all ready to go?" He asked looking to Rogue and Scott.
"Yeah." Rogue answered with a shrug.
"Uh... Sir." James began. "Mr. Walkner was wondering if it would be okay..." The professor who merely held up a hand cut him off.
"It's okay, Thomas is upstairs, and he's told me everything. You and Jessica are welcome to come along today with Scott and Rogue and I." He said with a nod. "However if it is okay with you James, I would like to talk with you privately once we reach the institute."
James nodded. "I was going to suggest that anyway." He said with a slight smile.
"Right shall we go then?" The Professor asked as his wheelchair moved towards the door.
"Wait!" AI-9 called as he headed toward them. He looked like a middle-aged man in a now, a butler almost, just not quite old enough. "He wanted to give you these." He said holding out a small tray with four ring boxes on it, one with a special label marked 'James'. "He wants you to be the first to test an updated version of the pins." AI-9 explained what he had been told to explain. "These are rings."
James picked up the box with his ring, he opened it, it looked like a high school ring, but his wasn't made out of real gold or any metal at all actually, on the top it held a large red stone. He slipped it onto his bare left hand index finger and admired it for a bit. "How do they work?"
"You push the stone down to initiate the tracer sequence, and when there is an alarm, the stone glows." AI-9 answered. "Yours there only have the first option, the tracer sequence, since the second option will be used more for the Warriors that can actually respond to its call. At Xavier's you will be unable to."
Rogue, Scott, and Jessica put theirs on, Jessica's fur almost hid her ring from sight, and it would have been impossible to spot if it wasn't for the red stone. However, unlike James' ring, theirs were metal, mostly gold, but more than likely not pure gold. Instead of the name of the high school or whatever would have been around the stone, their names were inscribed with a special following sentence that was unique to each one.
James' ring said "James King: Warrior" around the stone.
Whereas Scott's said "Scott Summers: X-Man"
Rogue's read "Rogue: X-Woman"
And Jessica's read "Jessica King: Warrior Xavier Division"
"Cool." James said as he read his inscription. "Thanks Alf."
"You're welcome sir." AI-9 said with a slight nod and again left to go work in the smaller back room.
"These are pretty neat." Jessica said. "Way better than the pins." Though she took her pin off, she kept it in her pocket, as James did the same.
Rogue and Scott however set their pins on the nearby end table and nodded to the professor that they were ready to go.
"Very well." He said as they headed towards the door. Xavier sat in the passenger's seat of the antique car, and Scott and Rogue sat on the side seats in the back, the seats were arranged oddly to James, a bench on the left behind the driver's seat, facing the inside, and a bench on the right behind the passenger's seat facing the inside, and a bench in the back facing normally up front. James and Jessica took the rear bench, and Jessica pulled down her hood as the car started up, thankful for the tinted windows.
MEANWHILE
Thomas came out of what appeared to be his room, and locked the door behind him. He headed down the hall, but stopped when he remembered something. Quickly he ran back into the room and came out a few seconds later, with a cell phone in his hand. He flipped it open and dialed a few numbers as he walked down the stairs, his matrix like coat and outfit flowing nicely behind him as he walked. "Quinn? I need you and Katashi to come over for a brief meeting." He paused while she spoke. "Yes at the Hub." He paused again. "Well when do you think..." He was cut off and he rolled his eyes behind his dark shades. "Well... Okay, tomorrow at five thirty. Good."
MEANWHILE
Eric Lensherr stood atop a rooftop across the street from the Robaldi Music Center. Something bothered him; Xavier had been here for some reason. If Scott was there than there was no reason to think that Xavier hadn't been, now it was just a matter of finding out why. What connection Xavier already had with this Robaldi guy. But he had other things to attend to at the current moment. Silently he slipped out of sight and into the shadows, unnoticed by all, or so he thought.
MEANWHILE
Will and John didn't go straight home, they were walking down the street and talking about something, probably the fight that had just occurred, when something or someone swung overhead of them. "Hey, look, it's that Spiderman guy that the Bugle is always harping about." Will said as just as quickly the guy in the red and blue suit disappeared from their line of sight.
MEANWHILE
Rebecca drove down the streets of New York City, she always drove her Harley Davidson, never a car. She wore a helmet though, but that didn't stop most of her hair from flapping in the wind, bothering her passenger. Quickly the bike stopped and she turned it, parking it in front of an apartment building. "Here's your stop." She said to Elise who she had agreed to drive home. "Hurry up and pack now."
MEANWHILE
Michael and Nathan said their brief goodbye to each other after leaving the store. Nathan headed one way, but Mike headed across the street. He hated walking out in public in this city, his telepathy was automatic, and with a range of fifteen feet his mind could get over crowded fast. Something was odd though; he had this feeling that he was being watched. He looked up in time to see a piece of purple fabric on the rooftop above him just before it disappeared from sight.
MEANWHILE
Chris walked with his head down through the park; he was going to say his goodbyes to Mike, the tree-like mutant, along with Joe. Joe walked off the path, but Chris at first didn't notice, in his hurry to catch up he bumped into a man in a trench coat, knocking the man to the ground. "Sorry about that." Chris said offering the man his hand to help him up.
"My fault." The man apologized as he took Chris' hand and stood up, quickly walking past both Chris and Joe.
"Come on." Joe said as he headed off the path again.
"Hey wait... What the?" Chris asked as he bent down and picked up a single white feather from where the man had fallen just moments before.
MEANWHILE
Mr. Robaldi again began playing his piano, Hans was in the room with the fireplace that was adjacent to the piano room, dusting. No signs of what had just taken place there were there. Everything was set back like nothing had ever happened. Mr. Robaldi's cane was the only thing left the way it was, which was still resting up against the wall where Magneto had previously put it.
And that's the end. I know this chapter was a little bit shorter than the rest, but I hope you liked it. I did my best. I think. Well maybe. lol. Anyone have any crossovers where they would like to see the Warriors? Like I said earlier I have a few in the works already. Well, I can't wait to read your reviews, so please review; all of your reviews will help to influence the sequel. Until next time... No wait, that saying is too overused.