Changes Sequel – I. Darkness Part 5
Even if it was lunch time, no one saw the small blue car that drove up the driveway through heavy rain towards the mansion. Stopping at the garages, it didn't take long and a tall, muscular young man got out of the driver's seat, followed by a small young woman with long brown hair. Pulling strands out of her face, she pushed the passenger's seat a bit to the front, so that the third person, a young woman with short black hair and a tight yellow shirt to her blue jeans, could get out of the car, too.
"Whew," Jubilee made and stretched while Peter got their luggage out of the trunk. "Finally back home. But the weather sucks…"
Kitty handed her yellow suitcase and took her green one into her hands. "Yeah, after the long flight and drive back from the airport… I only want to shower and rest." Looking at her husband, she smiled at him brightly. "What about you?"
Walking over to the front door, he gently pulled her with her. "I only want to eat something and sleep. And saying hi to everyone of course!"
"Speaking of the others," Jubilee said and looked around frowning. "I know it's lunch time but… Is it only me or is it a bit too calm for the school, huh? And Ororo's mood seems to be pretty bad, too."
"We set the watched back to US time, didn't we?" Kitty asked shocked and examined her wrist watch quickly. "What time is it on yours?"
"12:15 exactly."
"Same here!" Peter replied and stopped at the door.
"Then it's really strange…," Kitty commented the whole situation and opened the front door. Entering the mansion, they soon became aware of the strange mood within. Frowning, since the corridors were completely deserted and not the tiniest sound could be heard, they began to move forward slowly; looking and listening to all corridors closely. "Where's everyone?" Kitty asked confused and looked at her friends who could only shrug. "I wrote that we would fly from Russia to London to meet you there, so that we could fly back together. And I also wrote that we would be back today…"
Looking up the stairs, Jubilee sighed. "Maybe they want to surprise us?"
"Or maybe something happened?" Peter suggested and noticed the strange feeling in his chest.
"Hey," Jubilee replied and came closer again. "We were only gone for three weeks! I doubt everyone was abducted by aliens in the meanwhile!"
"Come on!" Kitty said and took the lead towards the huge lunch room. Finding it completely deserted, she suddenly became frightened. She was sure that something was seriously wrong. It never happened that no one was downstairs for lunch time. "The kitchen!" she only said and quickly walked down the corridor towards the west wing were the room was. Still hearing no voices, she sighed relieved. "Gosh, and we thought everyone was gone…" Looking at Mystique, Ororo and Bobby they dropped their suitcases to the ground.
"Right," Jubilee added and put her hands to her hips." What's wrong with that place?"
Ororo slapped her forehead. "I totally forgot you'd be coming back today…" Running a hand through her face, she rested her head in her hands sighing.
"Well, that's nice!" Jubilee said while Peter and Kitty frowned.
"Did something happen?" the man asked them worriedly and stepped closer. He'd noticed how churned up Ororo was. "Where are the others?"
Noticing that the white haired woman opposite of him wasn't able to say anything, Bobby looked at them. "Sit down."
"Oh, oh…," Jubilee only made, knowing that this could only mean very bad news. Obeying, all three of them sat down, while Mystique laid a hand on Ororo's shoulder.
Sighing, Kitty gave Bobby a look. "What the hell happened!"
"Scott, Hank and Kurt are in Mexico looking for Logan, Shiro and Neil," he briefly explained without meeting their eyes.
Frowning, Peter shook his head not understanding what his friend wanted to tell them. "What do you mean? Looking for them!"
"They went on a mission and the Blackbird crashed," Mystique added and heard them gasp in shock.
"W…what about them?" Kitty asked with widened eyes and looked to and fro between them. She didn't even feel how Peter took her left hand into his.
"They found Shiro and Neil so far," Ororo replied calmly, still feeling the aftereffects of the shock Kurt's call and the pictures she had seen on the mission computer had caused her. "They're dead…"
"And Wolvie?" Jubilee asked close to start crying, while she had wrapped her arms around her shaking body.
"They're still looking for him," Bobby said and gave her a short look which told volumes.
A stunned silence filled the room for a while. No one knew what to say and only stared into emptiness. Kitty rested her head on Peter's shoulder while he'd pulled her close being completely shocked. "For how many days are they already looking for him?" he asked them calmly, thinking about his favorite trainings partner.
"They found them two days ago," Mystique replied and met his blue eyes with her yellow ones. "But there's no sign of Logan so far."
Raising her head, Jubilee looked at them. "But that's a good sign, isn't it?" she asked hopefully while her heart was hammering in her chest.
"Actually, no…," Bobby said and shook his head. "They believe that he was sucked out of the jet before it crashed. He could be anywhere and if he hit the ground, he was probably pretty badly injured…"
Peter nodded slowly. "And where are all the others?"
"Charles asked them to stay quiet. We all can't use tumult right now. Especially not Jean." Looking at Jubilee, Bobby had noticed the drastic change in the girl. Before he could say something, Ororo raised her voice.
"Don't tell Jean about this! She still thinks that they haven't found anyone, yet. If she gets to know the truth…" She shook her head and looked down again. "Just don't tell her!"
Nodding in understanding, Kitty and Peter looked up as Jubilee ran out of the room sobbing heavily all of a sudden. Lowering her gaze, the young woman wiped away her own tears as they gathered in her eyes. She just couldn't believe how fast her mood had changed. Only minutes ago, they had still been joking around on their way back home. And now… "She'd looked forward to see him again…"
"Yeah, Logan and she have often talked in the phone with each other," Ororo said lost in thoughts. "He'd told me that she wasn't happy with the internship in England…"
"No, she was pretty unhappy there…," Kitty mumbled and ran a hand through her face again.
Bobby suddenly got up. "I'll go and talk to her." Nodding at the others briefly, he left the kitchen and walked over to the staircase. Soon, he stood in front of Jubilee's door, hearing her sob. "Jubes?" he asked calmly and knocked at it.
"Go away!"
"Come on…let me in, okay?" he pleaded and waited for any movement. "If you don't want me to say anything, I won't. But it's not good for you to be alone." Pausing for a brief moment, he thought about her. Leaning against the door a bit, he lowered his voice. "Jubes, I know how much he meant to you… Come on, open up!" Waiting a bit longer, he was just about to give up when he heard her unlocking the door. Seeing her tear strained face, he closed it behind him again and took her shaking form into his arms. "Just let it out," Bobby said calmly and stroked over her back, while the young woman clung to him and cried her eyes out.
She couldn't tell how long she was already sitting in front of the screen and scanned every monitor with her yellow eyes. Over and over she typed in the same commands, checked the screens and waited. Even if she knew that she waited in vain. Mystique was aware of the fact, and her knowledge had never been wrong before, that the more days past the more the chance of finding him was reduced. Nevertheless, she started her work again and waited for anything the camera of the X-Wing would show her. But the only thing she could see was the wood in which the X-Men were staying at. Panning the camera to the left, her eyes caught the sight of the wreckage and saw how Scott and Hank were still working through the remains.
Hearing how the door opened behind her, she didn't turn around as footsteps echoed through the sterile looking room. Mystique instantly knew who it was and she didn't feel the merest desire to talk to her guest right now.
"Hey," Emma greeted her and stopped right next to her. Looking at the monitors with her icy blue eyes, she leant over a bit. "Wow that looks bad…"
"Oh really?" the other woman replied pissed and rolled her eyes without turning around. "What do you want here?"
Recognizing the hostile and chilly undertone, Emma could only smile. "Well, I wanted to ask if there is any news."
"What do you think?" Mystique gave back and panned the camera, which could be moved in 360° circles and projected pictures on her screen which were as sharp as if she would see them with her own eyes, to search the area even more. Seeing the wood in the background, she frowned briefly.
Unaware that Emma was watching her closely from behind, the blonde haired woman smirked. "Why are you here anyway, hm?" she asked her all of a sudden.
Turning around and narrowing her eyes threatening, Mystique gave her a cold look. "What do you mean?"
"Well," her opposite said and walked over to a table to lean against it still with her arms crossed. "You've always been Eric's partner. And all of a sudden you are Charles' lapdog? A bit strange, don't you think?"
Snorting, the blue woman got up and positioned herself in front of her, also folding her arms. "What is it to you, hm? I am rather interested in what the hell you are doing here?"
"You already know, don't you?" Emma smiled innocently and her eyes sparkled provocatively. "So, why are you here? Because of him?" Narrowing her eyes even more, Mystique gave the expression as if she was about to kill her any minute. She felt a deep disgust for that woman and didn't trust her at all. "I've heard some stories about you, you know," Emma continued still smiling at her. "So…what did you have to do that they allowed you to stay here, hm?"
"Piss off," her opposite only hissed and was about to turn around when Emma raised her voice again.
"Still having a crush on him? That what they told me. Why else would you be looking for him all day and night…"
Grabbing her quickly by her shirt, Mystique pushed roughly closer and gritted her teeth. "I said piss off!"
Meeting her eyes arrogantly, Emma only shook her head smiling. "Hit a nerve, huh?" Grabbing her opposite's hands, she pushed her roughly away and made her way to the door again. "They are only keeping you here to control you. Why else would they allow someone like you to stay here?"
Watching her leave with a mask of hate on her face, Mystique heard the crack of the microphone from afar and turned towards the screen again as Scott's voice echoed through the room. "Mystique? Could you run an infrared-scan through the wreckage next to Hank? He thinks he has found another body… Just tell me if you get any vital signal." Looking at the screen, she did what she was asked to do and indeed found something. "There's another body underneath it," she confirmed Hank's thought. "But there are no vital signals…" Sadly, she lowered her gaze and saw how Scott did the same.
"Thanks," he said and turned his head to give Hank a sign. "Tell Charles that we have found Logan then…"
"But you don't know it is him," she protested and looked at the screen again.
"Raven," Scott said carefully since he knew that not everyone of them was allowed to call her like that. "We are in a completely deserted area here. And we are only missing Logan…" Shaking his head, he watched how Hank and Kurt were freeing the body. "Tell him that we found him… We'll pack our things here and come back." Waiting for her to nod, he went over to his comrades to help them, while she remained on her seat and followed every movement they made with her yellow eyes. Even if she was hungry, she didn't care that the others were probably already gathered for dinner. She needed to see it…
Hour later, when it was already time for dinner, the grown-ups and the Professor sat in the dining room together. No one dared to say anything. Neither did they know what, nor felt they like talking at all. Every one of them was still mourning in their own personal ways for their great loss and only ate very slowly, if some of them ate at all.
Still blaming himself for the whole tragedy, Charles kept his eyes mostly to the ground, as suddenly Bobby entered with his daughter, the twins and Rachel following him. Taking their seats, Ororo exchanges a short glance with Charles who nodded after a while. Getting up, she filled a plate with food and took a soda to drink with her, before she walked towards the west- wing. It was the third day in a row that Jean hadn't appeared to a meal and they knew that she wasn't eating at night, too. She, herself, was awake every night again since she couldn't sleep knowing that her friend and husband were still in Mexico. Walking up the stairs to the upper level, she knocked at the white door and waited for a response. Not hearing anything from within, she cautiously opened the door and stepped inside.
"Jean?" Listening carefully, she didn't her friend responding again. Frowning, Ororo noticed that the bedroom door was only half closed after her eyes had scanned the room briefly. Not knowing what else she could do, she walked over and opened it completely. Meeting empty green eyes, which looked at her from the bed, Ororo's own eyes saddened immediately. "Hey…," she said softly and put the try down on the bedside table. "I brought you something to eat and drink."
"I'm not hungry…," Jean replied barely audible while she sent more tears down her already tear strained face by blinking.
Sighing, Ororo sat down on the edge of the bed, recognizing that she was laying on the right side of the bed where he usually slept. "You have to eat, Jean… You are hungry, you just don't feel it."
Giving a short derisive laugh, the red head pulled the pillow closer. "I feel enough currently, thanks…"
"That's not what I meant!" her opposite said calmly since she had noticed the chilly undertone. Looking down for a brief moment, she took a closer look on her friend. She was not only worried or afraid anymore. By now she was completely concerned that Jean would brake down because of her grief. "Do you want to talk?" she offered her calmly but only earned a look.
"About what?" the woman on the bed replied still sounding chilly.
"Maybe it helps a bit…"
"No!"
Not saying anything in return, Ororo finally gave up and made her way to the door as she suddenly heard her voice again. "Are the kids downstairs?"
"Yeah, Bobby brought them down for dinner," the weather witch replied.
Jean sat up a bit. "What kind of mood was Jack in?"
Frowning, Ororo stepped closer again. "His casual mood, I think. Why are you asking?"
Sighing, Jean leant against the head; still with his pillow close to her body. "I thought about some things…"
Deciding to sit down on the edge again, Ororo listened to her carefully. At least, she began to talk on her own about something, she thought and watched her friend closely once more. "About what?"
Swallowing hard, before she wiped away her tears and took a deep breath, Jean sighed. "I think…," she began unsure of how to begin. "I think that the twins are already showing some early powers…"
Looking into the lifeless green eyes, which had practically burned with life and joy a few days ago, Ororo raised and eyebrow. "They are five, Jean… They can't have any powers already!"
"You haven't see Jack lately!" her opposite shot back, sounding more than afraid and despaired. "He is so aggressive and angry. You've never seen him like that!"
"Jean, he lost his father," Ororo gave back shaking her head. "Of course he's angry. That's obviously his way of dealing with his pain."
Giving her a clear 'no', the red head also shook her head. "You don't understand! He's calm first. And then all of a sudden…he practically goes berserk. Yesterday, he nearly destroyed his room in rage. He screamed and growled and threw things around…" She pulled a face while resting her head in her right hand. "And there's nothing I can do… He isn't even looking at me at all!"
Nodding, Ororo seriously thought about what she had said. "What about Lily?"
"You know…I woke up at night because I dreamed that something happened to him. Heaving a deep sigh, Jean tried to control her sobs and the shaking of her body. "Just as I returned to bed, the kids came to me and told me they had a bad dream, too. Jack said it, but I think he covered up for Lily. She was so disturbed the day after… And when I look at her…," she paused and shook her head. "There's something in her eyes… As if she feeld or see things before they happen…"
"You mean like Logan usually feels if something's wrong? Like he did before the twins were born where he couldn't touch you without his senses beginning to crack?" Ororo asked confused but Jean shook her head.
"Only partly. Since my powers grew after Liberty Island, I can see dangers and feel them before anything happens. That's why I went outside of the jet at Alkali Lake. I saw what would happen… I think she can do it, too. Or at least partly, since both are more like him." She paused for a moment and looked at a picture of her family on the bedside table. "Maybe what I dreamed wasn't a dream…"
Taking her hand in hers, Ororo squeezed it briefly. "What did you dream? What happened in it?"
Pulling a face again, Jean covered it her free hand. "I saw how the jet crashed. The explosion…," she told her barely audible under her strong sobs when she had to see it again. "I heard their screams… And I'm afraid that Lily saw it, too…"
"Did she say anything?"
"No… She isn't talking at all for days. So is Rachel." Crying heartrendingly, Jean bent forward and was pulled close by Ororo. "I don't know what to do anymore, 'Ro… I'm afraid to lose them, too…" Feeling her own eyes getting wet, the white haired women pulled her even closer and listened to her heartbreaking sobs, while she stared at the picture Jean had looked at before…
In the dining room, the others were still looking at the twins and Rachel who only sat like statues on their stools and stared at their plates. Exchanging glances with the others, Bobby bent forwards a bit. "You need to eat. At least half of it…" Seeing how the girls slowly took their forks, he turned towards Jack, who had his arms crossed and looked at the plate as if he was about to kill it. "Jack, you, too!"
"I ain't hungry…," the boy growled through clenched teeth and looked away.
"But you really need to eat," Kitty said calmly and looked at Peter and Jubilee for help. They were told how bad it was but hadn't believed that it was that bad. "Come on, eat at least the veggies, okay?"
Nearly falling of their chairs as the plate hit the wall, they all stared at the boy in shock, who'd clenched his fists and was breathing heavily in anger while the stool fell to the ground. "I said I ain't hungry!" he yelled at them and stormed out of the room. Laying the forks down, the girls followed their brother quickly.
Leaving the others to look at each other in shock, Kitty had to lean back in her stool, while Xavier still had his eyes fixed on the door frowning. "Jesus…what was that!" the young woman asked frightened. "You sure the boy is still five!"
"Well, we told you," Bobby only said and began to tidy up the mess. "But I have to admit…it had never been that bad before…"
"Have you seen his eyes?" Peter asked all of a sudden. "I could have sworn they were black for a brief moment!"
Looking up after hearing his words, Charles suddenly moves towards the door quickly. "What's wrong?" Bobby asked him in confusion and followed the movement of his mentor. "Where are you going?"
"I think we have a serious problem," was all Charles said before he disappeared and left the others behind.
So, that one was quick, because I had pre written it (except the scene between Emma and Mystique). Thanks for all the nice reviews! I was pretty shocked that I got so many: ) You guy are really great: ) Hope you liked this chapter here, too. I'll try to write as much as possible before college starts for me again next week. Since I need three hours in total to drive to my universities and back again, I will have less time to write. But well, as I said I already have pre written many scenes, so I only have to come up with something. ; ) Tanks again for your support and let me know what you think! See ya! Oh, and the ending isn't exactly what I wanted to use for this chapter, so I will add it at the end of the next one. ; )