Disclaimer: I don't own Mutant X or X Men.
Note: Keep going. There's so much more.
We're All Family
Chapter 27
Silence reigned in the mansion, a strange situation for a home with 2 men, 6 women, and 8 children all under 3 years old. Dria sat in front of the fireplace in the library staring into the flames. She was startled as her name was spoken by a deep voice suddenly beside her.
"I am sorry, My Dear."
"No, Charles. It's ok." She smiled as he maneuvered his chair to her side. "I was just lost in thought. It's very quiet and peaceful here."
"It is now," he smirked. "Afternoon naps are a blessing, newly realized around here."
Dria smiled as she thought of all those sweet innocent little faces. "They are all such darlings."
"Yes; once we get them all to close their eyes," he chuckled. "Little Shawna needed a little telepathic coaxing with her mother and father both absent."
She turned and looked into his eyes. "They all love you very much and you are so good with them, both gentle and firm. Did you ever have any children of your own?"
"No," Charles smiled slightly, "but these are all my children. They are the reason we do what we do, in order that their life may be made better."
Dria looked into his eyes for a moment longer; searching, thinking. Finally, she looked back at the fire and chuckled. "I heard Thomas and Nadene both refer to you as…Gramps?" her smile widened as he looked down and flushed ever so slightly as he nodded. "It was most adorable." Dria returned her eyes to the dancing flames.
Charles suddenly felt…a flutter, deep inside…one he hadn't felt in a very long time. He had the urgent need to change the subject. "How are you feeling? I promised Adam I'd check on you."
"Oh, better than I have in years. I owe a great debt of gratitude to Adam, John and Hank. They saved my life. I will never be able to sufficiently express my thanks." She turned and laid her hand gently over his as it lay on the arm of his chair. "To you as well," she met his eyes then pulled her hand back to her lap and shyly focused her eyes there as she continued. "I was…afraid before my procedures. Having you to talk to was…well," her eyes darted up and back quickly catching a glance of the tender look on his face, "very special."
Charles sensed her shyness and her sincerity. "For me as well." He reached out and covered her hands with one of his, noticing first how small they were that they both fit under his. Then his brow rose slightly when he noticed something else…they trembled. "Dria," he spoke softly, "are you afraid now?"
Her heart skipped a beat when his skin touched hers. She'd barely heard his words. Then his question registered. Chiding herself for feeling like a teenager, she sat up straighter and smiled, forcing herself to cage the thoughts running wild in her mind. She needed to focus…John…yes...perfect. "No actually, I'm not afraid. I know that Mutant X and the X Men will all be home safely. Before you came in I was wondering what they must be doing at this moment."
Charles removed his hand as he, too, sat back, wondering if that's what he'd meant. He hadn't been thinking of the mission directly. Forcing himself to focus he realized his own thoughts were a bit…muddled. "Well, I'd imagine by now, Cyclops has a plan and is executing it. He won't leave anyone in harms way."
"Cyclops?" Dria turned suddenly.
The look of confusion on her face made Charles almost laugh.
"I can't stand this anymore!" Shalimar growled. "I'm going in there."
"Hold it, Darlin'." Logan reached out and grabbed her arm before she could get away from him. "You can't just storm the place."
"Watch me." Shalimar pulled but Logan's grasp was solid.
"No." The look Logan had to endure would have had anyone else running for cover.
Cyclops move closer to the angry feral. "Shalimar, look. If we go in there we're going to tip our hand."
"You don't know Thorne," she hissed back. "He knows we're here. That's why he left Adam. He knows we would never have let Adam come defenseless, no matter what his demands." She turned to look at Jesse as he came up beside her. "Our people are all in the barn. He's baiting us."
"I think she's right," Jesse understood. It wasn't he who needed the explanation. He knew she was looking for confirmation. "He has nothing to lose by waiting."
"Then we have to go in," Bobby stated.
"Now I wish there were more of us," Jubilee remarked as she looked back at the house.
"We're plenty. We just need a plan," Cyclops sounded confident as always. "We go in shifts. Shalimar and Wolverine take lead but Wolverine, let her go in alone. If he is waiting for Mutant X there's no reason to let him know they have help. Call us with what you find. If they are planning a trap the rest of us will be back up."
Jesse reached for Shalimar just before she turned away. "Be careful," he whispered. "He probably doesn't know about you and Brennan. Don't give him any more to hold over you." When she nodded, he kissed her cheek and released her.
Wolverine watched as Shalimar made her way toward the barn. He followed her, making sure he stayed back enough to not be detected easily but close enough to react if necessary. When she moved into the barn he was on the other side of the wall.
"Adam," she whispered as she clung to the shadows. Using her feral sight to illuminate the darkness she questioned the fact that the barn was empty until she spotted the opened storm doors in the middle of the floor.
"Hello, Shalimar," Thorne's voice pierced the natural silence around her. She turned full circle then crouched in defense when she couldn't find her adversary.
"They made her," Wolverine reported. "Something's wrong. I hear voices but I don't smell anyone. I'm going in." Silent as a mouse he made his way beyond the door and scanned the interior. He looked at Shalimar as she was doing the same thing. Their eyes met the instant they both heard a trigger release. There was no time for anything but shock as bars rose from the ground and caged the now frantic feral.
"Beast, report!" Cyclops and the others were still too far from the barn to see anything but Beast as he dropped flat and almost out of sight.
Looking through an opening in the tattered roof of a barn no longer cared for, Beast lie still and waiting. "It would seem that our kitten was ensnared and caged. I doubt they expected her to curl into a corner and mew. The bars are holding fast against her attempts at escape."
"I'm going in," Jesse stood up quickly but turned only his head when Iceman froze his feet in place.
"You that anxious to walk into a trap?" He grinned as Jesse phased through the ice as he knew he would. "If he caged her he knows it wouldn't hold you. There's more up his sleeve. Let's let it play out a little longer."
"Beast and Wolverine won't let anything happen to her." Jubilee gently laid her hand on his arm.
"Relax, Shalimar. I've been waiting for you." Thorne watched his monitor as Shalimar paced the cage and growled as she pulled at the bars. "Settle down and you and I will be able to have a nice get together."
Shalimar stopped and gathered her temper. "COME IN HERE, THORNE! COME AND FACE ME!" Her teeth were bared and her knuckles white as her hands gripped the bars.
Wolverine smiled proudly at her as he slid further into the shadows. A few moments later his senses picked up the approach of 5 men.
"Wolverine," Beast whispered through their com. "be wary, My Friend.
Nostrils flaring, he sniffed the musty air. "I got 'em," he replied as he flattened himself against a wall and waited.
Thorne walked into the barn as his men followed bringing to bear their weapons on the caged woman. He smiled and held a hand up to calm them. "Gentlemen, don't worry. She's not getting out of the cage any time soon." He smiled and walked closer.
Shalimar waited and when she felt he was in striking distance she lashed out with her claws only to have him roll away and avoid her snare. "You'd better hope I never get out of here. I'll tear you apart."
"Now Shalimar, I thought maybe we could have a little chat. It's been so long since we've seen each other."
"Not long enough," she snarled as she rattled the cage.
"A lot has happened since you and I last met." He continued undaunted by her rage. "I understand that you actually married Mulwray." His voice carried his disapproval and he tsked his tongue. "I wouldn't have thought you a good match but you'll be single again, very soon."
Shalimar froze at his words. Brennan…oh no, Jesse, what now?" she thought as she looked away, not wanting Thorne to see the fear she knew she couldn't hide. Through the whirlwind of thoughts and images in her mind, her feral senses picked up…sound…a voice.
"Hold on, Darlin'. Don't let him play your fears and make you weak."
Taking a deep breath and squaring her shoulders, she turned glowing eyes back to her captor. "Where is he?" she hissed.
The feral in the shadows let slide a small proud grin.
"Right below you, actually." Thorne nodded to the opened doors in the floor about 5 yards away. "I regret you won't be able to see him to say goodbye, but I thought you might like to have these."
In his opened hand, Shalimar saw…Brennan's rings. Her eyes stung as tears welled but were swallowed quickly when she heard Wolverine again.
"Fight it, Darlin'. We'll get him out." He saw the rings and heard Shalimar's heart lurch and pound. Silently, he began to inch toward the opening, remaining in the shadows as best he could.
Thorne stepped closer, assuming he had Shalimar shocked into stillness, one hand poised in his pocket, just in case.
When he was close enough Shalimar reached slowly and unthreateningly for the rings. If he was going to give them to her, she wasn't about to lose them. With her lightning fast reflexes, she slipped her pinky through both rings and locked it against her palm as the rest of her hand grabbed Thorne's wrist, twisted and pulled until he was backed against the bars with her free hand closing around his neck.
"Nice moves. He's got you right where you want him."
Glaring and growling, Shalimar turned her head sharply to look at Wolverine, knowing only she could see him but before she could do anymore she released Thorne and fell to her knees, screaming. The sound ringing in her ears was more than painful as her hands clasp tightly to try and block the offending sound waves.
TBC
