BNW 11/?
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SAN DIEGO: TWO HOURS LATER
"Hobbes is not my priority at the moment, Eberts. He isn't even in the top five."
"Sir, please listen to me. Robert is... well, I think he's becoming ill."
"No reason he should be. He's faking it to get released. Ignore him and he'll give it up after a day or two."
"Not physically ill, sir. Emotionally."
"Isn't he getting his medication on schedule as I ordered?"
"As far as I know..."
"Then my opinion stands. He's smart. He'll try anything to find a way out of there. Don't give him the attention he's looking for."
"Sir..."
"You have a doctor to find, Eberts. I suggest you get to it."
"Sir, Robert is a human being! You can't legally do this to him, you do know that, I hope?"
"I run the show here. I will do what I think is best for my agency and right now the best thing is to have that sneaky little menace locked up. Unless you'd care to join him..."
"No, sir."
"Then find Claire and get her back here, ASAP. She has a hell of a lot to answer for."
Eberts opened his mouth to tell his boss about the phone call he'd received, but hesitated. "Yes? Was there something else?"
"No. Nothing, sir. Nothing at all."
"Then get out of my office."
"Yes, sir. Immediately."
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THE MISSION SITE:
As the group disembarked from the plane, Cyclops once again tried to get close to Flurry, but Jean deliberately stepped between them. Turning to face him, she blocked the way so Cyclops couldn't pass.
"That's enough. Whatever is upsetting you, leave it here."
"Jean, get out of the way."
"Did you hear what I said? Stop it. The mission is always more important than any personal problem any of us might be having."
"Since when is he one of us?"
"Since he agreed to take on the same risks that we do in order to help us save lives."
Cyclops snorted faintly and looked away.
"I guess..."
"You have to put aside... whatever this is or we all could be hurt. Can you do that?"
"Of course I can. I'm an adult." he said, gazing fiercely into her eyes. Finally she stepped aside and followed him out and down to the ground, though she still kept a wary eye on him. Once the whole team was assembled, Xavier concealed the plane and led the group through a nearby patch of sparse woods and up to a metal fence. Just on the other side was the focus of their mission.
"Wolverine. If you wouldn't mind..."
In a few moments there was a hole in the mesh just big enough for Flurry to step through. He laughed quietly and tossed his roommate an impressed smile.
"Cool. Okay. I'm gone, people. See you when I see you."
"Not if we see you first." Wolverine challenged lightly.
"I can pretty much guarantee you won't."
Initiating the response from his gland, Flurry vanished. The only sign the others had that he still existed was the movement of the fence material as he climbed carefully through. The rest settled in to wait for his signal that it was their turn to participate.
"An' he says I'm cool..." Wolverine murmured
."You are." Xavier responded.
"I got nothin' on him. Kid told me this mornin' he's slowly becomin' immune to his medicine. That doc of his is on it, but once the stuff stops working... he won't have a lotta time left."
Jean gasped softly and Storm touched her shoulder.
"Age often has nothing to do with courage and inner strength. He is much more mature than his appearance would suggest."
"Circumstances sometimes force maturity upon us long before we're ready, Storm. Look at the students for example. Think how many of them have been compelled to face adult decisions years before it should have been necessary."
"Yes. You are right, Professor, of course. A pity that he'll be leaving. He would fit in well among the children... and among us."
"He would indeed..."
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Flurry crouched in front of the computer console, carefully controlling his breathing and wishing the muscles his legs would stop burning. When someone had entered the room a few minutes before, he had been forced to hold completely still so as not to alarm the person. Unfortunately, the man seemed to be in no hurry to leave and Flurry was cursing him mentally.
Get the hell out, would you? How can a tech manual be that interesting, for God's sake?! Lucky I completed the download... now if this jackass will just take off I can finish up and head for the exit!
As if in answer to a semi-superhero's prayer, another technician appeared at the door a few seconds later.
"Brackett! That compound you were working on is exploding all over the lab! Hell of a mess and two of the other techs have burns. You better get over there fast!"
"Damn! I'm coming..."
The two men both ran out, allowing Flurry to release a sigh of relief at last. Rising to his feet, he suppressed a groan and swiftly slipped the disk into the CD drive. He then entered the commands he'd been shown, hit return and slipped out of the room, slightly limping at first, but moving better as his cramped legs stretched.
Once he'd made it out of the building, he found the alarm connection he'd easily bypassed before and re-established it. Claxons blared, security lights blazed and the small hole in the fence widened considerably as Flurry's teammates rushed onto the lawn. Beginning to tire, he raced toward them, panting faintly, never looking behind him. Fortunately, Xavier did, but his heart clenched at what he saw. Magneto hung in the air a few feet away. Realizing he was not yet used to his nick-name, and hesitation could be fatal, the professor bellowed out the real one and Flurry instantly dropped to his belly.
"Darien! Down!"
"Charles... when will you give up this foolish game? When will you come to your sense and realize that humans aren't worth all this time and effort... and loss of life?"
"No life will be lost here today, Eric. Not if you get all your people out before we destroy this place."
"My people? What about yours? Who is this one, Charles? I don't believe I've seen him before..."
Horrified, Xavier realized that Flurry had shed his protective coating when he'd fallen, and that Magneto was now dragging the young man along the ground, despite how he was digging his nails into the turf. "Hmmm. Not much metal here... but enough to work with. Take your little ones home, Charles, unless you actually want me to tear this one apart."
Jean suddenly paled and cried out.
"Charles... Quicksilver. You don't think..."
"A mercury component? There must be or... dear God. He could kill him. Pull back slowly, but warn Storm and Cyclops to... where is he?"
Frantically looking around, Jean realized Cyclops had somehow gotten behind Magneto's position.
Cyclops, you have to fire now! Distract him long enough for me to grab Flurry and get him to safety!
The other man stood unmoving as if he hadn't heard her, when she knew he had.
Cyclops! Scott, please! You can't let him die!
He's not a mutant, Jean.
He's a living being! You'll never forgive yourself if you let him be hurt, Scott! I may never forgive you! Do it now!
Even though Magneto heard the exchange and turned, he didn't have time to determine Cyclops' exact location before the other finally conceded and began to fire at him. The beams were deflected, but, as Jean had hoped, Magneto's attention was drawn away from Flurry. Unfortunately, the young man was nearly four feet in the air at the time. Jean cushioned the sudden fall as best she could. He hit the ground, but the impact wasn't half as violent as it could have been. As Xavier, Wolverine and the others retreated, Storm called lightning and hail, both to discourage the workers pouring out of the building from getting involved and to do as much damage to the facility as she could. The last one through the fence, Cyclops added a blast or two of his own, shattering some of the brick-work and decimating several rows of windows.
"That was fun. How come none of you scientist types ever made the mercury connection, huh? Big brains my ass..."
"Wolverine, not now. There will be enough regret to go around, I'm sure. I'd like to get home before we start handing it out, alright?"
"Yeah. Sorry, Professor." Wolverine responded as he started the plane and prepared to leave. "This was supposed to be easy on him. I guess I just need somebody to be mad at..."
"I suggest you look to the people he works for." Jean said, anger coloring her voice as well. "They had to have known that mercury was part of the compound they were putting in his bloodstream. Heavy metal poisoning could even be partly responsible for why a build-up of Quicksilver is so toxic to him..." she hypothesized, gently wiping dirt from the unconscious man's face.
"You could well be right, Jean, but he has more pressing concerns right now. That bruise on his head could be serious."
"He's broken his arm as well. He needs the infirmary, not a first aid kit. We need to hurry, Wolverine."
"Already on it."
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TBConcluded....