AN: Pleeease review!
Major cookies to Jubes (I read the lyrics to Concrete Angel and you're right, it is super sad) and Toxic-Beetle for being such faithful reviewers. Read their stuff, it's really good (Their stories, not the reviews).
A/N 2: I'm writing this while watching Roseanne. I have no social life. Gosh! (Napoleon Dynamite quote).
A/N 3: Any comments you have on Brett Ratner/how he's going to ruin X3, please feel free to leave them in the review column, but only if you actually review my story!
A/N 4: I just got a puppy who's a total idiot. He just ran past the computer with a glue stick in his mouth, and when I took it away from him, he looked at me like I was stupid and then went to the bathroom to drink from the toilet. He has issues.
Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men. Marvel owns them. I'm not getting paid for this. If I did own the X-Men, I'd take the Blackbird to school every day.
Chapter Four: I Fought the Law
New York, Present Day
"...so this thingy makes it go faster?" Radar fiddled with a lever on the Blackbird impatiently.
"Yes," Storm sighed. "Didn't Scott teach you how to work the control panel?"
"No, he stopped doing that after Jean died."
Storm winced at Radar's blunt words. Jean had been like a sister to her. Her death was like somebody had suddenly hacked off one of her limbs. She knew Radar missed Jean too, but she was frank about discussing her passing away.
"What's this do?" Radar asked, poised to slam her fist down on a button. Storm slapped her hand away.
"It controls the landing gear. You know what? Maybe you should sit in the passenger chair behind me."
Radar did so, begrudgingly. "Where's Rogue? Why is she taking so long?"
"She's changing in back."
"Took me less time to change. What's she doing, accessorizing? It's been like fifteen minu - Rogue, finally."
Rogue walked onto the flight deck, ignoring Radar, and leaned over the Storm's shoulder. "We almost ready?"
"Yeah, just gotta check the communication devices to make sure they're on -" Storm flicked a few switches on the controls - "and we're off."
Ten minutes later, they were flying over the school with Storm and Rogue piloting, while Radar waved goodbye to some of the students gathering at the windows of the mansion.
Once they were at full speed, Radar settled back into her chair. "We're going to Manhattan, right?" she asked Storm.
"Yes."
Radar thought for a moment. "Can we go see Wicked?"
Rogue turned around, momentarily forgetting about the controls. "Why Wicked?"
"Idina Menzel was in it."
"Well, she's not in it n - wait, this is stupid, why are we talking about it?"
"No CD player on the jet." Radar curled up in a Mae West - style pose in her chair. "Storm, what did Professer Chuckie tell you about the mutant we hauling back here?"
Storm almost let the corners of her mouth pull up, then reminded herself to be professional. "Radar, don't call him Chuckie, first of all. Second of all, we're not "hauling" her back here, we're hoping she'll decide to come with us. She's a electric generator."
"Let's name her 'Duracell'."
Storm chuckled. Radar really wasn't as shy as she had thought.
Kurt stood at the window, watching the majestic Blackbird fly away in the early-autumn sky, and sighed. He assumed that Gwen now knew about his stupid crush on Ororo, and if they were going to be on that jet for two hours together, he could forget about keeping it secret. He loved Gwen more than anything else, as she was his only living relative, but she had a big mouth on her and she liked to use it.
He sighed again and settled down on the small couch. The television was blaring a Seinfeld rerun now. Kurt pulled the remote out from between the cushions and turned the channel to an old movie. He decided not to brood about how idiotic Storm was going to think he was when - not if - Gwen told her about his more-than-friendly feelings towards her teacher. It wasn't going to make him feel any better.
Kurt looked out of the window, then back at the digital clock on the VCR. 7:46 PM. The rapidly setting sun could only mean that the days were getting shorter. The beginning of fall meant that it had been one year since Stryker had forced him to attack President, since Jean and Ororo had found him later in his church. When Jean died, he and Storm had become good friends, staying up late talking and eating ice cream together. Kurt couldn't exactly pinpoint when he had started to fall in love with Storm, though.
Love?
Kurt pushed that awkward, thrilling thought out of his head and lay down on the couch as best as he could, trying to fit his lean shape against big cushions. He was extremely tired from supervising Danger Room today. It was the last time, he promised himself, that he'd ever go into a small room with seven teenagers with a bloodthirst.
While thinking, Kurt was reminded of another promise he'd made to himself a long time ago. He had been fourteen - no, thirteen - when he had finally gotten away from Caroline and joined up with the circus. He had a family there, and friends, two things he'd never known existed. When Kurt realized that, he told himself he wouldn't ever let someone hurt him again like Caroline had.
So far, Kurt's promise hadn't been broken. He was extremely grateful for that.
With that final thought, he fell asleep on the couch, the remote resting on his chest.
Gwen stood on the sidewalk, gaping at the four people stretched out next to her, two men and two women, all unconcious. Electricity crackled in the air. Gwen cursed. Everything metal on the Blackbird was going to be charged up, making little shocks a big reality. There was a crowd gathered around the the jet and the victims, all with shock and fear on their faces.
"Storm?" she called up the ramp. Her teacher appeared in the hangar with Rogue behind her. Both looked appaled at the casualties in front of them.
"I thought this was s'posed to be routine. I didn't think anyone would get hurt," Rogue whispered to Gwen when she joined her on the ground. Her Southern accent was playing up more than usual, a sure sign she was getting freaked out. Storm walked past them, cape gently whipping against Gwen's leg, and studied the four people lying on the sidewalk.
"The generator must have knocked out some passerbys with her electric current," Storm announced to her students, as if the gathering crowd wasn't there at all.
"Which one is she?" Gwen asked, joining her teacher at the side of an unconcious man and kneeling down to roughly wipe a trickle of blood from his forehead. She was afraid, but the hell if she was going to let it show on her first mission.
Rogue bit down on her own fear as well and began to paw through one knocked-out woman's purse. "Didn't the Professor say her name was Carol or something?" She held up a small wallet and began to search through it. "No good. Her name's Emily Griffin."
"Has anyone called the police?" Storm asked the growing mob. One man in front nodded, holding up a cell phone and looking terrified.
Gwen followed Rogue's suit, impressed with her friend's inginuity, and grabbed the other woman's clutch. "This woman's name is...uh...Caroline Fahler. Do you think-"
"Bring her on board," Storm said, staring at the street. The wails of squad cars were coming in close, and she was obviously getting worried. "Now."
Rogue glanced over at Gwen, fear spreading over her face once again, as she walked over to Caroline's limp body.
"Get her legs," Gwen said, clamping her hands over the woman's wrists. Rogue did, and they lifted her unconcious form off of the ground. "God, she's heavy. Damn, the cops are here." Her nonchalant attitude was an act, but she knew from experience that losing control would only make things worse.
Three squad cars gathered around the Blackbird, followed closely by an ambulance. Gwen waved cheerfully at the cops, and almost dropped Caroline.
"Sorry," she said to Rogue, managing to maintain her grip. "Storm, um, little help?"
Storm quickly ran over to the girls. "Go up the ramp," she whispered hurriedly. "I'll get the jet into flying gear. Hurry!"
She ran into the hangar as the paramedics rushed over to the comatose bodies. "They've been electricuted!" one of them screamed to the their partner. The cops made their way through the crowd slowly, guns cocked at Gwen and Rogue.
"Set her down and put your hands in the air," said the fed on the right.
Gwen winced. "She's the one who did this," she said, gesturing over at the paramedics and dropping Caroline. "Oops! Uh, you didn't see anything, alright?" She grabbed the woman by the wrists again and lifted her off of the ground. "We'll take care of her, and feed her, and treat her, and whatever else your supposed to do to electricuted people-"
"Set her down and put your hands in the air," the cop repeated, tensing his grip on his gun.
"Gwen, come on!" Rogue said through gritted teeth. The engines of the jet suddenly burst in life.
"Oh, crap," Gwen muttered. "Rogue, move."
They hurried up the ramp, slightly hampered by Caroline. The cops moved in closer as the girls passed over the threshold of the Blackbird, then began to run as Gwen slammed the button to shut the incline.
"Storm, move, move, move!" Rogue screamed to the flight deck.
"I'm going," Storm called back. "Here!"
Gwen felt her body go limp with relief upon feeling the jet lift off of the ground. "Thank you," she whispered to herself, feeling an odd sense of de ja vu.
A few minutes later, the Blackbird was moving quickly through the sky. Gwen felt Caroline's pulse, and was relieved that it was firm and steady. She had probably just shocked herself and those passerbys a little bit, enough to knock them out, but no lasting damage was done. She told Rogue, who in turn went up to tell Storm.
Gwen propped Caroline up on one of the benches in the passenger's deck, and convinced she would be okay there for a while, followed her friend up the the flight deck.
"You okay?" she asked Rogue, who was sitting in the co-pilot seat, looking a little shaken up. Rogue nodded.
Gwen sat down in her chair, yawning a little. "We'll hand that Caroline woman over to Dr. Hank at the mansion, right, Storm?" she asked, trying to relax. She knew everyone would be okay down in Manhattan, but the awful sense of foreboding she'd had since they left had, instead of subsiding, grown. She didn't like it.
"Yes."
Gwen paused to think for a moment. "Anyone else think Caroline looks a little familiar?"
A/N: Sorry this chapter took so dang long. Little bi of writer's block, little bit of conflicted schedules, little bit of this being the only computer in my house and everyone was trying to read over my shoulder. Thanks.
A/N 2: Anybody get that de ja vu thingy? Cookies if you do.
Next chapter: Kurt as a kid. More angst. Okay, from now on, just assume that alternating chapters are Kid Kurt. Thank you.
A/N 3: School is starting in two days. Dang. Dang. I need sleep.