August 25, 2006: Sorry about the delay in posting. It's been a hectic summer. :)
Short author's note – whoo-hoo! ;)
The same disclaimers apply as before but I will reiterate that this story hasn't been Betaed so any errors are my own darned fault. Any characters you don't recognize are probably mine, in particular: Russell, Jack, Keisha and Angie. This is just for fun, folks.
My thanks to everyone who has taken the time to read and review this story. Your feedback is greatly appreciated. :)
Excelsior!
Smashing Through the Looking Glass
Chapter Eight: Part One
Witness
August 6, 2004, 2:45 AM
The floor is cool against my legs. I can't move them yet. For a moment, I can't remember why I'm not lying in my bed, dreaming of working as head programmer of a small but cutting-edge computer firm, with wireless Internet access and Brendan Fraser as a co-worker. Okay, so that dream has only happened twice…
A girl is crying. I can hear footsteps in the distance from somewhere down one of the many corridors. I think they're coming this way. Should I be alarmed? Then I realize my head is in someone's lap. I feel a cool hand on my forehead and another on my wrist.
"She's d-dead!" Alison?
"She isn't dead." British accent. Why can't I place her?
"Sam said to keep her warm." That voice belongs to Julie.
"Get a coat from the hall closet," the British girl instructs. There's some scampering as someone - probably Julie - runs to the closet, flings it open and rummages through the hangers. Seconds later, she returns and a long, leather coat with a fuzzy lining is draped over me, tucked under my chin. I like the smell of leather.
"She hasn't moved! She's dead!"
"No, she isn't." The British voice belongs to the person cradling my head: ah, Liz. "Ali, hush now, Kitty isn't dead. She isn't dead. I'd know. Do you understand me? Julie?" I hear movement and guess that Julie is now holding Alison, who wails inconsolably.
Bamf!
"Elizabeth! What happened?" I know that voice. Kurt kneels beside me and checks my pulse for himself.
"I don't really know," Liz says. "When Kitty found us trapped on the stairs, she shouted, 'Leave my children alone!' and then the horrors started to melt and they screamed and - sorry." She swallows. I want to comfort her but I can't move. Not yet. Liz takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. "Sam said to keep her warm. He's rounding up the others. That's all that's left of the lamp she was holding." I hear the movement of cloth and know that Kurt has turned slightly to look at something. Lamp? Who was holding a lamp?
You were, Katherine Leanne Pryde…
I sit up suddenly and Liz yelps.
"I'm okay," I say brightly, though I haven't ventured to open my eyes yet. "I'm fine, everything's going to be fine." A strong hand grips my upper arm. The skin is soft, like suede: Kurt. The footsteps have slowed, stopped, and someone is moving to join us.
"I'm okay," I repeat, as if it were a mantra. I swallow. "I'm fine." A hand from the other person takes my wrist and checks my pulse. The fingers are long and there are calluses from doing work in the garden: Sam. "Everything's going to be fine."
"Kitty -"
"ImokayImfineeverythingsgoingtobefine!"
Other footsteps can be heard as more people join us. Sam moves his hands to either side of my face, holding it gently but firmly.
"They're gone, Kitty," Sam says quietly, and someone starts rubbing my back, trying to comfort me. "They're gone. Open your eyes." Didn't Logan ask me that?
Not wanting to hold things up, I open my eyes and blink. Sam's face is right before me. It's an angular face, a nice face, a face you can trust. He smiles. "Atta girl."
Liz shifts from behind me to kneel to my left, her hand still rubbing my back. She smiles. There are tears on her face. Alison slides across the floor in her pink pajamas and stares at me. Overwhelmed, she pushes passed Sam's hold and hugs me fiercely. I assume she's crying now because she's happy I'm not dead. I return her embrace and say things like "It's okay" and "We're all here, don't worry", but I'm not entirely sure what happened and I'm scared, too. Maybe it isn't okay. I look at Sam. I know he wants to ask me about the Übels. All I know for certain is that they're dead and that we have Dr. Grey to thank for it.
Hmmm, that sounds about right…
"All I know is that they're dead," I say, deciding to skip any preliminaries. "And we have Dr. Grey to thank for it. Don't ask me how, 'cause I don't know. She came to our defence… through me. That's all." I'm rocking Alison, who isn't crying quite so hard now but the shaking hasn't stopped. "Have we accounted for everyone?"
"No. Near as we can tell, the creatures took the Professor, Mr. Summers, Ms. Munroe, Logan, Bobby, Rogue and Dr. McCoy. All officially X-Men." I suppose that list is the official team, though I'm not sure by what definition Logan falls cleanly into that category. And if he qualifies, what about Kurt? "We can't find two of the new kids, Jack and Russell, but we're still lookin'." Sam sighs. "Ah'm reluctant to split up into groups too much, just in case we get attacked again."
"Strength in numbers," I mumble, and gently disengage from Alison. She manages a smile then slides over to Liz, who puts a protective arm around her. I try to stand and Kurt and Sam are there to help me, thank goodness, or else I wouldn't have made it. I catch the leather coat before it hits the floor. "Thanks," I say, and straighten my tank top. It gives me something to do. I consider the people who came down the corridor after Sam.
Roberto looks like a regular human again, albeit one wearing flashy track pants with a racing stripe and a t-shirt with a soccer ball motif on it that would make Escher proud. Angie is being supported between him and Harley. Her pajamas aren't as colourful as her previous outfits but there are hints of purple that probably exceed the dress code at the Ritz. She looks ill. Harley looks concerned and cute in his racecar boxer shorts. Dave is in basketball gear, as per usual, only his feet are bare. Loyal to his hometown, his favourite team is the Raptors. He looks tired but otherwise seems unharmed. Ray is standing near him, wearing Spiderman pajamas. I think he's in shock.
Xi-an has a protective arm around Iz and Kale, looking drained but controlled and very stylish in matching silver silk pajamas and robe. The two boys are in t-shirts and shorts and they look understandably boggled. Rahne is a bit disheveled in her understated navy jammies but seems uninjured. All her fur is gone. Jamie - only two in number now - looks exhausted. Both of him are leaning against the wall in t-shirt and shorts, breathing hard and sweating. He'd better 'regroup' with himself, as it were, and soon or we'll have another problem on our plate.
"Jubilee?"
"Lookin' for the missing kids with Peter and Amara."
The front doors are open once more to the night. I turn in time to see Brightwind climb the stone steps and grace the hall with his magnificence. I do a head count: Dani, Karina, Blink, Frankie, Sarah, Wanda, and Siryn.
"And Pietro and Keisha?"
"Also doin' a quick search." I raise an eyebrow, thinking of his statement of moments ago. Sam smiles ruefully. "Dani and Ah were outvoted on stickin' together for this." He consults his watch. Who sleeps wearing their watch? "They've got another five minutes, then they're supposed to meet us back here."
I lean closer to him and whisper, "Did Sarah have to summon her 'friend'?"
"No," he says, obviously relieved. I nod.
"How long have I been unconscious?" He glances at Liz then back to me.
"Ah'd guess about ten minutes."
My eyes widen. "Ten minutes?"
"Yep. We were busy while you were lyin' around." I swat him on the shoulder and he lets me. It's a normal moment in an abnormal morning. I'll take what I can get.
I go to the closet, returning the coat Julie used to cover me and retrieving the four flashlights from their chargers. "Just in case," I say, giving them to Sam, Dani and Karina and keeping the last one for myself. A small gust of wind signals Pietro's arrival. Keisha wisely walks down the stairs a few moments later, looking like it would've been an indignity to be carried by the boy.
"Nothing," Pietro reports. When Keisha reaches the bottom of the stairs, she adds, "He searched everywhere. I just checked the obvious places, not being Speedy Gonzales." She looks worried and I don't blame her at all.
"Maybe they're outside," Roberto suggests, trying to be optimistic. "The grounds are extensive. They could be anywhere."
"True," Sam says. I can tell he's preoccupied with something. There are so many possibilities that I'm not even going to guess which of the current problems he's mentally chewing on right now.
Running feet, bare feet, slapping the marble floor. Jubilee comes tearing into the hall, breathing hard.
"We've found something," she says breathlessly, and bends over to put her hands on her knees. "You guys aren't gonna believe this. You gotta come."
Sam and Dani share a look and nod. Most everyone is watching and as they follow Jubilee down the corridor, we join them, including Brightwind. As we reach the elevator, which leads to the basement level, our guide stops and says, "I left Peter and Amara to watch it. Careful where you step."
There were Übels here. The oozing remains are in small piles on the floor. The smell is extraordinary. I hear a heave behind me; damn, should've thought of that. Angie is throwing up. Roberto and Harley are still supporting her and Keisha is at her side.
Brightwind won't go any further so Dani stays with him. The others have stopped, probably unwilling to find out first hand what has been discovered. Deciding there are enough people looking out for Angie, I walk cautiously in the steps of Sam, Kurt and Jubilee. We reach Amara, who is standing just outside the elevator. I note her bathrobe seems intact, despite being a fire goddess earlier. My guess? Dr. McTaggert must've shared her material made from unstable molecules. You can make anything with that stuff and it'll go through hell and still look good when you're done. Come to think of it, Rahne must also have some of that fabric, as she's completely decent now with no tears in her jammies. Roberto must be wearing some of it, too; that ink-black figure wasn't naked. When you throw someone over your shoulder, you notice things like that.
The door is open. Amara glances at us then returns her gaze to the floor inside the elevator. "It is trying to get out," she says quietly. I come closer and see Peter, no longer in Colossus form, kneeling inside the elevator, only wearing his pajama bottoms. He's staring at something that's moving on the floor.
It's a hand.
Russell's hand.
I recognize the scrapes on the knuckles and the chewed fingernails and the calluses on the fingertips I can see as they wiggle feebly. It's cool to be able to recall details like that, even though I'm not aware of them at the time. This is like something from the special effects department of a big budget horror movie, except what I'm witnessing is real.
"Liz," I say and Sam thinks about it before calling her over.
"Ah know you need to touch someone in order to read a mind," he begins, already looking concerned about her reaction.
"Yes. I can receive telepathic communications directed at me from a distance but I can't read an unaware mind or that of a non-telepath without first…" Liz trails off from her nice, neat lesson as she spots the hand. I see her swallow, try not to inhale too deeply or she might vomit, too. She looks at me, then at Sam. Sam nods.
"If you're sure you're gonna be okay, Ah'd like you to touch the hand and tell us where Russell is."
"This is… Russell?"
"It's his hand, anyway," I say, stating the obvious. She swallows again.
Peter looks up at us. "It's moving more slowly than when we found it."
"How did it get up in the elevator in the first place?" Jubilee wonders aloud. "It's not like it can reach the buttons."
"Liz." Kurt puts a hand tentatively on her arm. "If you can find out where he is, and I know the location, I can teleport there and make sure he's alright." She stares into his gold eyes and nods slightly.
"We'll be right here," Sam adds. The purple head nods again.
Mental note to self: get Liz something really special for Christmas.
Someone comes to stand beside her and indicates with a gentle smile that he'll be right outside, next to Sam: Harley. I'll give him a hug later for this one. I glance over at Angie. She's sitting on the floor, her back against the wall, being tended to by Dani and Keisha. She looks weak and frail. I wish I knew what was wrong.
"Well," Liz says with a short exhale of breath. "Here goes." She crouches beside Peter and slowly reaches out for the pale hand. As soon as she touches it, the hand curls its fingers around her wrist in a desperate grip. Liz screams and topples over. Peter catches her before she hits the floor.
"Can you reach him?" Sam asks.
"He-he's downstairs… in a closet… near the elevators to the sub-basement level. He's…" Liz frowns, more puzzled than scared now. "He misses his hand but... He's worried about Jack."
"Are there any creatures?"
There's a pause. "There were, but they… melted."
The young man who has assumed the role of leader for this bewildered bunch turns to Kurt. "Can you teleport there?"
"Ja."
Sam takes a deep breath and lets it out again. "Then do it. We'll be right behind you. Don't let either of them move."
Bamf!
"Peter, Kitty, Jubilee - you're with me." Sam turns to the others. "The rest of you stay here and stay alert. Listen to Dani." He looks at Liz, still crouched down with a hand clutching her. "Liz? You better come, too." She stands, holding her arm at a distance.
I find myself chuckling. Sam looks at me. "Sorry. I'm having an Addams Family moment." He smiles slightly, knowing the reference.
Jubilee gets in beside Peter, giving Liz's arm a wide berth, and Sam and I follow. I push the button marked 'B' for 'basement'. A bell dings quietly and the doors close.
We reach the basement level without incident and file into the hallway. There are pot lights in the ceiling at equal points and they illuminate a colourful corridor with doors leading to rooms and walls decorated with various movie and music posters; the student games room is down here. Piles of Übel goo mar the floor. Some of it splatters the walls.
"Ick," Jubilee says. I heartily agree. My foot kicks a piece of metal but I don't bend down to pick it up. I recognize it as a brace, like the one that held in the eyes of the Honda Civic creature who accosted me in the garden. Ugh.
Liz takes the lead. I note the hand is still holding on to her very tightly. We round the corner to the right and see Kurt in front of the closet near the elevator to the sub-basement. House keeping doesn't ever go down there. The Professor has an automated cleaning system that would make Molly Maid's eyes bug out.
The closet door is closed.
"I have spoken with Russell," Kurt whispers to Sam as we approach. "He says he can't reach the door and hold on to Jack at the same time." Sam tests the knob. "He locked it, as a precaution," Kurt adds, shrugging to indicate that Russell hasn't elaborated. Sam takes a step back and has that stubborn look that says no door has been built that can stop this boy from Kentucky.
"Ah'll just -"
"Let Kitty phase into the closet and find out what's going on," I finish. He pauses and I can see him waver between being the leader and the action hero. Finally, he nods his agreement.
"What she said." He smiles a crooked smile.
With a smile of my own, I pull out my flashlight. I won't turn it on while I'm phasing, of course, or that'll fry it. I take a breath and step into the closet.
To Be Continued…