Alex was beyond mad; but this was not the time to break ranks. Too much was at stake. They were reaping the harvest of Charles Xavier's mistakes. For everyone's sakes, he had to try and save Jean. His brief touch with her true power, had proved the doors were no longer locked on her mind. Alex too had been holding back, out of fear, out of wanting to be normal. There was no normal there only was. He had to be zen about it. The young empath reached out to touch his lover, to explain that they could not just leave, not yet. His anger was mirrored in the other mutant. "No, Pyro. Please, we… I have to save Jean. I need you to be my anchor. She's like a tornado and we are not in Kansas anymore. No fear, only trust, got that. She's as powerful as the Professor, but her power is her telekinesis." They looked at the dam and at then at the plane. "Magneto and Mystique don't need us, they have each other. Like we have each other. The mansion is not home, not any more. Too many lies… too many mistakes." Alex's heart was heavy, but he was resolute. "After this, just us or we can become the Mystique Fan Club. That would work. Magneto does not need followers or fans, he has an ego as big as this planet. He needs to man up and listen to his woman. If he doesn't she is going to destroy him."

Pyro's face briefly lost its scowl. "Yeah, fan club. Think we can get the Great Night Crawler to join our new club?"

"I think Night Crawler needs to start his own circus, because only a fool would think the school was not still a huge target. Hell, our fellow mutants are just pawns between the government, the misguided peacekeeping efforts from the Professor X and our terrorist leader Mr. Metal, who thinks genocide is justifiable. First, we need to find out who funded Striker and his Weapon X programme. Then we neutralise our true enemy."

"Nightcrawler, you need to trust me and trust yourself. You need to be with Jean, but listen to me." Alex took off his gloves and touched the blue claws, feeling the the soft skin and raised scars. His touch connected with the German's mind. Words unspoken, just a transfer of consciousness. "Feel my mind. You are not alone. Now, go save Jean. Teleport her into the jet, just as soon as the jet takes off. Trust Storm, trust Jean and trust me. I know you can save her."

As Storm took off., Alex started to strip off his jacket and t-shirt. Pyro then followed suit.

"Whoa, stop. No getting naked. You guys promised. Nothing NC-17 rated, guys." pleaded Iceman.

Alex ignored the other mutant. Jean was about to arrive on the plane, with her powers fully unleashed. He would need the anchor from skin contact with Pyro to hope to stay sane. There was no margin for failure, it was do forget any possibility of do not. They were all walking away from this FUBAR.

It was like a wall of our energy as the telepaths connected, only Alex was not playing student. He was protector, the Professor had fluffed his chance to contain the emerging mutant powers of Jean Grey. They could only guide and reassure. This was the real Jean, not the safe construct. He felt physically sick from the sensory overload. He almost lost the thread connecting him to Pyro, the skin on skin contact between the two joined mutants, provided a bridge, a backup and an anchor as Alex's mind was overwhelmed by Jean. He kept repeating "Your safe, this is real. I am here to guide you. Focus on my thoughts." After an eternity, he could sense the vortex slow, order was being restored. Alex was surrounded by Jean and it felt like home. He shared all his love for Pyro and surrendered to the feeling of peace and tranquility.

….

The young empath was aware he was alone and he gasped awake. Pyro was on the bed opposite in med bay at the mansion, still unconscious. Alex was on his feet in an instance, but was not surprised when his legs gave out.

A new physician was attending at Mutant High, Alex was aware of who the blue bulk was from Pyro's memories "Hi, Dr. McCoy… I'm Ghost."

"I'll help you back into bed." The man picked Alex up like he was a five year old child and carefully placed him back on the end and rearranged the bed clothes and checked the connections to the medical equipment. "All in order. I guess you're hungry. I'm afraid its back to bland food for a few days. All three of you had an averse reaction when you were separated."

"Vomiting…bowel and bladder spontaneous evacuation and other grossness. Please don't tell me we all ejactualted as well. I'll never live that down if Icey-baby witnessed that. He freaks when we make out."

"Well, sorry, yes to all the above. Scott is half outraged and half in awe that you saved Jean but in the process possibly married her."

"Oooo, no, gross…. sister-sibling maybe, but I'm 1000% homosexual. Yuck… vaginas!"

"Cyclops will be glad to hear that. So, do you know when Pyro or Jean are likely to emerge from their comas?"

Alex took three deep breaths for a moment to centre himself and connect. He then started to babble. "Err… soon for Pyro. He's dreaming.. normal deep sleep… just completely knackered. Jean… Jean needs Scott to be touching her. Empathy… reassurance… connection. Tell him to do it now and not leave her; that its vitally important. They are soul mates… Jean might be a bit more aggressive in bed as well… she's still Jean… just more so. Super Jean…. She's …. I'm…. Pyro are all Class 5 mutants. Pyro's unlocked his full potential, so have I. I… I can block it mostly, but the noise… everyone is like a soft background radio on in my head. You touched me… I'm sorry, but I can't shield touch. Change all your passwords and pin numbers… wait don't bother, I can guess what you'd pick. You have to go random I'm afraid. Glad you're also a member of the Mystique fan club… founding member or club president I guess. Me and Pyro are totally in her thrall. Cool, sub zero, no absolute zero. She should dump Magneto he's holding her back. Shit, sorry that was really private wasn't it." Alex looked at the shocked face of the doctor. "We're not staying… Pyro and I… we have issues over what the Professor did to Jean… I know he was trying to do the right thing, but so have others and adults have shat on me and Pyro in the past. We might come back. We're not great fans of the big metallic prick either, at least I'm not. He has huge issues… needs a shrink more than me. Scary huh?" Alex paused again. "Food, the sooner Pyro and I eat. The sooner we'll be out of here."

"Right, I'll go talk to Scott and get you and Pyro some oatmeal."

Alex lay back and meditated. Things were in play, bigger than just Stryker. Alex would talk to the gruff Canadian and possibly gain another ally. The Professor's way was OK for a school, but they would need a united front soon. The present solution was just a cold war. None of the players had the moral or metaphorical high ground, there was no right or wrong, just the mire of grey in the game of survival against the odds.

"Wake up, fire boy, and fuck me before big blue gets back. I'll settle for a hand or a blow job but I'm horny as hell."

With that demand there was a snort from the other bed "Yes darling, I'm on it… got any lube?"

…..

Washington DC was a place neither teen had ever visited before. They had travelled light, in plain sight by bus south from Westchester. Both wearing all black, jeans and leather jackets, sporting the pale emo look, helped along by the fact they were both in need of a million year s of sleep and a good steak dinner.

"Are we there yet?" moaned Pyro.

"Next stop, two blocks north, our target is home alone."

"Does the Professor know you hacked his Cerebro?"

"Yeah… he knows… he knows I know. Jean knows he knows I know. Scary thing about telepaths… we all know, like gods among lesser men. I know the bus driver's daughter is a crack addict whore, he kicked her out three months ago and is raising her son. He hates his job and wants to be a chef on Food Network. He's always angry at work. Thinks we are crack addicts as well. Nice.. Come on lets go meet our new boss."