Formed Addiction
Chapter 5 – Troubled
"What's up, buddy?" Turning to face the person who's just greeted him, John saw a man with a face shadowed with a Von Dutch hat.
"I ain't your buddy, man." He chuckled.
"I'm afraid you are." When the stranger looked up, Pyro recognized him as his former Brotherhood fellow, the Multiple Man.
"Who knew…Maddox." Another chuckle.
"Yep, hey there, Pyro." The other man smirked in reply. "Ol'man wants to have a little chat with you."
"Sorry, can't help you there." John responded, taking out the lighter.
"Sure, you can. You just have to listen because, trust me, you're gonner like what you hear." James smirked again, his deep blue eyes glazing.
John looked at his watch. Then at the sky, it was peaceful, no clouds, nothing to disturb the stillness of it. Almost like the one he and Summer liked to watch in Australia yet something very different. He glanced at the other mutant once again, still uncertain of his decision. Maddox was always hard to read but a little betraying voice pushed him to follow Multiple along the streets of a big city. Definitely not Summer's voice…
"What's wrong?" Wolverine cried as Storm yelled for him to come help her in the garage area.
"I don't know! One minute we were having a walk, talking, and next she just fell." Ororo started and opened the back door of the car for Logan to see unconscious Summer, pale as dead.
The feral-man took her up in his hands, one under her knees and the other on her back. While heading to the labs, the two key-mates of the X team saw students' worried eyes and heard law whispers.
"Peter!" Storm called, running behind Logan. "Call Hank."
The Steel-man nodded and quickly made his way out of the room to get Beast.
"What's going on?" Anna asked, confused, having just entered through the magnificent wooden doors.
"Professor Logan has just rushed in, caring a young woman. She was so pale, unmoving…it scared." A girl of about thirteen with flaming red hair whispered.
"What woman?" The blonde asked, eyebrows raised.
"She looked around twenty or something." A boy who was standing next to them cut in. "I've seen her here last year."
"Summer…" Without a second thought Anna took off through the door Logan, Ororo and unconscious Summer disappeared behind.
"Ok, everyone, please, go back to your own business." Peter roared with his thick Russian accent, showing Hank to the labs.
"What happened?" Yet again Storm had to describe in all the details, except for their conversation and the fact that they've seen Rogue in the park, what happened, answering Beast's question.
"Ok." The blue fuzzy man concluded. "I want you all out of this room. I need silence."
Ororo, Peter and Logan obeyed and after a split second were out of the med lab. Storm turned to get back to the first level of the Institute but spinned around when Wolverine grabbed her arm:
"Call…" He started and it was obvious that those words weren't easy for him to say. "Call Pyro."
The weather witch nodded, slightly shocked with her friend's statement. She was going to do it but from Logan's mouth the words were pretty unexpected.
"Well?"
"Usually it's me who says it." The gray-haired man chortled but Pyro kept glaring at him with the uneasy gaze of his. "I stick around the bush. Humans, mutants opposition to be exact, want to kill mutants."
"Right…" John nodded, the corners of his lips curled in a slight smirk. "Where I've heard that before?"
"Pyro, it is true. Look at this if you don't trust me…" Magneto cast James a glance that that indicated that they needed the file, which he was holding.
John didn't make any move to get the papers in the yellow ones.
"Read it, man." Maddox encouraged.
After a minor hesitation he picked the information and started studying it when the beeping sound was heard from the pocket of his faded jeans.
"Yeah…" He answered not bothering to see who that was. "What!...How is she?...I'm on my way."
John flipped the phone close and turned to face the two other men in the room:
"I have to go."
"I understand." Master of magnetism nodded. "But take this with you."
John hurriedly grabbed the papers and shoved them in the back pocket.
"And, Pyro…" Magneto called for the younger man when he reached the door. "Don't show this to Summer."
In less then a second John was gone. But when he disappeared the other figure stepped out of the shadows to take over his place.
"You should go back now." Eric spoke softly. "They might notice you're gone."
"Nuh." The young woman shook her head. "They are too busy right now."
"Still…"
Kitty shrugged and calmly made her way out.
Marie D'Ancanto, known as Rogue to almost everyone, took out four small syringes from a faded gray purse of hers and put them on the table in front of the bed she was sitting on.
All her life, her life as a mutant, she tried to get rid of her powers. First to muster them, then to cure herself from them. For some power is a gift, for her it was a curse. And she intended to resume living without it once again…
That was exact thoughts of a young woman who took the cure yet again…
"Where is she?" John roared, slicing through the crowd of students.
"John!" Ororo called from the other end of the room, waving her hand slightly for the young man to notice where she was.
"Storm." He greeted, his eyes nothing more then two pools concern. "Where is she?"
"Come with me." The white-haired women stepped through the door, Pyro closely on her heels. "She's unconscious. Hank is examining her."
"The fuzz-ball?" He asked nervously but surprisingly enough those weren't the words of disgust.
"Labs, John." Storm said but the corners of her lips went up to form a slight shadow of a smile.
"Hmmm…" Summer opened her eyes a split second but then closed them again to try and adjust to a bright light she recognized to be the one of the med lab's.
"Summer, do you hear me?" The voice was familiar but was heard somewhere from afar. "Summer?"
"I hear you well, Hank." She answered, her voice trembling a bit.
"Wonderful. You're back with us." The beast said, voice kind and gentle as much as possible.
"What happened?" The brunette inquired.
"You fell." Hank explained, going through some papers, concerning Summer's health.
"Thanks, Colombo. I kinda know that." Hank chuckled. "What I meant is what's wrong with me?"
"Wrong? Nothing, really." The big blue mutant sat on the young woman's bed and looked her straight in the eye. "I'd say you're remarkably healthy for a pregnant woman."
Summer's eyes widened and her jaw fell…
A minute after John's worried face showed up in the doorway.