Lance
"This isn't happening. My God... this isn't happening." Lance looked around quickly, wondering where the X-Men were when he needed them. He gave up and decided that if he ignored the pain in his legs he'd be okay. "Do I really want to see this...?" He asked himself. He decided not to and laughed weakly as he remembered Scott's look of surprise when he noticed his arm was gone. "Geez. The irony."
Lance gritted his teeth and looked at his legs. The metal door had dropped with enough speed and weight to not just crush his legs, but sever them just below the knees. Lance rolled over onto his stomach, trying not to vomit or pass out. Bobby and the Vulgates were still trapped inside the skatepark. He had to get help for them...
As he dragged himself across Bayville's cracked and sometimes missing sidewalks, the rational part of Lance's mind hoped he wouldn't get an infection. Then, he saw the shadow swoop ominously over him. He had a moment of innocent hope before he realized that it wasn't the shadow of a Vulgate in flight.
Logan, Kitty, Lorna, Pietro
"Hang on! I'm almost there, Kitty!" Lorna tore across the empty Bi-Lo parking lot to the huge crater where the store had once been.
"Yeah, well hurry! I can't hold both of them forever and if I phase through you'll never get us out of here!" Kitty was holding on for dear life- hers, Logan's and Pietro's. After the first quake, Logan had tumbled into the hole he had been peering into. His claws had saved him from the worst of the fall. Logan had climbed almost all the way to the top of the hole with Pietro tugging futilely on the heavier mutant's shirt when a second earthquake shook Logan's hold. Luckily, Kitty grabbed onto Pietro before he fell into the hole as well.
Kitty felt the beginnings of another earthquake and shrieked for Lorna to hurry. Suddenly, the weight on Kitty's arms got a lot lighter. The relief came just in time. As Kitty tumbled backwards with Pietro, the third quake tore the gaping hole even further. Logan scrambled backwards, scooped Pietro up and started running as fast as he could away from the hole and back to the Institute, while Lorna followed with Kitty.
Lorna dropped Kitty to the ground near the school and landed. "This is really starting to ruin my nails. I haven't had them done in... forever." She complained, half to take everyone's minds off how close they had just come to losing half their number and half because she really was pissed off about the condition of her nails.
"You telling me?" Logan growled. He flexed his fingers gingerly. "That fall just about ripped my claws right out. Good work half-pint. You saved our asses out there."
Kitty just shrugged. A few weeks ago, she would have wondered where that strength had come from, but now she was more than willing to sign it off as adrenaline.
"That was Lance." Pietro limped to a stack of debris that he had arranged into a chair. "He's alive."
Kitty sat on a makeshift bed. "Maybe. Why would he use his power unless he was in danger? Then again, it may have been Valzinameku, come back to finish us."
"Why would he do that? We're so busy staying alive that we don't have time to attack him." Lorna countered.
Pietro sighed and rubbed his bad leg. "Let's not argue about this. Tomorrow we'll check out the skatepark, it might be that people have gathered in fair sized groups and are just staying out of sight. When we do our rounds, we'll keep an eye out for survivors, but we shouldn't rush out for something like this."
Logan nodded. "And since we've gotta check out there anyway, where else might people be hiding? Lorna and me can swing by." Logan paused when he saw the look on Pietro's face. "We'd be back before nightfall."
Pietro shook his head. "First of all, are you sure that's a good idea? There might be another quake. Second, you two are the only ones with offensive powers. Hell, I can barely move. Not only that, but everyone else might be outside the city. Seeing as I'm the invalid here, I must protest both of you leaving like that. Besides, there are a lot of places, provided enough of them are still standing. Part of Fort Braddock might still be standing, the skatepark, the city bomb shelter, they might even be in the Institute with us, and none of us would realize it. The most logical places for them to go is the bomb shelter, but when we passed it, it didn't look too good. The next place would be the skatepark. Everyone knows its indestructible, but that means anyone could be in there. Fort Braddock would have supplies, if they aren't already stolen or spoiled. The Institute would be the last of the four places. The only reason people would have to come here is to see what's left. That's why I suggested it. Its far from all the other places, and offers nothing more than a roof. No one will bother us here, so we can work on a strategy."
"Pietro, dear... All I understood was that you dragged us out here for nothing." Lorna glanced at Kitty and Logan. "And why was that again?"
Pietro rubbed his temples. "Because its safest. If we find any of the others, we'll all be safer here because no one wants to be this far away from everything. If we go to one of the other places, we'll have to protect it all the time."
Logan shrugged. "Okay, Slim. You have a plan. Spill."
"We'll have to stop looking for the others to carry it out. If they're still alive this far in the game, we shouldn't worry about them for a while longer. We need to clear out space in this ruin, someplace near the inside so we can use this place as headquarters. If we can make this place livable, then once we find the others, we can start working on getting out of here. We need food, clothes, first aid... and weapons."
"We got weapons."
"No." Pietro smiled, albeit grimly. "I mean weapons. By the time you get close enough to an enemy to use those claws of yours Logan, I want them dead. We can't afford to get bogged down in one-on-one combat. Besides, there are so few of us who have powers that can be considered weapons that it would be stupid to let you run around swinging your claws and leave us unprotected."
"Alright, clear a space. Got it." Logan started towards the far wall.
"Actually, Kitty and I already cleared it out. We need things like beds, lamps, you know, furnishings." When Lorna and Logan stared blankly at Pietro he just shrugged. "What did you think we did while you were away?" He frowned at the grins Lorna and Logan exchanged with one another. "On second thought, don't answer that. I really don't want to know."
"So let's get started moving stuff. You know where we're gonna find 'furnishings,' Slim?"
Pietro pulled out a rough sketch. "Actually, I do."
Logan snorted. "Typical."
Lucifer
"Do you guys hear that?" Kurt was standing very still, listening for the strange sound again. "It sounded human."
Scott half turned. "You sure?"
"I heard it as well." Lucifer nodded. "I believe there are more people behind us. At least one is a Vulgate."
Todd whirled around. "So what the Hell are we waiting for? Let's find them!"
"For once, I am inclined to agree with you, Todd. However, it may be a trap."
"Like it matters? We're gonna die anyway. Get over it, Lucifer. We've got some friends to catch up with."
Storm
It had been a while since Storm or any of her small group had had the slightest glimmerings of hope. Too much had happened too quickly for any of them to entertain the idea that they'd ever get a break. For the moment at least, they could imagine a happy ending.
"They want us to come with them. They'll fly us into the city and to where some other Vulgates are." Jean was nearly crying from relief. "Bobby and Lance made it into the city. They're safe."
"So at least we aren't the only ones." Wanda sighed. "Any word about the others?"
Jean translated the question for her. "No, but they think there are some people in the skatepark. We should check it out."
"This is just too good to be true, Bobby and Lance are alive, we've been saved, I mean, a few minutes ago I was ready to die." Jean-Paul smiled. "Who knows, we might still wake up and find this was all a really bad dream or something."
"Don't get too excited just yet. We could just be setting ourselves up for a fall. Stay alert. There's no telling if we can trust these people." Storm warned Jean, Mystique, Jean-Paul and Wanda. She was grinning ear-to-ear, though, and if truth be told, she was just as excited as the rest of them.
Jean nodded at one of the Vulgates and turned to Storm. "They say we should go now. The leader is afraid he'll miss out on something if we stay out here too long."
"Alright people. Pack your bags and let's hit the road."
Pietro
Pietro was swearing so fast that the words sounded blurred even to himself. He was sitting in a chair that Logan and Lorna had salvaged and was doing his all to not cry in front of Kitty. She was changing the bandage on his leg, chattering aimlessly about what a big baby he was and how it had been really noble of him to try to save Remy and Alex. She was completely oblivious to Pietro's pain. There was a loud thump right outside the room they were in and Kitty and Pietro jumped. After casting a suspicious look at each other, Pietro picked up a tire iron and Kitty slipped to the wall to phase through and see who was at the door. She was back in a moment.
"It's Logan and Lorna. They've got someone with them." Kitty announced as she opened the door. Lorna rushed in, closely followed by Logan, and pulled out a mat. In Logan's arms was a twisted mass of flesh that might have been human at one point, but was only barely alive now.
"Found him out at the edge of my sweep and figured I couldn't just leave him there. From the trail of blood following him, he must have dragged himself about four blocks without his legs before I found him. Just in time too, he should be dead by now." Logan scowled.
"Any idea who it is?" Pietro asked.
"No clue. The trail stops at the entrance of the skatepark. Or rather, it begins there." Logan stepped back as Lorna brought a bucket of water and an arm full of cloths.
"Alright, Kitty. Let's get to work. Logan, can you find your way to the lab? I think it's still blocked off, but there should be bandages and stuff. Grab whatever you think we'll need."
"I guess the bleeding stopped on its own, but... where do we start?" Kitty looked up at Pietro with a slightly queasy look on her face.
Pietro looked down at the mangled body and felt sick. "I guess we start with his head and work our way down. I don't want to mess with those scabs until I absolutely have to."
"Do you two know what you're doing?" Lorna asked from the corner of the room.
"Not really." Pietro answered. "But what else is there to do?"
Two hours later, Pietro sat back. "Alright, dump the water out, Kitty. Lorna, could you find Logan. I need to have a word with him." Alone with the legless man, Pietro sighed and rubbed the bandage on his own leg. "This just gets worse and worse doesn't it?" As he sat there looking down at the man, Kitty came back with clean water.
"He's still alive, right?"
"I don't know Kitty. I guess so, but," Pietro shrugged. "There's no telling how long he'll stay alive. You look tired." Pietro stared at Kitty, concern playing over his face. "Why don't you get some rest and Lorna and I will keep working, okay?"
"That's alright, 'Tro. I'm fine." Kitty kneeled next to the unmoving figure on the mat. "And I can't really do anything except nurse you guys back to health." Logan walked in the room with several boxes and an extremely smug expression.
"There's a back-up generator still on down there. I found ketchup."
Kitty took a box from him. "We can't eat ketchup."
"Obviously, Half-pint, but we can use it to make that crap you cook taste like food." Logan tossed the boxes down and glanced at Pietro. There was a moment when the two of them just stared at each other before Logan turned to Kitty. "You look tired, get some sleep."
She stopped going through the boxes. "But I'm not-"
"You're kinda old to fight your bedtime, y'know. You're no good to anyone as a walking zombie. We're gonna need you at your best when you guys start working on his legs."
"Ugh. Whatever. It's not like I care anyway." She muttered as she left the room, slightly flattered by the indirect compliment. When Kitty was gone, Pietro shook his head.
"What's wrong?" Logan leaned on the wall opposite of Pietro and watched the weak breaths of the man on the mat.
"It's Lance."
Logan jumped to attention. "What about him? Did he send a message?"
"No." Pietro looked at the injured man. "I mean, it's Lance."
Logan stared at Pietro for a moment before looking back at the mat. "What? What makes you say that?"
"I've seen his face beaten up in ways you X-Men don't bother to imagine. Besides, Todd told me. He wants us to get the rest of the Vulgates and storm the skatepark. He says..." Pietro looked at Logan with tears in his eyes. "He says he thinks they know how to end all of this. He knows how to stop Valzinameku."