Xavier Institute
Westchester, New York
Darkness, endless darkness. Cold, it was so cold. Pain and smoke and blood.
"Storm?" Gambit was kneeling in front of her, brows creased, looking at her strangely. "Stormy?" He was snapping his fingers in front of her face.
"We have to go!" She rose from the couch, trying to maneuver past Gambit, who was holding her arms.
"Storm, what's da matter?"
Ororo pulled her arms away, placing one hand to her temple, an intolerable throbbing in her head.
"Are you all right, chere? You actin' peculiar. Maybe you should rest."
"Logan. I have to get to Logan!" She shoved Gambit away from her, striding towards the stairs purposefully. She took them in one wind assisted leap, heading towards her attic loft, never once looking back over her shoulder.
Gambit started after her, concern written all over his face. When Storm had sat down she seemed to black out, but her eyes had remained wide open, her voice strange as she spoke in a language Gambit didn't recognize. Then as suddenly as she had spaced out, she was up and raring to go.
He started after her, hearing the sound of breaking glass he rushed the stairs two at a time, bursting through her bedroom door just in time to see her launch herself from her balcony railing into the sky at a velocity he never knew she was capable of.
"Storm!" Gambit braced himself against the railing as a blast of air nearly sent him toppling to the ground.
"Gambit! What is it!" Kitty was phasing through the floor and he could hear Peter's heavy footfalls in the hallway.
"Don' know, chaton. She took off like a bat outta hell, and I don' know where to." In the distance thunder boomed and the sky was alight with flickering lightening.
"She didn't say where?" Kitty asked, clearly troubled.
"Said somet'in about da Wolverine, den…" he gestured to the shattered balcony doors.
"If she mentioned Wolverine, then she is headed to San Francisco," said Peter, entering the dimly lit room.
"If dat's da case, I'll be needing a flyer." Gambit was already moving towards the door with long strides.
"We're coming with you," Kitty said, moving to follow.
"Non, I don' t'ink so." Gambit cast them a look over his shoulder. "Stay here, someone needs t' be in charge 'til we get back."
"You've got to be kidding," Kitty grumbled as Gambit disappeared down the hallway with a thief's stealth.
San Francisco
Harbor
"Wolverine, I think Scott's down!" Rogue's voice, muffled and distant, came through the blackness surrounding the jet.
"Can ya see him?" Wolverine's hands searched blindly for something familiar to hold on to. A shard of glass penetrated his hand between thumb and forefinger causing him to swear.
"Yeah, Ah see him. Where are yah?"
The blackbird was shrouded in darkness, enveloped by a large, offensive smelling tentacle-thing, that was squeezing the aircraft like a boa constrictor would its prey. The plane shrieked in protest, metal buckling, glass tinkling to the floor.
"I'm making my way towards ya. Stay put." Wolverine stiffened as the jet was jostled again, causing the overhead compartments to bust open, oxygen masks dangling in the air. "Are ya hurt?" He called.
"A little woozy, but otherwise ok. Scott's laying pretty still, but Ah can't see if he's hurt bad or not."
"I can see ya now, hold on." Wolverine pushed against the folded steel of a collapsed container blocking his path.
"What the heck is this thing?" Rogue demanded.
Wolverine didn't respond, instead he grasped the seat beside him, spread his legs, finding his center of balance. His enhanced senses picking up the subtle shift in movement beneath his feet. "Brace yerself!" he shouted. No sooner had the words left his mouth than the Blackbird was lifted high and plummeted back into the ground, jarring his teeth and sending objects flying about the cabin like projectiles. He felt something long and sharp pierce his side below his ribs. Grunting he pulled out a long sliver of metal, tossing it aside.
"Ah lost Scott!" Rogue cried as the plane was slammed again.
A tall body crashed into Wolverine, knocking him to the side. "Got him!" He grabbed Scott by the back of the neck, hauling the lifeless man up beside him, propping him against the seat. "Ya with us, Cyke!" He slapped Cyclops's across the face. Hard.
"Jesus, Wolverine." Scott snapped, throwing an arm up in automatic defense.
"Just makin' sure yer with us."
"Wolverine!" Rogue came into view, rushing towards them. "Something's inside!" Several long snake-like shadows were hissing along the interior walls and along the floor. -SNIKT- Wolverine impaled one of the shadow snakes that slithered towards his leg. It squealed, a high pitched awful sound, thrashing about beneath his claw.
"Rogue!" Scott shouted in warning to his teammate, but too late, one of the slithering fiends slid up Rogue's arms, springing forwards and covering her face. Upon contact with her skin the creature's energy was drained away, absorbed by the southern beauty's mutant power and it dropped limply to the floor. Immediately Rogue began screaming, hands on her head, dropping to her knees!
"AAAAHHH! The Door! Find the door! Kill the Door! Find the Door!"
"Rogue--"
"Don't touch me!" She cried, skittering away. "Oh…God…" she sobbed.
The plane shifted once more, lifting from the ground. Wolverine and Cyclops exchanged a look, both knowing as sturdy as the Blackbird was it would not withstand another impact like the one they just had. They braced themselves, prepared for the worst.
KABOOM! Thunder echoed throughout the aircraft, followed by flashes of bright white slipping in past the oily tentacle's folds. The slick shadow snakes flopped to and fro in what could only be described as an orgasmic frenzy, their hissing and squealing raising the hair on each X-man's neck.
"Logan!"
Wolverine froze, unable to believe what he was hearing. Surely that wasn't 'Ro's smooth velvet voice calling out to him. She couldn't possibly be here, she was hundreds of miles away tucked safely in her bed, dreaming sweet dreams of him.
"Logan! By the Bright Lady, you had better answer me!"
Yup, it was 'Ro alright. "'Ro, what the fuck are you doing here?" He roared.
"Saving your ass!" She shot back. Ororo hovered above the trapped Blackbird, appalled at the sight of the slimy membrane encircling the jet, crushing it in it's greasy wrinkles. Her heart had nearly stopped when she had emerged from the clouds and saw the carnage below. Ororo began looking around frantically trying to locate the origin of the bracchialis. Bracchialis? How is it she knew what the monstrosity was called?
The sound of steel bending caught her attention, pulling her from her musing. Time for questions later, now she had to rescue her friends from being crushed like a beer can at a frat party. Ororo's eyes clouded white, an idea forming in her head. "Hang on, guys, it is going to get a bit chilly!" She warned.
Calling forth the elements that were hers to command Ororo turned the balmy evening sky into a swirling mass of clouds, the temperature dropping dramatically, a funnel of snow and sleet pouring out of her cloud cauldron, smashing into the offensive creature trapping her teammates, and freezing it on contact.
Inside the cabin of the Blackbird, the walls creaked and moaned but no longer from being crushed, instead protesting the ice that was crawling along the walls, capturing and immobilizing the shadow snakes, making the air so cold it was almost unbearable to breathe.
Wolverine crunched several of the critters beneath his booted heel, making his way to the front of the plane. The tentacle outside, the one that had been crushing them, was frozen solid. Through the busted window Wolverine saw Ororo gliding towards them, eyes glowing. He growled angrily. She should be at the mansion, safe, away from this shit. She wasn't on active duty, and how the hell did she know they were in trouble, there hadn't been time to send an SOS.
"Is everyone all right?" Ororo asked.
"Just peachy," Rogue answered, helping Scott to his feet.
"Step away from the window." When all three complied, Storm unleashed a bolt of lightening, shattering a large piece of the creature and the front part of the Blackbird, creating a gaping exit.
The three wounded X-men stepped from the wreckage, surveying the area around them with cautious, highly trained eyes. "I saw no one when I arrived." Ororo said, landing beside Wolverine. He immediately grabbed her around the waist, pulling her into him, glowering at her. He kissed her quick and hard before demanding, "Just what the hell do ya think yer doin?" his voice a deep growl, shaking her slightly.
"I t'ink Stormy already answered you, Wolverine." Came a smooth voice from the shadows. "And I suggest ya don' handle her like dat, homme."
"Gambit?" Ororo turned, surprised. He was leaning against one of the single person jet flyers from the mansion, looking very laid-back.
"Course, chere. Gambit couln' let ya run off half cocked wit' out 'im." Gambit flicked his cigarette aside, looking at her with a half smile on his face, but concern evident in his eyes.
"Gambit!" Rogue gasped. He gave her a hard stare in return.
"GUMBO!" Wolverine shoved Storm behind him, launching himself at Gambit with a feral snarl, claws unsheathed, slicing with deadly intent.
Gambit reacted quickly, snapping his staff to full length twirling it, deflecting Wolverine's hurried attack. He reached into his pocket, pulling out two cards, snapping them at Wolverine, leaving a trail of pink phosphorous in their wake.
Wolverine dodged the kinetically charged cards, crouching low, snarling at the tall Cajun. "Yer dead!" he vowed. He lunged again, spinning in the air, his foot connecting with Gambit's chest, sending him to the ground. Gambit was back up in an instant, just to be knocked right back down.
"Logan, stop!" Ororo said, taking a step forward, only to find herself restrained by Rogue's gloved hand on her arm.
"This is something they need ta do," Rogue said quietly.
"Are you insane?" Ororo demanded, jerking her arm away.
"Wolverine won't let Gambit's betrayal slide," Rogue argued.
"Any more idiotic statements from you and I may forget that we are on the same side," Storm warned, eyes flashing, the wind picking up, lifting her hair. She turned back to the two men circling each other with deadly intensity.
"Stop! Both of you!" Her shout was ignored by both Gambit and Wolverine.
"I'm gonna gut you like a fish you sniveling coward!" Wolverine snarled.
" Embrasse mon tcheue, Peeshwank!" Gambit shouted, leaping in the air, staff twirling, connecting with a solid thwack against Wolverine's head. Wolverine grinned. Gambit took a step back.
"Scott, do something! They are going to kill each other!" Ororo demanded.
"Naw, I think Wolverine's got a pretty good chance to take this one." Scott said nonchalantly, nursing his broken arm. Ororo gave him an incredulous look. Had they all lost their minds?
"Enough!" Lightening split the sky, crashing in between the two warriors, the two men she loved most in all the world. They paused, Wolverine's stance aggressive, Gambit's defensive, and looked at the woman now striding towards them like an avenging angel, wind whipping her white hair, flapping her shirt, thunder booming overhead.
"Knock it off!" She shouted. "This is ridiculous! Logan, Gambit is my friend! Remy, back off or so help me--!" Once again they ignored her, turning towards each other, intent on returning to their battle. Neither one prepared to yield, both prepared to fight for Ororo. Wolverine bared his fangs, Gambits hands began to glow.
Without warning a blast of artic wind sent them flying in opposite directions. Wolverine landed hard, rolling backwards, Gambit much the same way. "I said enough!" Her voice was harsh and unyielding. It was the voice she used in the field, when she commanded her team. It was a voice both men respected.
Storm was about to say more when the hulking mass that had been frozen only moments ago suddenly surged to life, its oily arm whipping out and snatching her from the ground. She dangled uselessly from its bone crushing grip her hoarse cry cut short by a none to gentle squeeze.
"'Ro!" Wolverine was already moving, blades out, ready to attack. A section of the tentacle separated, lashing out at him and the others, snatching them up and slamming them against the ground brutally. Gambit unleashed a flurry of glowing cards, spinning them from his fingers with unbelievable dexterity and accuracy but to no avail. The explosions having no effect, save that of pissing off the tentacled beast even more.
Ororo felt the slimy scales of the tentacle-thing against her flesh and she cringed. She struggled against the oppressive weight wrapping itself around her just like it had captured the Blackbird. Dark tendrils slid over her face, covering her mouth, her nose and finally her eyes, submerging her in endless shadow.
Panic was mounting; having been a severe claustrophobe since the age of five, this was pure hell for her. She arched her back, pushing against the mushy substance holding her. No use, she only sunk deeper into the abyss, no longer able to hear her friends hollering for her, no longer able to feel the night breeze on her skin. She was trapped! Images of Cairo and her mother rose before her.
"No. No. No. No. No." Her chest tightened, her breathing became labored, she was suffocating!
"Yesss. The doorway is oursss.."
"No. No. No. No. No. No. No." Ororo felt her limbs tingling, her eyes burning like they had been exposed to the sun for too long, her heart was racing.
"Yesss.. Ours.."
"No! No! NO!" Electricity exploded from her body, bursting from the creature's black depths, streaking high into the sky. Ororo escaped through one of the holes her flare had created. From her aerial view she saw her friends being attacked ruthlessly, their bodies being tossed about like children's playthings. A split apart tentacle latched around Wolverine's neck, choking him, forcing him to his knees. Ororo's mind went numb with rage. Her entire focus on the bracchialis.
Moving her arms in a circular pattern she began chanting four words over and over: "abolescere, aboriri, aborisci, abscedere!" instinctively knowing these were the words to destroy the fiend. The tentacle creature wailed angrily, several smaller snakelike whips forming, splitting off, lashing out, occasionally snapping against Ororo's flesh, leaving bloody streaks in their wake. She chanted louder, letting the instinct take over. There was a loud shrieking and then the creature began to dissolved, a pool of slick oil appearing in the aftermath, much like the remains of the reptilian foe Wolverine had fought earlier.
With a faint cry of relief Ororo plummeted to the ground, scarcely feeling the impact, her body so drained.
The other X-men fell to the ground as well, released from the dark monster as it died. Wolverine found himself looking at Scott, who looked at Rogue, who was staring at Gambit, who said, "Where's Stormy?"
Wolverine saw her first; she was kneeling in the center of the smeared creature, head in her hands. He rushed to her side. "Darlin'?" No response from her. "'Ro, baby, look at me," he said gruffly, crouching in front of her, his hands cradling her shoulders.
"Goddess, Logan, what is happening to me?" With that question she raised her head revealing her face to him. Instead of finding himself staring into Ororo's familiar intense blue eyes or even their cloudy white, Wolverine gazed into eyes that were swirling black, inky liquid like endless night. He took a ragged breath, pulling her into his arms, crushing her to him. She trembled.
"I don't know, darlin'." He wrapped his arms tighter around her, hugging her close. She buried her face in his neck, whispering his name.
"Scared," she said softly.
"Me too, darlin'. Me too."
Xavier Institute
Westchester, New York
The students had been given the day off. Outside the sounds of laughter and happy children could be heard, but inside the X-Men's War Room the air was heavy with silence, with questions and things best left unsaid.
Several sets of eyes flickered towards Ororo, who sat at the end of the long table, her hair pulled back, eyes shadowed with fatigue. Logan sat to her right, his strong fingers intertwined with her slender ones atop the dark oak. Gambit stood behind her, slightly to her left, his hand resting on her shoulder. He gave her a gentle squeeze. Along the table sat her friends and teammates, her family, she thought, her gaze resting on each one of them: Bobby, Rogue, Betsy, Warren, Peter, Kitty, Jean and Scott. The only family she'd ever really had. They were all so different, yet so much the same, their mutant genes tying them together in a bond of brotherhood. Up until this very moment she had felt as connected to each of them as she was connected to the planet. But now…
Professor Charles Xavier had called an emergency meeting after Scott had filled him in on the details of their trip to California and the attack. His first statement dumbfounded them all.
"What do you mean, she's not a mutant?" Scott Summer's broke the silence, his serious gaze moving from Storm to the Professor. It had been less than twelve hours since the incident in San Francisco, and none of the X-men were in high spirits, and Xavier's statement gave them even less to be cheerful about.
"I did not mean to imply that Storm was not a mutant, Cyclops," The projected image of the Professor spoke.
"She does, in fact, carry the mutant genome." he continued. "However, it is Storm's second heritage that we need be concerned with. Ororo is descendant from a long line of priestesses and sorceresses. And I, along with Hank and Jean believe it is that skill, those powers that are emerging."
"A heritage I have never explored, Charles," Ororo interjected. "Why manifest now?"
"A good question, and one Beast believes he may have the answer to. Henry." The image of the Professor flickered, replaced by the furry features of Henry McCoy. The hairy mutant pushed his glasses higher on his feline nose, his tone very soft and serious as he spoke.
"After last night, the Professor and I began to speculate on the reasons behind these attacks against you, Storm. Since Gambit has returned and revealed that he had not taken you to New Orleans in order to repay a debt, but instead stated that he felt you were not safe here at the institute, we deduced that there was another reason behind his actions. He was under a compulsion." Henry said. Again several eyes flicked their way, some apologetic, others wary and still others down right distrustful.
Gambit's fingers flexed on Ororo's shoulder. She reached up and patted his hand reassuringly.
"What's a compulsion?" Bobby asked.
"That's Cajun fer bullshit," Logan grumbled. Ororo glared at him, he glowered right back. They had spent a majority of last night arguing over Gambit, and it irked the shit out of him that she was steadfast loyal to the bum. Even if he believed the swamp-rat, and he wasn't altogether one hundred percent on that, the bastard still ran out on her while she lay on the ground bleeding to death. He growled low in his throat, casting Gambit a narrowed look.
"A compulsion," Professor Xavier said, "is a subliminal command. It is embedded deep in the subconscious and once activated it is almost impossible to ignore. A person is compelled to follow the hidden command. I have scanned Gambit's mind and indeed there is a subliminal message, though faint, deep in his subconscious."
"Similar to the one you gave me as a girl?" Ororo asked in a dull voice. Every person in the room looked thunderstruck. Xavier was momentarily disconcerted, at a loss for words. "Do not fret, Charles. I accepted that small fact years ago, and I do not regret my southern journey through Africa that lead me to you. It did leave a lasting impression though, and I do know the results of a compulsion implanted in your mind." She looked at each person at the table, leveling them with her intensity. "You can not fight it, it eats away at you, keeps you up nights, drives you until you must obey, or go crazy."
"Uh, yes," Xavier said, looking slightly flustered. "That is what a compulsion does."
After another momentary pause, Beast said, "Taking that into consideration we had to determine who would have the power to implant something like that in Gambit's mind. Mentally scanning for other mutants revealed nothing, however I remembered that after the return from New Orleans Jean revealed that one of your attackers, Storm, was not a mutant, but something else entirely."
Ororo looked at Jean inquiringly. "It was difficult to place," Jean stated. "Because it was not a mutant, but it wasn't human either. The only other time I have felt anything like that was while I was traveling through the galaxies as the Phoenix. I once traveled through a black hole and all around me I got the same kind of mental impression, although not as wholly malevolent as the caped figure in New Orleans, but eerily similar."
"Yes, but what about the letter Ah got in the mail? What about Sabertooth and Mystique?" Rogue asked, her hazel eyes watching Gambit warily.
"Like I told, Stormy. Gambit would never do dat to her, much less be stupid enough t' leave a letter announcing my plans."
Rogue tossed the letter onto the table. "Look at it, Gambit. It's your handwriting."
"For Christ's sake can we get off the letter," Wolverine growled, irritated. "I appreciate that you and Gumbo are having a bit of a lover's quarrel here, darlin', and forgive me fer not bein' a wee bit more sensitive t' that fact, but we've got slightly bigger issues t' deal with."
Rogue looked away, her face flushed.
"I believe that Sabertooth and Mystique were duped in much the same fashion that we were," Henry continued. "A command, a compulsion, a tip-off, any number of ploys to get them to New Orleans."
"For what reason?" Scott asked.
"To kill Storm." Henry said baldly.
"Non," Gambit interjected. "Mystique said dat dey were under strict orders not t' kill 'er."
"Then the attack was to weaken her." Jean supposed. "But Sabertooth got carried away and killed her."
"You mean nearly killed her." Kitty corrected.
"No. She means killed me, Kitten." Ororo said softly. "I died."
Again a heavy silence filled the War Room. Logan turned his head, gazing at Ororo in surprise. She had never said anything to him about that night, except for the one comment she made that morning by the lake, when she had breathed "I came back for you." Had she really come back from the dead for him? He felt his heart hitch. He tightened his grip on her hand and leaned into her, kissing her hair softly. "I love ya, darlin'" he murmured into her ear. Ororo leaned into his side, comforted by his strong presence.
"Interesting," Beast was saying. "You remember dying?"
"Yes."
"What can you tell us?" he asked.
Ororo looked around the room, and though she loved everyone in it, she was hesitant to speak of her experience. "I would rather not," she said honestly.
"Ororo I can understand if it is painful for you to speak of, in spite of this, I must ask that you give us as much information as possible, in order to better understand what we are dealing with here." Xavier interceded.
"How will my experience with death give you a better understanding of the creatures we are facing?"
"She doesn't wanna talk about it, Chuck. Let it go." Logan rumbled.
"Storm, we need as much information as you can give us. Anything that may help us understand what we are dealing with and why they want you dead so bad," Scott spoke up, ignoring the warning growl issued from Wolverine.
Ororo sighed heavily. After a moment she began, "Dying was easy. All I had to do was let go. Of my fear, of my reservations, of myself. There was light all around me and warmth, so warm. There was the feeling of being disconnected and yet connected to everything. Freedom in its purist form." She took a deep breath. "Then there was my mother. She was so beautiful," Ororo's eyes closed, he mouth curving in a soft smile. "An angel, I thought. To guide me home. But I did not go with her. So I let her go…again." She opened her damp eyes, fixing them on Logan. "My heart refused to let go of this world completely."
She turned to the rest of the room. "There is a void, between this world and the next. A black void filled with cold and dark and terror and pain. It does not hurt to pass through it on the way in, but to come back through it…" she shivered involuntarily. "It eats at you, tears your mind apart. I relived every wound inflicted on me, ten fold, and I remember finally pushing through the void, the relief I felt and then the next thing I remember is Logan. Holding me."
"My God," Jean said, wiping her eyes.
"Does that help at all?" Ororo asked, her voice raw.
"Actually, Ororo, yes it does." Xavier said softly. " I apologize for making you relive those moments. It does indeed help us though." There was a pause as the Professor rustled through some documents that the X-men in the War Room could not see on their 3-D viewer. "I have here an old sorcerer's book Illyana left me. I decided to look through it once I began to suspect that Ororo may be experiencing some effects of sorcery." The room grew quite as the team remembered their fallen friend, Peter's younger sister Magik. Ororo gave him a gentle smile and he returned it, well past the healing, remembering his beloved sister in fondness.
"It is a book she stole from Belasco." Pages turning. "In it, he wrote of a sorceress so powerful that she would be able to open a doorway between the living and the realm of death. A wielder of magic so formidable that she would be impossible to defeat, unless killed before she fully developed her skills. A sorceress that will bring about the end of mankind." Xavier paused, brow furrowed. "He writes that this sorceress does not dwell in his time or his dimension, but he gives dimensional coordinates as to where he suspects her to be." More pages turning. "It's our Earth. Our time." Xavier said, still reading. "Belasco also writes of a breed of demon, an enemy to the N'Garai called Daemonites. He describes them as the scourge of all possible universes." Xavier holds up the book, exposing a picture to the camera, allowing everyone in the War Room to get a good look at the sketch in the book.
The creature was hideous looking, with a long narrow body, claws on it's hands and feet, three sets of eyes, a forked tongue and wings like a bat.
"Goddess." Ororo whispered.
"Seen it." Wolverine stated, voice like ice.
"Me too." Rogue added. "In mah head when that snake thingy attached itself ta me. Ah saw that thing in mah mind. It kept screaming for the doorway." She glanced at Ororo guardedly.
"What? Surely you do not think I am this all powerful sorceress? The destroyer of mankind?" Ororo looked around the room at the uncertain faces surrounding her. "Do you?" she questioned quietly.
"Naw. Destroying the universe is Jean's gig," Bobby tried to joke, earning himself several contemptuous looks and a mental pinch from Jean. "Sorry," he mumbled.
"It is a good possibility that these creatures believe that to be the case," Henry stated, sidestepping the question. His evasion did not go unnoticed by Storm, whose grip on Logan's hand became almost painful.
"So, what're ya saying, Chuck? These demons set up Gumbo, set a trap to capture 'Ro, but not t' kill her, only t' change their minds and want her dead? Don't make sense." Logan said shaking his head.
"No. What I believe has happened is that the N'Garai set the plan to capture Storm into motion, and it is them that are trying to keep the Daemonites from killing her."
"Why? I mean I know N'Garais and they are evil. Pure evil," said Kitty. "and those Daemon-thingy-magiggies don't look too friendly either. Why would one race of demons protect Storm from the other?"
"Not protect, Katherine. Prevent. The Daemonites want her dead." Scott said. "It is a smart tactical move on their part."
"Excuse me?" Kitty gasped.
"Imagine if the F.O.H had a weapon capable of wiping out all mutants, of opening a door and shoving them all through it never to return. Wouldn't you want to prevent them from using it. Storm is a weapon to the N'Garai, a powerful one at that, capable of wiping out the scourge of all universes by opening a doorway to a different dimension, including a death dimension and shoving them through it."
"But, Scott, Charles, this theory is all contingent on me being an all powerful sorceress capable of opening portals between realms, which I can not. I would not even know how." Storm argued.
"Ahh, but you already did." Xavier said gravely.
Except for the occasional shuffle of feet or the clearing of a throat, a weighty silence filled the X-men's War Room as each member surrounding the long rectangular table digested the information Professor Charles Xavier had just fed them.
Ororo sat shaking her head in denial, but a part of her recognized what Xavier was saying as the truth. Goddess, what was she going to do?