Chapter 9: Red Sunset


Tante Mattie sat in her chair, humming a lullaby as she knitted another scarf for Dawn, this one a dark maroon color. It didn't matter if it was too hot in New Orleans to wear scarves or gloves and hats, Dawn would wear them anyways. She said it was like being wrapped up in love. Even if it was something mass produced, she said it still felt like love because someone, somewhere, worked in poor conditions to provide for their family. To give them a home, food and comfort. It had to be love.

Tante Mattie sighed, dropping her knitting to her lap.

"Lord, let dis child be fine. Let her join her family again." she prayed out loud.

Birdie looked up from her spot near Mattie's feet, tilting her head to the side and gave a slight whimper. Mattie leaned forward and gave her a few pats, allowing a few licks on her palm to calm the Border Collie down some before she picked up her knitting. Birdie stood up, stretching her short stocky body and shook off its lush tri-colored coat and wiggling her short tail quickly. She walked over to Dawn's bed, sniffing at the covers before deciding that nothing had changed and laid down, her head resting on her paws.

Mattie picked up her knitting, working through a line when the lights in the room dimmed. A second later, alarms rang out announcing the yellow alert and the light above the door turned yellow. Mattie jumped in surprise when Birdie climbed to her feet, barking at the noise that broke through the peaceful room.

"Shush girl!" Mattie berated the dog. Birdie pulled her ears back, casting her brown eyes downward but stopped barking. Mattie patted the dog on the head before heading for the door. She pressed the button that would open it and poked her head out, looking in both directions for any of the X-men but finding none. She stepped back into the room, reaching for the room phone. She held it to her ear but only heard the recorded message that announced that all civilians to remain where they were until further notice.

A bad feeling was growing in her gut and she didn't live this long to ignore it now. Something was happening and she needed to know how it would affect Dawn. With her choice made, she turned to Birdie, "Listen here girl, you protect her. Don' let her out o' sight understand? Stay." Birdie sat down, her ears alert and her eyes searching.

Satisfied, Mattie walked out of the room. She decided to head left and walked about ten feet when she spotted one of the younger mutants, a boy with green skin and a large abnormal arm, Victor she believe his name was, walking at a brisk pace. She called out his name, racing after him.

In the room, the temperature rose by two degrees and the long sought movement waited on by the whole island happened as a finger twitched on Dawn's left hand. A moment later, her eyelids fluttered and a second after that, she opened her eyes and sat up in bed with a gasp. She was panting, a hand pressed over her neck, feeling the rapid pumping of her blood under her fingers. She looked around the room in confusion and with her defenses heightens in a dangerous degree.

Birdie whined at the sudden changed in her master before barking, getting Dawn's attention.

"Birdie?" She climbed off the bed and held open her arms as the dog jumped on her, licking her face, her neck, anywhere her muzzle could reach as she welcomed back her master. "Oh Birdie!" Dawn hugged her dog close, while stroking her fur. "Where are we? What's-"

The alarms fell silent and to Dawn, that made everything worst. She held Birdie tighter, scooting away from the bed and towards the wall, stopping only when she felt it against her back, cool to the touch. This room didn't look like any of the rooms in any of the safe houses in New Orleans or any place nearby. Everything was mixed up in her head. Where was Papa? Wasn't he with her or-did the bad men grab him? Laurie was hurt-hurt so bad. She didn't know what was what and that frighten her. So she fell back to what Papa taught her when she didn't know what to do.

First-she had to protect herself.

She quickly got up and headed towards the door, looking at the mechanisms before pressing the red button. She heard the locks click in place. It seemed strange that she could lock the door so easily but pushed it to the back of her mind. No one can get in now...she hoped.

Second-she had to make sure she was alone.

Obviously she wasn't alone because Birdie is with her. A quick search of the room let her find the hidden camera and disable it. With that done, she went on to step three- make her escape. Whoever had her had managed to grab a few of her things, personal items that were at the mansion and some of Gram's things. They even grabbed a knitting she was working on.

Dawn felt a chill go up her spine. If they had reached the mansion before Gram left then she might-they had grabbed Birdie, who didn't let anyone approach her unless commanded; again strange but she wasn't going to over think this. She needed to leave. She packed up a few things of hers, the ones that she couldn't go without and quickly changed clothes.

"Coming. They're coming. We gotta go Birdie." Dawn said to the dog, tugging on an orange colored jacket. She stood up, her eyes slowly changing from glowing red to golden yellow, like burning infernos against the black. Bright lights started to appear in her closed fists. "They're coming."


"And you're sure dat dis yellow alert will not bring any danger t' Dawn?" Tante Mattie asked Victor.

Victor nodded. "Yeah, this alarm is just to let everyone on the island know that there is an alert, like an alert for bad weather. We're expecting something but it's nothing dangerous. Believe me, if there was something dangerous, the main team would be charging down these halls to Dawn's room. There is no way we'd let anything happen to her." Victor's eyes flashed protectively. He'd protect Dawn with his life, determined to protect her from all the dangers that being a mutant and a kid could bring. Nothing like what happened to him and his friends would happen to her, not if he could stop it.

Tante Mattie nodded, somewhat reassured. She believed him when he said that they'd protect Dawn but she didn't feel like he knew the whole truth behind the alert. But other than trying to get in contact with Remy, she would have to trust him. Thanking him, she walked back to the room.

She pressed the code that would open the door but it beeped and the little light turned red, denying her access.

She frowned and the re-entered the code. It beeped again, the light turning red. She pressed on the door but it remained locked. Heart starting to race, she pressed the code on the keys with force. Again she was denied access. She pounded on the door, and struggled with the handle, pushing on the door with all her strength and failed. It remained locked and unmovable.

"Dawn!" she yelled. "Dawn?" She heard barking through the door, muffled. She pounded on the door again as she saw bright light escape from under the door. "Birdie!" She fought with the door, cursing in Creole before running down the hall to get help.


"I already told you I am fine." Laurie crossed her arms as Gambit gave her a once over. She sat on a bed in Medical, waiting to be released by one of the doctors when Gambit found her. "I am completely healed."

"Let dis old man be de final judge in dat huh?" Gambit asked. Laurie huffed but allowed him this small victory as she held out her hand. He grabbed it and used it as a launching board to give her a through check.

"How did dis happen?" he asked, running his fingers up her arm.

"There was an explosion at a cafe. I was not there when it happened but Megan and Jubilee were. They say a man with a bomb strapped to his chest entered and blew himself up." Laurie explained as Gambit moved from her arms to her shoulders and moved down her torso, poking at a bare part of her clothes; blacken around the edges but smooth skin underneath. "I heard the explosion and went to investigate. It was on fire so I went inside to pull out survivors."

She twitched when he sidestepped her legs and took a look at her back where the fire damage was even worst. The back of her shirt was nearly non existent and he swallowed. Her back was smooth and unblemished, smeared with ash and dried blood. He ran a finger down her back, stopping at the dip of her spine when she winced.

"And here?"

"A beam fell on me. I would have avoided it but there was a small girl on the ground and I moved to protect her. The others found us and pulled the beam off but my spine was broken." Laurie shrugged, her face pained as she moved sore muscles. Gambit stepped back from her, an unreadable expression on his face. "She-reminded me of Dawn. I couldn't leave her there."

He nodded in understanding, rubbing a hand behind his neck before he blew out the air he was unconsciously holding in. He hated feeling worried about Laurie because he knew she could protect herself, could heal from anything, that she was strong and independent but she had almost died a few weeks ago. If it weren't for Dawn-

"Wait, your spine was broken?" Gambit asked surprised, picking up that little tidbit. Usually it took a few hours for her to recover from a serious injury like that. "Then how are you sittin' around like dis?"

"I don't know. I've been noticing that my wounds heal faster than before. It's almost instant now for cuts and minutes for broke bones." Laurie tilted her head to the side. "Do you think it is because of what Dawn did to me?"

"Dat's a good-"

An alarm screech loudly and red lights started flashing. Laurie jumped off the bed and Gambit stood at ready. They've heard this alarm before. Exchanging glances, they ran out of Medical and headed to the stairs, not trusting the elevator to take them where they needed to go.

The smell of smoke was thick as they reached the level where Dawn slept. They pushed open the door, coughing as thick black smoke flowed out of the hallway and into the stairwell. The alarms on this level were ear piercing almost deafening but Laurie pressed forward, her thoughts firmly on Dawn. They drew closer to the room to find that several people had already arrived to put out the fire that seemed to be coming from the room.

"Tante Mattie!" Gambit yelled out, coughing as the smoke filled his lungs. "Mattie!"

"Here!" *cough cough* "I'm here boy!" Gambit and Laurie made their way to the old woman's side, helping her to her feet and away from the heaviest of the smoke. "Oh lord, it's my fault!" she cried, eyes watering from the smoke or her own emotions, they weren't sure.

"Tante? What happened?" Gambit asked, rubbing her shoulders to ease her distress. He hated seeing Tante Mattie so upset.

"De alarms went off for yellow alert. So I left de room t' find someone t' tell me what was goin' on since all I heard was a recording on de phone. I was gone only for a few minutes-" Tante Mattie coughed again. "I came back but de door wouldn't open. I pressed in de code but it wouldn't let me in. I panicked. I ran t' go find help an' den dere was dis loud boom! An explosion followed by dis fire-oh lord Remy if Dawn was hurt..."

"Don' you worry Tante. Dis is Dawn, fire don' hurt her." Gambit reassured the old woman. He could understand how she felt, she was as close to a mother as Dawn could get. If he didn't have Tante Mattie helping him raise Dawn, he would have been lost. "Stay here, I'll go get her and bring her here."

Tante Mattie nodded. Gambit had Laurie stay with her before he headed back to the room where the fire was put out thanks to the arrival of Bobby Drake. Ice lined the walls around the doorway and he was careful with his steps when he entered the room. A quick study of the room let him know that she was gone. And so was Birdie.

He frowned, the furrow in his brow deepening as he headed deeper inside. He only got a few seconds to confirm his suspicions when he heard a voice demand, "What happened here?"

"Fire alarm in Dawn's room." Bobby replied. Gambit looked over his shoulder at the two men and his eyes widen when he saw the remains of the fading superheated glow of melted metal under the ice against the wall where the door was. It appeared as three long slashes across the wall. "It appeared to be an explosion. As you can see, the door didn't survive." Said door was laying across the hall, incased in ice and bent outward, a misshapen piece of metal.

"Be serious." Cyclops said, walking pass him.

"I was being serious." Bobby sulked as he followed Cyclops inside the room.

"Why am I not surprised to see you here?" Cyclops asked Gambit. Gambit shrugged easily. "I don' know homme, I am her Pere after all. Anything dat has t' do wit' Dawn, you know I'll be dere."

"And before you ask; no I wasn't here when dis happened. I was wit' Laurie in Medical, ask de doctors, they'll tell you." Gambit said before Cyclops could open his mouth. "She's not here."

"Dawn is gone?"

"Dat's what I said."

Cyclops nodded, pressing his thumb on the combadge that rested on his chest. "Cypher. Lock down the island. No one in or out and then start a roll call, starting from the Alpha team to the Young X-men. I want Alpha team to start searching the level they're on for Dawn. She's awake and active."

"Sure thing Boss." Cypher's voice replied through the com. He sounded strange, like he was speaking underwater.

"Hey wait a minute! Calm down huh?" Gambit protested, holding his hands up. "You can't lock down de island like dat. You'll only scare her worst then you already are. She'll make it impossible for you t' find her. Let me and Laurie go find her, she'll listen t' us."

"Her powers are active. She might not listen to you." Cyclops stated. "We don't know what condition her mind is in right now and that is dangerous."

"She's a kid. She's probably just scared. Dis isn't some wild mutant on the loose here!" Gambit could feel his anger rise when Cyclops didn't reply. "I don' believe you. You can't do dis!"

"I understand that she's your daughter. I understand that you want to protect her. But you have to take into the account that no matter how kind, how smart or how young she is, she is a mutant. A powerful one at that." Cyclops said choosing his words carefully. "We don't know how her powers work or what sets them off-"

"Sendin' a team after her won' be helpin' her either!"

"Regardless, I have to do what is best of the island. And Dawn. I promise you, no harm will come to her." Cyclops said. "She is important to us."

Gambit growled under his breath, muttering off a list of curses. "Fine. You do it your way. You won' find her." He turned on his heel and started towards Tante Mattie and Laurie who had been watching from a distance. "We'll be at de Professors when you need us." he called back over his shoulder.


The wait was excruciating and tense.

Gambit wanted nothing more than to head out and look for Dawn but it would make things worst...or so Storm said. Ororo had knocked on the Professor's door ten minutes after his confrontation with Cyclops and after she was released from the level she was locked down on. Laurie and Tante Mattie sat one of the two couches while the Professor sat in leather armchair, a book in his hands.

When Gambit appeared at his door with Tante Mattie and Laurie in tow, he knew that one of the worst case scenarios had happened. He let them in and immediately went to work on tracking Dawn's mental signature. He was assaulted with a barrage of voices, emotions, thoughts that forced him to withdraw. So he couldn't pinpoint where she was or how she was but he assured Gambit that she didn't seem to be pain.

A couple of drinks sat in front of them, while Gambit's was untouched, the rest had at some point got refills of theirs. A plate of fancy cookies sat in the middle of the table. Ororo sat on the couch with Gambit, her combadge open to the radio frequency of the Alpha team looking for Dawn.

She had forgiven him for knocking her out and promised to keep the secret about the voices that started coming from Dawn as long as they didn't pose a health risk to Dawn. It was hard for her, as she held an oath of loyalty to Cyclops and the X-men but as Gambit's sister, he held the loyalty of family. Even if he did keep Dawn secret from her. But after he explained everything to her, she understood although she still felt that he was keeping something from her.

Gambit kept secrets because he felt he had too. If this was something that he felt he had to keep it hidden, she would respect his wishes and not pry. She only hoped that he would reveal it to her in time. For now, she kept him company and stopped him and Laurie from charging out of the room. She trusted Cyclops would keep his promise and not harm Dawn.

"How much longer?" Gambit asked, his arms spread wide on the back of the couch, his head laying back as he stared up at the ceiling. It may have looked like he was relaxing, save for his right foot swinging side to side at a fast pace. "He won' find her like dis."

"Cyclops wants to be certain. After all, Dawn is important-" Ororo replied.

"Important to us because she is the first mutant called since M-Day." Gambit echoed with her. She glared at him and he gave her an apologetic smile. "Sorry Stormy, its just I hate dat I can't go find my girl. If he just listened t' me, we would have her now."

"You can't know that." Storm answered.

"It's Dawn." Gambit said firmly. "I know her, inside out. I raised her, believe me, no one knows dat girl better than me."

"And those voices? Do you know them?" Storm asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I-" he opened his mouth before he frowned and closed it with a shake of his head. Storm gave a nod of her victory. "No, I don' know them but if they are a part of Dawn, den maybe it won't be so bad. It can't be as bad as people are thinkin'. And people can imagine de worst things 'bout someone." He knew that only too well. For the longest time, no one bothered to look pass the charming thievin' womanizing front he put up when he first came to the X-men. Bishop, the man from the future, had never given up the idea he was the X-men traitor until Onslaught (and wasn't that a surprise to everyone but himself).

"Someone is at the door." Professor Xavier announced, marking his place in the book before closing it. A second later, there was a doorbell. Laurie was on her feet and headed for the door before anyone. She pulled open the door to reveal Cyclops and Emma Frost. She was out of her diamond form, the first time he's seen it since he was on the island. Of course, he's heard that she only came out of it when she was on missions that were away from Utopia.

"Did you find her?" Laurie demanded, holding the door in her hand, ready to close it if she didn't like the answer she received.

"No." Cyclops replied. Laurie's eyes narrowed and she looked like she was about to say something before she changed her mind and let them in. She walked back to her seat besides Tante Mattie as Cyclops and Emma entered the room, declining a seat or a drink. "The Cuckoos haven't had any luck in tracking her. Wolverine has been having trouble catching her scent because of the smoke. It doesn't look like she is on the island anymore. How that happened, we can't figure out-"

A laugh came from Gambit's direction.

"One of the speedboats has gone missing. Cypher tracked it to a dock not far from the island but it's been abandon." Cyclops stopped when a smile appeared on Gambit's lips. "Is there something amusing Gambit? Dawn is off the island and on her own in the city."

"Sorry homme. Really I am but it's just-I'm glad that she actually paid attention t' de trainin'. Mercy used t' complain 'bout Dawn's short attention span during class." Gambit said, sitting up straighter, thinking of his no nonsense sister-in-law. When he found Dawn, he'll make sure to give her a call and let her know that Dawn has awakened and that they can come visit her.

"Training?" Emma questioned. "Don't tell me that you actually thought that she would be raised to become a thief." She had an amused I-can't-believe-you and You-are-an-imbecile look on her face. That was impressive.

Gambit shrugged. "When in Rome do as the Romans do. If your Pere is King of Thieves, dat makes you a Princess of Thieves. It seemed natural t' train her when we were in New Orleans." And at the sour look on Mattie's face, he had forgotten to mention that fact to her. She wanted Dawn away from all that Guild business. He stood up and stretched, flexing his relaxed muscles. "So you're here t' ask for my help yeah?"

"We came to give you an update but with this new information, that you should have told us beforehand, and a team already assembled-then yes, I've come to ask for your input. You know Dawn better than anyone and if she is training to become a thief, it would be quicker and easier to have you with us." Cyclops conceded. Gambit felt like ribbing him but thought better of it. After all, Scott Summers didn't get this far by making mistakes or refusing to use everything at his disposal. If he felt that Gambit could be of help, then he wouldn't be mistaken. Gambit knew exactly what to do.

"Birdie was gone." Gambit replied. Tante Mattie and Laurie nodded in agreement. They had noticed this as well and had spoken about it while waiting.

"What?" Emma asked puzzled and impatient at the same time. "What does the dog have to do with this?"

"Well, I don' see her wit' you. So dat means you haven't found her. Dat means she's not on de island either." Gambit answered, heading for the door, motioning for them all to follow. "Also, I noticed dat a bag was gone. A black and gray plaid and stars bag. Dat was her emergency bag. With Birdie and dat bag, Dawn is set t' disappear t' anywhere within an hour since she woke up. It's been 30 minutes since dat happened."

"You still haven't answered my question about the dog-"

"Dawn loves Birdie." Gambit stopped walking and faced the group. "I don' mean love, like you love candy or you love your girlfriend. I mean, Dawn LOVES Birdie. If de whole world were to burn t' ashes and she was de last person alive, as long Birdie is wit' her, Dawn would be okay and carry on like nothin' happened. There are only two things in de whole world dat Dawn loves more den me and will never leave behind...ever. Her grandmother's saint necklace, given t' her by Claire when she turned five (which is missing) and Birdie, her constant companion since she was a little girl. Birdie has been with her through everythin', and I mean everythin'. Dawn wouldn't leave anywhere wit'out her."

"She won't make it far." Cyclops pointed out.

"You're kiddin' homme. She's already making her way 'cross de bridge headin' t' Oakland." he scoffed as he turned and continued to walk. "But lucky for you, I have a way t' find her."

They followed Gambit as he headed up to the command room where Cypher was crouched over his screens, his glasses off so that they could all see how bloodshot red and darkly circled his eyes were. Many of the computer screens flashed as they downloaded and pushed their servers to the limit as he continued to search for the meaning of the word-

There were other X-men in the command room, talking among themselves over this new emergency. How was it that a girl had slipped pass all their security? Was she ok? Where did she go? How were they supposed to find her in a city that was full of millions of people? Did Gambit plan this all from the very beginning? It was well known that he didn't want Dawn here but he had done nothing to make it look like he planned on leaving, not with him signing up to teach a class.

"I need a computer." Gambit announced when they were in the room.

"Cypher has command of the computers. He'll search for whatever you need." Cyclops pointed out the blonde haired man sitting in from a large computer screen. Gambit nodded and headed for the man, tapping him on the shoulder when he didn't respond to his call. He frowned and tried again.

"..." Cypher replied.

Gambit raised an eyebrow at the non reply. "Are you okay there homme?"

"Douglas? How long have you been here? You should really take a break?" Storm moved to his side, putting gentle hands on his shoulders. He made to move away from her but it required too much effort so he let her be. After all, she wasn't the first one to notice his strange behavior. A few of the New Mutants had asked him to leave with them but he refused. They sat in a group, chatting amongst themselves while shooting worried glances every now and then.

"Can't. Still searching. Must continue." Cypher mumbled tiredly, resting his chin against his chest, his fingers pressing keys on the keyboard slowly. "I need the meaning-meaning of the word-"

Storm motioned for one of his teammates over and together they pulled him away from the screens. With the command to take him to Medical for much needed rest, Cyclops had Kitty take over his duties for the time being. She sat down, cracking and wiggling her fingers to start the search to find that Gambit had already grabbed a keyboard and started the search. She pouted slightly before looking over at his screen with interest. She was surprised to see that he had pulled up a website that was used by pet owners to track their pets.

"Chipped Tracking, a peace of mind for all pet owners." she read the tagline. She glanced up at Gambit. "You had Birdie microchipped?" she stated happily.

He nodded. "With all de traveling we did, it was practical and really did bring a peace of mind t' Dawn. Plus, it is required in New Orleans t' have your pet microchipped. Dis site is able t' track your pet in all major cities around de world. It de main reason I registered Birdie here. I can track her location and get Dawn's location too." he explained as he logged into the site. He let Kitty take over the rest when he put in Birdie's ID tracker. With her skills, she managed to move their tracking system to Utopia's system in order to get an almost immediate lock.

"There." Gambit pointed out the red light blinking on the screen. "She's stopped." He frowned when he saw where she stopped at. "We need t' get there fast."

"Why?" asked Kitty, confused as she tapped on the keyboard to pull up traffic cams on and around the Oakland Bay Bridge.

"Don' you think it's a bit strange she stopped in de middle of de bridge?" Gambit asked, looking down at the younger woman. "When she should be runnin' as far and as fast as she could?"

"Maybe she's confused." Storm offered up an explanation. "After all, the last thing she remembers is being in New Orleans and San Francisco is vastly different. There could be many options."

"And I think we need to get there fast." Kitty spoke up as she pulled up various screens. They showed the current traffic routes and nearly all of them had vehicles stopped bumper to bumper. The whole bridge was stopped and people were out of their cars, hands waving and yelling. As they switched from camera screen to camera screen, they could see that the traffic jam was spreading outwards to other parts of the city closest to the bridge.

The whole room held their breath as one screen showed Dawn, standing on a railing looking west as Birdie stood below her, barking as behind her people were yelling at each other. A few were looking and pointing in Dawn's direction.

"Alpha team to the Blackbird now." Cyclops ordered the room. "Gambit you're with us. We're heading to grab Dawn before something happens to her. Kitty, you're on coms. Cuckoos you're on Ceberea, keep us informed on any changes on Dawn conditions."

"We'll try Cyclops but we can't get a good read on her." Phoebe answered.

"We get static whenever we try to read her." Celeste replied.

"Then aim for the crowd. They should be a clear sign on the situation around her. Mindee, you're with us." Cyclops added when he saw that Emma had transformed to her diamond form. He knew he would have to have another talk with her about her transforming whenever she was in the same location as Dawn. She danced around his questions earlier but he wouldn't let her drag this out anymore. She was going to become a liability. "We're going to need your telepathy."

"Understood." Mindee said, nodding to her sisters before she followed the team to the Blackbird.

"I want to go." Laurie stated, following the team.

"Out of the question. I have a team already Laura, you're not needed." Cyclops said.

"I am her sister. I am her protector. I will not be denied in her hour of need!" Laurie snarled. A hand grabbed her shoulder and she whirled around, ready for a fight only to stop when she realized that it was Gambit. He offered her a comforting smile and slipped her a card. She looked at it, nodding before stopping, and leaned against the wall to let the others pass by her. She waited until they were pass before she headed in the opposite direction. If things went south on the bridge, she would be the back-up plan and this time, she vowed, she will not fail.

"Cyclops!" Dr. Rao joined the team as they headed down the hall. "I must speak with you."

Cyclops slowed his pace. Dr. Rao was a woman he listened to, even if his attention was on something else. She always had a good reason to speak with him concerning the citizens on Utopia.

"Quickly Doctor."

"Jubilee's gone missing. And her test results have just come back. She's been infected." Dr. Rao stepped aside when Cyclops stopped suddenly.

"Are you certain?" he asked.

"I ran the test twice. Both came back positive." Dr. Rao nodded. She looked worried. "Jubilee will become a vampire in a matter of days. Hours if she succumbs to the bloodlust or if she runs into another vampire to hasten her transformation."

"And she escaped?"

"Yes. When the lockdown was lifted, she left to go to her room but she wasn't there when I checked. No one has seen her since then."

Cyclops nodded. As much as he would like to search for the former mutant and former X-man, they had bigger things to worry about. "Have you checked the others who where involved with the explosion?"

"Yes. Negative all of them."

"Good. We'll concentrate more on the matter when I get back." Cyclops said, dismissing Dr. Rao before he ran to catch up with the rest of the team. Neither noticed the old Cajun woman listening in the shadows, her hand holding onto a silver cross hanging around her neck. When both persons were gone, Tante Mattie stepped out, whispering prayers.

This wasn't good. She would need to call for help. Lucky for her, she knew just who to call.


On the jet, Gambit is sitting up front wondering what made Dawn run away like that. He had taught her to run yes, to hide and take care of herself if she sensed she was in danger but only when she discovered what that danger was. Surely she had saw Birdie with her, that should have eased her fears enough for her to wait until someone showed up. Maybe it was the alarms that frightened her?

He looked out of his window to take in the view, to ease this mind. It is close to evening now and the sun is sinking into the ocean, turning the sky into a firestorm of colors. Golden orange, deep reds and brilliant yellows sparkling off the water and casting shadows in the few clouds floating in the sky. It's beautiful-almost mesmerizing...something is different about it...

He could feel his thoughts start to fade away, slipping into a peace he hasn't felt in a long time. If only he could just stare at this sunset forever! A soft jolt in the jet startled him, normally not such a big deal but he felt his heart pounding and an overwhelming need to take deep breath.

"Mindee! Throw up a psi shield now!" he ordered the blonde girl next to him.

She looked at him in surprise. "Wha-?"

He grabbed her arm. "Now!"

She nodded and closed her eyes, concentrating before she pulled a shield. As soon as she did, she felt a pressure against it and gasped, startled at how heavy and strong it was. Around her she could hear several of the X-men jerk and gasp in surprise as they became aware of themselves.

"What the-?"

"Did you feel that?"

"I-"

"What's going on back there?" Cyclops demanded. He didn't seem to be affected from what struck half his team.

"An attack." Mindee spoke up, opening her eyes. A throbbing in her mind was beginning to form. "Some psychic presence that snuck up on me, I didn't even realize until Gambit spoke up." She groaned as she felt the pressure on her shield increase. "It's strong but unfocused. I can keep it at bay."

"For how long?"

"Until we find Dawn."

Cyclops nodded, turning his attention back to flying. "We'll be there shortly. If you have trouble, have your sisters aid you."

The team settled back into their seats, their focus laser sharp now that they knew they could be influenced by an outside force. The only question was, who was causing it and why? A few others felt their eyes shift back to the sunset, that feeling of being drawn in by its beauty...it was still there but it had faded greatly. It felt like some phantom feeling, like remembering a fond memory from long ago that had lost all its details but the vague notion that it was a good memory.

Mindee groaned, holding her head. "The feeling is getting stronger." She leaned forward in her seat. "I can feel it pressing against the shield."

"Can you hold it?" Cyclops asked.

She looked undecided in her answer. "I can try. It feels like holding back an entire ocean with plexi-glass. It bends and forms but doesn't break. But it will-oh god...!"

"Link up with your sisters. Have them help you." Cyclops ordered. He needed his team shielded from this psychic.

Mindee was panting, shaking her head. "I can't. I'm using all my efforts to keep the shield up. If I reach out to them-"

"Your shield will break." Cyclops finished. This was a dangerous situation to be in. He turned to Emma, who looked upset at what he was about to ask. "Emma..."

"I refuse to let her in." Emma said, crossing her arms under her breasts. "I refuse to let her in!"

"Then don't let her." Cyclops replied. Emma gave him a long, cool look before she dropped her diamond form. She was free now to use her telepathy and with some effort, joined Mindee to hold back the overwhelming psychic presence. Mindee let out a sigh of relief when Emma took over majority of the shielding. With this respite, she then sought out the cause. About this time, the Oakland Bay Bridge was in sight and car headlights glowed in long line across the bridge to both shores and beyond.

"I found it." Mindee said, look of surprise on her face. "I can't believe it but I found it."

"Where is it?"

"There." Mindee pointed to the bridge. "It's over there."

Pieces started to click together as they flew closer to the bridge to see that the bridge wasn't in turmoil like they had seen on Utopia. Instead of the fighting and yelling like before, it was calm and still. There were still people on the bridge but they were standing and facing the sunset, their faces showing awe and peace as if this was the first sunset they've ever seen. The jet made another pass around the bridge as Cyclops and Nightcrawler searched for Dawn.

"There it is." Mindee said. "There she is." She looked back at the team. "It's Dawn. She's send out the psychic presence. It's affecting everyone on the ground."

The jet slowed and lowered enough so that it could hover just above the bridge. No one seemed to care that a massive 5 ton jet was above their heads, instead moving away in a daze to keep the wind from the engines from interrupting their sunset watching.

"All right team, this is it. We go down, grab Dawn and head back to Utopia. She's sending out some kind of psychic blanket that is affecting everyone within her reach-whether she realizes it or not, is up for discussion later but for now, I want you to treat her with utmost care." Cyclops ordered the team, opening the hatch at the bottom of the jet. Nightcrawler would keep the jet in the air, Emma and Mindee would keep the shield up and the rest of them would go out. Cyclops looked at Gambit. "You get to see her first. Talk to her and try to get her to drop this."

Gambit nodded, grateful that Cyclops would give him this chance. Storm wrapped her arms around his waist and together, they floated down to the bridge with the rest of the team following. They landed among the crowd, careful to avoid jolting them out of this daze they seem to be in. It could end badly if they were suddenly jarred out of whatever psychic hold Dawn had on them. Gambit stopped the team when he spotted Dawn, standing on the railing like the computer screen showed them. Birdie was sitting below her, her tail wagging in joy when she spotted Gambit. She ran up to him.

"Birdie." Gambit bent and patted the dog, ruffling her fur and allowing a few licks in before shushing her. Birdie followed him as he made his way to Dawn, trying to think of something to say when she spoke.

"You see it don't you?" Dawn asked when he was close enough. "Tell me you see it please."

Remy looked towards the sunrise. It was a beautiful display of pale blues, bright orange and dark yellows, casting shimmering gold reflections off of the water below. But he had a feeling that isn't what she was talking about. The way her eyes glistened knew he hit the point on the head. "I see something over there." he said honestly. From the way her breath hitched, he knew that wasn't the answer she was looking for.

"I was running to the safe house with Birdie when I looked west. And stopped. I could see it, like swirling waves of color against the blue of the sky. Every time I looked away and continued to run, I would stop after a few steps because it was so beautiful. People were stopping to look too. Cars would slow to a stop, evening runners slowed to a walk before stopping completely. We all stopped to look at the sky because it was different."

"And you can't see it." Dawn was crying now, although she didn't seem to realize it as she turned back to the setting sun. "They changed the sky and you can't see it. Because our skies aren't the same anymore. You don't see it the way I do and-and it hurts because I want to share everything with you but I can't share this because I don't know how our skies are different to fix it. I'm different now." She said that last part as a statement. Remy walked to the railing, wanting to reach out and take her in his arms but she needed this time to come to terms with this change on her own. She needed to accept this part of herself.

"We're all different Dawnie. It's just a matter of allowing ourselves to adjust and accept it while remaining true to ourselves." Remy said, leaning against the railing next to her, looking at the sunset. "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."

It was a familiar quote. One that Tante Mattie often said and had Remy, Laurie and Dawn repeat time and time again. It was from Eleanor Roosevelt, a woman who had done wonders in her lifetime and one woman that Dawn admired because amazingly enough; it was someone her Mum had greatly admired.

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.

Even if she was different now, she was still Dawn.

She closed her eyes and let out a long sigh before she turned and jumped down from the railing. She hugged Remy, pressing her face against his chest as he put his arms around her shoulders. He held her, stroking her hair as she relaxed against him. She was safe now. The air around her shimmered and he could feel her powers ebb away from the crowd.

Around her the people who were stopped to watch the sun started moving around, as if waking up from some daydream. But instead panicking like Remy thought would happen, they continued on doing what they were doing before stopping. As if stopping traffic to a standstill to watch the sun set was a completely normal thing to do. They didn't even seem to notice the X-men standing on the bridge or the jet hovering next to the bridge.

"Feel better?" he asked her. Dawn pulled back, wiping her arm across her eyes and she nodded.

"I was afraid. But I'm not anymore. You came for me." Dawn gave him her best smile, though it still held a tint of sadness in it, he ignored it because he knew she was getting better. "You always come for me."

"And don' you forget it." Remy said, ruffling her hair.

"This isn't New Orleans. Are we in California?" Dawn asked as she took Remy's hand in her own. She paused when she finally noticed the X-men behind him. "Who are they? Are they nice people?"

"We're getting along." Remy replied, leading her towards the group. "Dawn, dis is de X-men."

Dawn's eyes widen in awe. "wow." she said quietly.

A grin spread across her face. "You're the superheroes the whole world hates and despise for just existing!" she announced cheerfully.

There was a choked sound from somewhere in the group. "W-what?"

"Papa has told me so much about you guys! He said that even when the odds are against you, you still go out to face the bad guys because that's what heroes do. No matter what he said. You saved the world so many times!" Dawn giggled. "Oh I wish I had my book with me, cuz then I can get autographs. Jessia will be so jeal-!"

Dawn turned towards Remy and tugged on his coat hard. "Jessia!" Her voice was pitched high in fear and urgency.

"She's fine. She's safe at home in New Orleans." Remy answered, putting a hand on Dawn's head. He could see that everything was starting to catch up to her. She didn't know that it's been weeks since she fell into a coma. To her, the attack in New Orleans was practically yesterday.

"There was so much blood. And screaming and fire. So much fire." Dawn's voice became soft, her eyes glazing over as she remembered what happened. "Bad men came. Bad men. They called me monster, devil and evil-"

"Dawn, look at me cherie." Dawn's eyes shifted over to his, looking deep into his own. "Don' you listen t' those men. Men like dat are weak an' not worth your time. You understand? Dey beneath you."

Dawn nodded. "I know Papa. No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."

"Dat's my girl." Remy smiled and stood up to face the X-men, holding Dawn's hand. "Now, let me you show you a place that superheroes live. We're going t' live dere now."

Dawn looked up at him in surprise. "We are?"


AN: Thanks to everyone for the reviews and faves and story alerts! I hope you've enjoyed this chapter! And get ready for the next one which will be filled with action, vampires and the unveiling of Dawn's powers!

Til next time! \(^0^)/