A Force Unleashed
Written by Darkstorm5000
Disclaimer: The X-Men and related characters in their various incarnations are the property of Marvel Entertainment.
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Chapter 2- Here Comes Tomorrow
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A brand new day had dawned on the Xavier School for the Gifted in Salem Center, New York. This morning, a few of the residents of the school, who doubled as members of the school's defense force the X-Men, were up and preparing to attend a briefing that would better explain the latest threat that they faced.
Scott Summers had been up late the night before meticulously pouring through every note and every bit of data at his disposal, all in preparation for the assessment that he would deliver to his fellow X-Men today. After grabbing a few hours of sleep and a quick shower that made him feel like a new man, Scott was ready to discuss the information that he had gathered about the Sentinels. He threw on a fresh set of clothes, and then descended back down the large staircase inside of the mansion. Scott was heading for the elevator that would take him back to the War Room, the X-Men's meeting and planning room located in the lower levels of the school, once again. But, Scott paused when he heard the most peculiar thing.
It was the sound of someone playing music, and it was coming from somewhere within the mansion.
Scott could immediately tell that it wasn't coming from a radio belonging to one of the students, so he decided to investigate further. As he traced the musical emanations to its source, Scott found himself at the door of a rarely used small study in the mansion. He saw someone in there, who a few weeks before had dyed her short-length hair from its natural blonde to a deep crimson color, all in an attempt to make herself less recognizable to the public. Scott also noticed that she was wearing a medium blue, short sleeve blouse with matching capris. When he saw her face, he recognized that it was one of the school's newest residents, Alison Blaire, sitting at the piano within and playing a slow and slightly somber piece. With the morning sunlight peeking its way through curtains in the study, combining with the music, seemed to give the room a rather tranquil ambiance. Scott stood there listening for a few minutes, before Alison realized that she had found an audience of one.
"Oh, I didn't know anyone was there." Alison said, after sensing that someone else was in the room. She had turned around from the piano to see Scott, leaning against the wall just inside of the doorframe.
"I stopped in to see who was playing in here." Scott replied.
"I didn't think anyone would mind. I'm sorry if I was disturbing you." Alison said apologetically.
"No, not at all." Scott assured her, "It's just that curiosity got the best of me, and I wanted to see who was actually making use of the piano for a change."
"I love to play, whenever I get the chance. It's like an outlet for my emotions, and how I'm feeling at the moment." Alison explained.
"I'm nowhere near being a music expert, but that was a beautiful song." Scott complimented her, as he walked closer into the room, "Where did you learn it?"
"I was classically trained, and my parents had me taking lessons at an early age. After I won a few awards, they hoped I would become a world reknown concert pianist." Alison answered, as her blue eyes looked up at Scott from the piano bench. She had only seen him a few brief times before around the mansion, and Alison had been wondering how Scott could see anything through the red eyeglasses that he always wore.
"They must be very proud of you." Scott said to her.
"Think again. When I told them that I wanted to pursue a career in rock & roll, let's just say that 'disappointed' would be putting it mildly in describing how they reacted. But, I had to live the life that I wanted, and I had to follow my dream." Alison revealed, "Anyways back to your question, that song I was playing was something that I had been working on for my next album. But, I guess now I'm going to have all the time in the world to get it just right."
"What do you mean?" Scott asked her.
Alison then turned and looked towards the window, before she responded to Scott's question.
"It's kinda hard to put out an album, with no record company to release it. Now that the whole world knows I'm a mutant, no label in their right mind is going to come within a million miles of me. Same thing goes for my acting career, which was already struggling before all of this happened."
Scott could tell by her expression how hurt Alison was by what had happened to her, and to her career. Despite the fact that he didn't keep up with what was hot or current in the entertainment world, Scott had learned a little bit about Alison's life from an article that he had read, while trying to figure out why Frederick J. Dukes, aka the Blob, had showed up at her last concert in NYC, and started a riot inside of the arena.
But, Scott could also tell that Alison's pain went much deeper than just her losing a recording contract or a few minor movie roles. The way that she talked about writing and playing music for others made Alison seem to almost, literally, light up. Music and performing were an essential part of who she was, and now it appeared that part was suddenly gone.
In a way, it was something that Scott could definitely relate to in regards to his own life.
"Look, I was on my way downstairs for a team briefing. Why don't you come down there with the rest of us?" Scott offered, as he could tell that he had stirred some unpleasant feelings up in Alison.
"You guys have some pretty important work to do, and I'd just be in the way." Alison replied.
"Trust me, it'll be alright." Scott told her.
"Okay." Alison said, as she agreed.
While Alison and Scott left the study and continued their conversation, other residents at the school were already making their way down to its lower levels.
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Rogue, Jubilee, Kitty, Bobby, Peter, and the newest arrival Remy Lebeau, were all on the elevator downstairs together. They were all casually dressed in various attire, some of them wearing assorted apparel with the school's insignia on it. The elevator taking them down to the briefing in the War Room was, however, unusually silent and it was most likely due to the tension that everyone felt between Rogue and Bobby. Remy knew that there was some kind of history between the two, but Rogue had yet to inform him of the specifics. Remy felt uncomfortable with the silence inside and decided to do something about it. So, he looked over to his right side, and spoke to the person standing next to him.
"You know, I met some pretty big fellas before, but ain't none of them got anything on you." Remy smiled, as he looked up at Peter right next to him, all the while with his arm still in a sling.
Peter then slowly looked down at Remy, with an expression that displayed little in the way of emotion.
"I suppose, 'little one'." Peter replied simply, as he turned his head back and looked forward again inside of the elevator, his expression unchanged.
With that, Jubilee, Kitty, and even Rogue & Bobby, all let out a brief laugh. While Remy didn't quite get the full meaning of Peter's reply, the others certainly did. Despite his usually stoic demeanor, Peter did have a wonderful sense of humor that he only displayed to those that he truly felt comfortable with. In regards to his comment, Peter never used the term 'little one' when speaking to grown men, but usually when talking to his younger sister Illyana Rasputin, or on occasion when speaking to one of the younger female students at the school.
The group then stepped off of the elevator, and into the corridor where the War Room stood at the end. With the ice broken by Remy and Peter's very brief conversation, the school's number one practitioner of sub-zero temperatures spoke to his classmate, who ironically had been giving him the cold-shoulder as of late.
"Rogue can we talk, just for a minute?" Bobby asked her.
Rogue stopped, while the rest of the group continued on down the hallway. But, Remy stopped as well and looked over at Rogue. Remy did proceed on into the War Room with Kitty, Peter, and Jubilee, after Rogue motioned for him to go on inside. Then, it was just Bobby and Rogue left outside in the corridor.
"Look Rogue, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for hurting you. That's the last thing I ever wanted--" Bobby started, before he was interrupted.
"It's alright." Rogue said, as she flashed her best fake smile, "Ah'm fine with things now, so there's no reason to worry about it."
"Um…okay, sure." Bobby replied, as he was caught a little off guard by Rogue's response.
Bobby had broken up with Rogue, hoping that it would give him a chance to better sort out his own personal issues. Bobby had been in a deep depression for the last few months. It was due to his family's apparent rejection of him following the revelation that he was mutant, and then the confrontation with the police that occurred outside of his home in Boston. But, he kept the inner-turmoil that he was going through secret from Rogue. Bobby thought that she had been through so much already, because of her own difficulties as a result of her mutant powers, and figured that the last thing she needed to hear was additional grief from him. It finally took Dr. McCoy recommending that Bobby go talk to a professional, for him to realize that he couldn't and didn't have to handle it all on his own.
After finally talking with his therapist about how he had been feeling, things in his life slowly started to make sense again. But, Bobby also quickly realized that it was Rogue that had made the most sense in his life, and that he had made a mistake by not confiding in her to begin with. By the time he had figured this out, Rogue was long gone on a trip to Japan with Logan. Bobby was hoping that he would at least get the chance to straighten things out with her, when she returned home. But, with the appearance of her mysterious new 'friend', and now Rogue's apparent eagerness to put their past behind them, Bobby wondered if the damage he had done to their relationship might very well be irreparable.
"We'd better get inside, the meeting'll be starting soon." Rogue said softly, as she walked past Bobby into the War Room.
As Bobby walked in behind Rogue, they both saw that the Professor, Ororo, and Logan were already inside.
"Well, it looks like all you kids are up bright 'n early this mornin'." Logan greeted them, as he sat with his legs propped up on another chair in the room.
"It is good to see you again, Tovarisch." Peter replied, as he took a seat by Logan. The two hadn't had a chance to see each other yet, since Logan had spent most of the previous evening informing the Professor, Ororo, Hank and Scott about what had happened in Japan, and telling them about their latest addition, Gambit.
"It's nice seein' you too, Pete." Logan responded.
"How about little ole me?" Kitty sarcastically asked Logan, as she stood next to Peter with her hands on her hips. One of the reasons that Kitty asked was because of the fact that she and Logan had not seen eye-to-eye on many issues, and there had been more than a fair share of long 'discussions' between them as a result.
"Even you, 'short-stuff'." Logan told her, with a small smirk on his face.
"Well, I don't even need to ask. You already know that I naturally brighten up yours, and everyone else's day." Jubilee boasted, as she sat down in another chair in the War Room with one leg crossing over the other. Jubilee was referring to the effect that both her lively personality, and her mutant power, had on others.
Just then, Kurt Wagner, Dr. Henry McCoy, Sean Cassidy (Siryn's father), and the mutant Machine-smith known as Forge, all entered the War Room. As they came in, Sean instantly took notice of Remy sitting in the room, and carefully studied the young man that hailed from New Orleans as they all went to find seats within.
There were a few more minutes of the now good-sized group greeting and talking with each other. Then, the last two arrivals made their way into the War Room, with the large steel doors closing behind them.
"Ah, Fraulein, a seat has been especially reserved here just for you." Kurt offered.
"Thanks for making a girl feel so welcome." Alison smiled, knowing that Kurt had no inkling beforehand that she would be attending their meeting. Alison then took her seat next to Kurt, who was more crouching in his chair than actually sitting.
"So, did you decide to go ahead and hookup with the super-hero set here?" Jubilee asked, from a few chairs over.
"I don't think I'm quite cut out for that. All I'm doing here is watching the pros while they work." Alison replied.
Meanwhile, Scott went over to the Professor and Ororo and said a few words to them, before continuing on to the front of the room. There, he stood with a huge digital screen behind him.
"Looks like we can finally get this show on the road." Logan remarked.
"Don't know why he's in such a hurry, he's still got plenty o' time before happy-hour starts." Remy commented, as he sat next to Rogue and whispered into her ear.
"Shhhh!" Rogue said as she smiled and whispered back, nudging Remy lightly in his side with her elbow for his comment, "Don't you want to make a good first impression?"
As the pair talked low enough so that no one else could hear them, they still managed to catch Bobby's attention, however.
"Well, let's begin." Scott said, as he cued up an image of a global map behind him, "I'm going to do a little threat analysis, as I give a brief run-down of recent events. Some of the things I intend to cover may seem repetitive to a few of you, but I'm sure it will be very informative and helpful to the majority in here. It may also be helpful to those that have had a habit of falling asleep during my previous lectures."
With those words, more than a few pairs of eyes in the room unintentionally looked over at one individual.
"Gawd, a girl falls asleep in class ONE time, and I have to wear it like some sorta Scarlet Letter." Jubilee replied, "Just the fact that I know what a friggin' Scarlet Letter is, should tell everybody that I go to class for more than just nap-time."
As a few of the junior X-Men continued to remember the day when Jubilee's snoring brought one of their classes to a halt, following her late-night movie marathon, Scott continued talking.
"Here's the situation. Over the last few weeks, quite a few of us have been involved in a number of confrontations around the world. In Japan, Wolverine, Rogue, and Gambit fought with an individual calling himself the Silver Samurai. After aiding authorities in dismantling a good portion of the Jigoku underworld, criminal activities around the Asian-Pacific rim, particularly in the Tokyo region of Japan, have been severely hampered and disrupted. As a result, we've learned from our own sources over here that members of the Japanese underworld, who aren't currently incarcerated, have vowed revenge. There's even a unconfirmed rumor that there may be a substantial bounty out on anyone who aided authorities in the capture and arrest of the Silver Samurai, the assassins of the Hand, and members of the Yakuza."
"Just let 'em try to come 'n collect." Logan said in response, as he popped out the claws on his right hand.
"Don't get uptight just yet, Mon Ami." Remy said to Logan, "Remember, they gonna have to deal wit' Sunfire first to collect on dat bounty, and I don't t'ink there's enough mobsters in all of Japan able t'take him down."
"Did you say, Sunfire?" Scott asked Remy, "As in Shiro Yoshida?"
"Yeah. You know him or something?" Rogue answered for him.
"We tried to recruit Shiro Yoshida to join my second class of students here, a number of years ago." Professor Xavier revealed, as he sat next to Ororo and Hank in the War Room, "But, he 'less' than politely declined."
"I definitely believe ya. That guy's disposition makes me look downright cuddly." Logan stated.
"Wonder why Mariko's cousin didn't say anything when we mentioned the Professor's name over there?" Rogue whispered to Remy, to which Remy had no idea either.
As Remy and Rogue spoke to each other, Scott moved on to the next topic.
"Back here at home, Jubilee and Miss Blaire ran into a wall of trouble calling himself the Blob, during her last concert at Madison Square Garden. Then they, plus Beast, Iceman, and Nightcrawler had an apparent run-in with a group of armed men, that might possibly have ties to the Brotherhood, or to some secret sect affiliated with an establishment called the Hellfire Club."
"Run-in is an understatement. They used an entire neighborhood for target practice with those machine-guns of theirs." Kurt said aloud.
"I agree. But, without a doubt the most alarming event is what occurred on Muir Island." Scott said, as he now brought up an image of a devastated Muir Island, "Along with the sudden, and unexpected, re-introduction of the Sentinel program."
Scott then brought up a detailed computer model that showed the entire room exactly what a Sentinel looked like. The display showed a giant humanoid robot with its head, arms, and legs colored in a dark purple tone, while the rest of its torso was painted in a lighter shade of purple.
"As you can see by these schematics, Sentinel robots are possessed of an advanced level of Artificial Intelligence. They are also heavily-armed, with energy pulsation blasts that fire from its hands as its main weapon. In addition, they are usually equipped with gas grenades, wire cables for detaining subjects, and concentrated laser beams that fire from their eye sensors. The booster rockets equipped in their legs manage to provide them with a long-range flight capability. "
Scott then brought up the next image, which wasn't of a Sentinel, but of an older man with slightly graying hair.
"This is a picture of the Sentinels original creator, the late Dr. Bolivar Trask. When we first encountered his Sentinels a number of years ago, it was at a time when most of the public still thought that mutants were merely a fantasy cooked up in the mind of some half-baked crackpot. But now, the public is more than well aware of our existence."
"Tell me about it." Alison commented, as she only spoke loud enough that Kurt was able to hear her.
"Trask, however, took the mutant phenomenon very seriously, and constructed his Sentinels as a response. His model's primary design function seemed to be for tracking and detaining mutants. The newer model that appeared on Muir Island is smaller, standing not quite twenty feet tall, and seems better equipped for strategic combat. From what Ororo and Sean have told me, they also seemed to be programmed more for eliminating their mutant subjects, than capturing them for examination. On top of that, these Sentinels have kidnapped Dr. Moira MacTaggert, for as yet unknown reasons."
"Have ye been able to get a better idea on who built these new and improved death machines, Scotty? It may provide a clue as to where they might be holdin' Moira." Sean asked him.
"I think I'll turn that question over to Forge." Scott answered, as all eyes turned to the middle-aged Native American gentleman, whose mutant power to invent and construct machines was limited only by his imagination.
"I took a look at the model that was brought back on the Blackbird, when I arrived last night." Forge said, in a moderately-low, but steady voice, "But, in the brief time that I've had to examine it, my evaluation of its internal circuitry has revealed little so far. If that unit had been left more intact, I could probably run a full diagnostic on it and obtain a more thorough understanding of it's A.I. thought analysis, and perhaps pick up a clue as to who the programmer may be."
Immediately, the most dangerous mouth in mansion felt that she had to say something.
"Sorry, next time one of those things decides to jump us from out of nowhere, I'll just ask him; 'Please Mr. Killer-Robot-Sir', can you take a seat on the table over here so I can take your temperature, and see what really goes on in that big, gigantic metal brain of yours." Kitty said aloud, as she sat in her chair with arms folded over in front of her.
While it might have sounded like Kitty was upset with Forge, in truth, she was upset that someone would actually build these things in the first place to hurt and kill other people, even if they were mutants.
"Kitty!" Professor Xavier scolded her, showing his disapproval of the tone that she had taken with Forge.
"It's alright Charles. I imagine that my last statement did sound rather insensitive, considering what many of you have been through, and that's not what I had intended." Forge responded, "It's just that I had wanted to provide you with as much information as I possibly could this morning."
"If anyone can unlock whatever secrets it may possess, it would be you." Professor Xavier said to him.
"I imagine so, it may just take me a little more time than I had anticipated, while I finish reconstructing its damaged circuitry." Forge replied, before continuing his assessment, "What I have been able to gather so far is that these Sentinel units are of a fairly advanced cybernetic design. It seems to be on par with those being produced by S.H.I.E.L.D., A.I.M., and Stark Enterprises, while remaining uniquely original in its own right."
Forge then took a chunk of purple metal out a bag that he was carrying, and placed it on the large table within the War Room.
"On the subject of original, the material used in their outer exo-structure is composed of very little iron, but manages to remain remarkably lightweight and durable." Forge continued, "I imagine that they had our old friend Magneto in mind when they came up with that."
"What, precisely, does this material consist of?" Hank inquired.
"It's made from a new and experimental alloy that combines super-strong plastic, with an extremely rare form of high-grade aluminum." Forge answered.
"How rare?" Scott asked.
"I did some digging before I came in here this morning, and there's only one company that produces it, Dynatech Industries." Forge replied.
"Well, who owns Dynatech Industries?" Bobby wanted to know.
Forge paused for a moment, before bringing himself to answer the query.
"It's a subsidiary of Worthington Enterprises."
"You mean Warren Worthington?" Ororo asked.
"The very same." Forge confirmed.
With that answer, Scott, Hank, and even Professor Xavier seemed to be bothered the most by that revelation. But, it was Ororo that was hit the hardest. Warren Worthington had been one of Professor Xavier's original students, donning the code-name that made the most sense in regards to his mutant ability, Angel. He had been Scott, Hank, Jean, and Ororo's classmate, but more importantly, he had been their teammate and their friend. Beyond that, Warren and Ororo had, at one time, been much, much more than just friends or teammates. Now, the remaining original X-Men were left to ponder why on Earth he would be involved in something like this.
"I say we go to this Worthington Enterprises, and see if we can get some answers." Logan remarked, to the currently silent room.
"I will handle that. I intend to find out for myself what this connection with Worthington Enterprises is." Ororo pledged, as she sat in her chair with her face resting against her hand, displaying a very serious look on her face.
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Scott continued talking for a while longer, revealing in the process that he would be leading a small expedition to the former base of Bolivar Trask, which was located in the Adirondack Mountains in upper New York state.
When the meeting finally did adjourn, the individuals in the room prepared to go off to various destinations in and around the mansion. Scott immediately came over to where Remy and Rogue were sitting in the room.
"Remy, take the elevator upstairs. The large door at the end of the hallway is the Professor's study, and I'll meet you there in about fifteen minutes. I want to complete your team orientation all at one time." Scott said, as everyone continued to file out of the War Room.
"Alright." Remy replied, as he turned back towards Rogue.
"Ah'll show him where it is." Rogue promised.
As almost everyone in the room walked out into the hallway, Scott and Ororo stood and talked for a moment.
"I haven't had a chance to ask you about your trip to Egypt with Alex and Lorna. How was it?" Ororo asked him, as Scott now came over to her.
"It was a nice experience. It helped me keep my mind off of everything else in my life for a while." Scott answered, "The excavation team spent most of its time there digging around a town near the temple of En Sabah Nur. Alex and Lorna's university is planning on going back next year. They want to go inside of the temple and catalog its interior, once they get the approval of the Egyptian government."
"They must be very excited." Ororo assumed.
"When Alex called the other day, after they both saw the news report about Muir Island, it seemed like he and Lorna are thinking more about mid-terms now than anything else at the moment." Scott replied.
Ororo then glanced down at her watch, before she spoke again.
"I had better get going, I have a class that will be starting soon." Ororo said to Scott, as she turned and headed towards the door of the War Room.
"Ororo…" Scott called out to her, causing the one person who's leadership and tactical abilities rivaled his own, to stop and turn around.
"You know, this thing with Warren, you don't have to do this. I know how strained things have been between you two, I can go find out what's going on with him." Scott offered, as he walked over and put his hand on her shoulder.
"I appreciate your offer. But I saw first-hand the devastation that the Sentinels inflicted on Muir Island, and I want to hear in person what possible rationale he could find for being involved in their creation." Ororo replied, as she put her hand over his for a moment, and then left for the classroom that beckoned her to it.
Meanwhile, as Ororo and Scott passed everyone out in the hallway and headed upstairs with Kurt and Alison…
"I shouldn't be in dis meetin' for too long, Chere." Remy said to Rogue, as they stood in the hallway, away from the rest of the group.
"You don't have to be in a hurry, we're probably going to spend most of the day studyin' for a big test that's coming up." Rogue replied, "Then, Ah still have to finish the paper that I was supposed to turn in when we got home. At least the Professor gave me an extension on it."
As they were talking, Logan came walking by.
"Where're you off to in such a hurry?" Rogue asked him, as she and Remy started walking with Logan, heading towards the elevator.
"I've been cooped up in here long enough, I just need to get out for a little while." Logan answered, as the three of them now stepped onto the elevator, "I'll be back before dinner."
"Goin' anywhere special?" Remy asked.
"To me it is, Cajun." Logan replied simply, as the elevator door closed and took them upstairs.
Just then Peter, who was standing with Bobby and Jubilee and also discussing going to study, noticed that Kitty wasn't with them. He looked over and saw her by Forge and Hank.
"Katya, are you going to join us?" Peter asked, as the group stood outside in the corridor.
"I'll catch up later. First, I wanna see this 'old' Blackbird that Dr. McCoy is talking about." Kitty replied.
"What old Blackbird?" Bobby inquired.
"It was the predecessor to the model that the team is currently using." Hank informed him, as he stood next to Forge.
"I don't remember seeing another 10-ton plane just lying around." Jubilee commented.
"It's been in storage for a few years now." Forge explained, "Professor Xavier didn't think it was necessary to have two jets before, with only three X-Men at that time on the active roster. But now, he believes that there may finally be a need for it. Since I've finished making the final repairs to Cerebro, he's offered a contract for me to completely overhaul the first Blackbird to bring it up to current specifications, and then make some new modifications to both jets. So, I'm heading out to Hangar #2 to take a look at it."
"I remember Mr. Summers mentioning Hangar #2 once, saying that it runs underground from the mansion past the lake, and then to an opening on a nearby cliff-side." Peter recalled, as Kitty walked over to him, Jubilee, and Bobby.
"When I get through looking at it, I'm going to go check on Rahne again." Kitty told them.
"Who's Rahne?" Jubilee asked.
"You remember the girl I was telling you about, the one we brought back from Muir Island." Kitty reminded her.
"Oh yeah, the one who can turn herself into a wolf." Bobby recalled, as Peter had mentioned it to him.
"Uh-huh, but the problem now is that she refuses to change back." Kitty responded.
"There has still been no change?" Peter asked.
"I ran into Rogue last night after I left her's and Jubilee's room. The two of us spent almost an hour last night talking to Rahne, trying to get through to her. But, all Rahne did was go over to the far corner of her cell that we have to keep her in just so she won't hurt anyone, and lied down facing away from us. It's like she's just shutting herself off from the rest of the world." Kitty told them, "And with the Professor's telepathy gone, we don't really have any other way of communicating with her."
"I'm sure Professor Xavier will figure out something." Bobby told her.
"I hope so. But, I think the only thing that's going to help is when we find Dr. MacTaggert and bring her home." Kitty said, as she saw Hank and Forge heading down the corridor, "Anyways, I'll see you guys in a little bit."
Kitty then headed to the long entrance shaft that led to Hangar #2, leaving only Peter, Bobby, and Jubilee in the hallway.
"I guess we can go as well." Peter said to the group.
"All right." Bobby agreed, as they started to walk to the elevator, when something suddenly occurred to him.
"What's the matter?" Jubilee asked Bobby, seeing that something was wrong.
"My communicator, I think I left it in the War Room." Bobby told her.
"We can wait for you to go get it." Peter told him.
"No, you guys go ahead and get everything set up." Bobby told them, "Peter, would you grab my stuff from my room, and I'll meet you two in the library."
While Bobby headed back down the hallway to the War Room, Jubilee and Peter boarded the elevator.
"Man, spending most of the day with my head buried in a book is SO not my idea of a good time." Jubilee said to Peter.
"I imagine that you could always use your book as a pillow or a headrest." Peter said with a straight face.
"Oh give it a rest already, will ya." Jubilee replied as she shook her head, wishing that everyone would forget her less-than-stellar moment in class.
As the elevator took Jubilee and Peter up to the ground level of the school, Bobby opened the door to the War Room to retrieve his communication device. Once inside, he saw that the Professor and Theresa's father were having a conversation. Since they were facing away from him, Bobby decided to just get his communicator, and leave without disturbing them. But, he unintentionally ended up hearing an interesting bit of information.
"Charles, I think I'm going to track down some of me old contacts here in the States, from my days spent working for Inter-pol, and see what I can dig up on the whereabouts of Moira." Sean said to Professor Xavier.
"At this point, it certainly couldn't hurt." The Professor replied, as he sat in his wheelchair while the two men watched news feeds from around the world on the large monitor in the War Room.
"Speaking of days spent with Inter-pol, that's a fairly interesting individual ye've brought here. You do know that Remy Lebeau is a very sought after individual, for his string of heists 'round the world." Sean stated.
"I am aware of that. It seems though, that Inter-pol has apparently dropped those charges, after some persuasion by Logan and his female acquaintance in Japan." Professor Xavier revealed.
"But do ye think it's a good idea to have a career-criminal livin' here, with all of these impressionable young children?" Sean asked.
"From my brief conversation with him yesterday, Mr. Lebeau seems to genuinely want to leave his former life of crime. If anything, this institution is as much about second chances, as it is about educating the next generation of mutants. The idea of redemption is something that I want these children take with them, once they leave the confines of this school." The Professor answered.
"I suppose ye're right." Sean said, as he thought he heard someone behind him and suddenly turned around, but saw no one there.
Outside of the War Room, Bobby thought about what he had heard, and wondered to himself if people can truly change who they are deep inside. It was a question that he wanted find an answer to first hand, as he intended to keep a much closer eye on one Remy Lebeau…
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Next Chapter: The Massachusetts Academy! What have the kids at 'Mutant Prep' been up to…
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A/N: Special thanks to everyone for your reviews of the last chapter.
TheDreamerLady- Glad you liked the first chapter! As far as your question regarding the romantic life of our favorite gum-chewing firecracker, his name is Doug Ramsey.
sugah-crystal-101- Thanks for the review, and the next chapter is here!
plutospawn- Yeah, I know it is quite a bit. I've actually trimmed these first few chapters down as much as possible, but I realize that they're still pretty long. I'm glad you like the inclusion of all of the various characters, and I hope you like what's coming up next.
Jean1- Yeah, I tried to touch on the essential things from the other two stories, without over-doing it. I'm glad you liked the Kiotr love-fest and Scott's memories. The Kurt/Logan scene was one that I had been really looking forward to including in this, since not that many writers display that aspect of their relationship. As far as Bobby, that might end up being the most interesting subject of all.
Episodic- Glad you loved the 'fluffiness'! As far as Rogue, all I can say is wait and see.
Independent Fire- Thank you for reading both stories. I thought the Kitty/Peter/Scott scene was pretty good too. As far as Rahne, it's funny that you brought her up. Read on to find out more…
Freelancer- Glad you like everything that's going on, and that you are looking forward to the Forge appearance.
Lucas'sgirl- Glad you love it. While Remy is one in a million, Bobby does have his good points too. Which doesn't mean, however, that those two personalities will mix well together. The X-Men are definitely still searching for Dr. MacTaggert, and I think Scott is doing fairly well, given the circumstances of what he's been dealing with. Also, thank you for the compliment, and I love that I've got you hooked…
haruechan- Glad you liked the chapter, big as it was. And don't worry about Storm, she's going to have a very big part soon.
MoonlightPhoenix3- Yep, sneaky me. I'm glad you like the inclusion of Gambit, and it's never too late to go back and read Land of the Silver Sun. Glad you liked the heavy Kiotr action, and thank you for the double points on word selection. I also hope that you and those around you make it through everything down there safe and sound.