Disclaimer: Currently achieving intermediate-plus status in hacking… rest of information classified…
A/N: Nice. It's only been like three weeks since my last update, an amazing accomplishment. I'm proud of myself, and this chapter, so I hope you enjoy!
"…"- conversation
'…'- thoughts
(…)- extra facts/actions (some)
((…))- author's/my own thoughts
'blah…' -telepathy/what people say mentally
Chapter 62: Reunification
Outside Hallway #29, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 17, 4:05 AM
As Rogue's group raced towards Xavier's cell (Lucas had commented that it was on the other side of the asteroid, upsetting the entire group who'd just spent hours running around the byzantine complex of hallways), she couldn't help but think about the odds of winning the upcoming battle. 'Ah'm not so sure if Lance, Kitty, Wanda, John, Remy, and Ah are goin' ta be able to defeat Apocalypse. Ah mean, Ah haven't even found tha last god and goddess! Ah can only hope that Remy's found 'em; otherwise, Ah don' know how much of a chance we have, and considerin' tha' it took the combined strength of the Brotherhood, X-Men, X-Factor, Morlocks and Acolytes ta defeat 'im last time, it's gonna be tough.'
Rogue was interrupted from her thoughts when her now eagle-trained eyes zoomed in on the edge of an eerily familiar trench coat, which flapped in a nonexistent breeze from around the next corner. Grinning, she motioned with her head to her group that the others were dead ahead, feeling the rush of emotions that resulted from this announcement. She then begun to run faster, the clacking of her boots muffled due to her powers wanting to be the first around the corner to surprise the trench coat's owner. As she spun around the corner she leapt into the air and tackled Remy, landing on his back with such force that he stumbled forward a few steps almost losing his balance. For good measure (and because she felt that she had to do it) she covered his eyes with her hands, grinning.
"Mon Dieu, what was dat?" Remy exclaimed causing pairs of curious eyes to turn in his direction. Upon on feeling the touch of a hand on his face, he smirked. Accessing his copy-cat ability, he shifted his molecules so that Rogue phased right through him but then made himself tangible to catch her in time before she hit the floor. Seeing Rogue glaring up at him, the emerald eyes that he was so in love with glittering he commented, "Did Remy's chère miss him?"
Rogue flipped Remy off as she quickly freed herself from Remy's hold. Brushing off her bomber jacket as if she had just come out of a dust-storm, she replied, "'Course not, Cajun. What would give yah tha' idea?" She sent him a small smile that told him otherwise, his grin widening to encompass his whole face at the exchange.
The pairs of curious eyes had by now gotten the rest of Remy's group to focus on the show taking place and all of the gathered mutants (and one Sorceress) had chuckled. After a minute, though, they had realized exactly whom they were seeing and many of them – mostly the X-Factor team – began planning ways to blackmail the Southern couple in a tried and true method of slipping out of the required chores that came with living at the Xavier Institute. Then their thoughts began wondering as to the distinct possibility of their captured teammates and friends heading their way. Remy had mentioned, after all, that he and Rogue had split up to save their compatriots, each taking a number of hallways and cells. Therefore, the chance that the missing mutants were just around the corner was too enticing a possibility to miss. As one, Remy's group began moving to look around the corner when the sound of running feet was heard. Careening around the corner in a mess of arms and legs, the missing mutants appeared, with Lucas Haller in the lead.
Lucas stopped and, glancing around, sensed that a lot of talking was going to erupt any moment as the two groups reunited. Thinking that it was the least he could do for Rogue's saving him from himself, he closed his eyes and as his aura flared a pale purple an invisible telepathic dome was erected. The dome would prevent anyone from hearing or seeing them in the hallway, and considering that Apocalypse and his remaining Horsemen were still at large, that was a good thing. Rogue nodded in thanks as Remy slung an arm around her shoulders, whispering with her furiously as to what he had found and, in some cases, not found.
Lance and Kitty, having taken up positions against a steel wall now found themselves feeling self-conscious at their new looks. So, in order to allay fears that no, they hadn't been turned evil, yes, they were still good and, no, Todd, they weren't aliens of any sort they told the second group what had happened. While this took place, the Brotherhood quietly apologized to Lance for believing that he had abandoned them for any reason; if he hadn't done so for so long, then why in the hell would he start now? The Brotherhood's guilt was so overwhelming that Lance and Kitty were able to smell it; therefore, it took them a good ten minutes to pound it into Lance's teammates' heads that they were not to blame for anything that had happened; not at all.
Unlike the Brotherhood, who eventually accepted Lance and Kitty's new looks with a heavy amount of trepidation, Kitty's students and Lorna didn't think much of her new look, all of them more used to seeing their teammates morph into different states at various times during the days, weeks, months, and so forth than the Brotherhood and Acolytes were.
"My stars and garters, they're all alright," Hank commented, relief evident in his voice and on his face. Logan and Ororo looked up from their private and whispered conversation eyes alert. They had isolated themselves from the rest of the group in order to talk about what had transpired in the hallway when Ororo had been saved... not that Logan had really wished to get into it. Ororo, on the other hand, had practically dragged him away from Hank to talk. Now, however, they looked up at their colleague's words and their eyes widened. Both were relieved to see that Rogue was safe (though, Logan could feel his claws itching to be released as he glimpsed the Cajun's arm around the young woman he considered a daughter), as were the rest of the mutants that she had rescued. However, when Logan caught sight of Erik, he lost his temper. Growling, he unsheathed his claws and marched towards the magnetic-wielder, an irate Ororo on his tail. Those in the Wolverine's way instantly moved backwards, creating an effect similar to the parting of the Red Sea in the Bible.
Erik looked up at the silence that had suddenly encompassed the hallway and, smiling weakly turned to face the shorter man. Offering a hand and a weak grin, he said, "Would you believe that I am on your side, Wolverine?" Rather than shake his hand (not that Erik believed Wolverine would ever do something like that) Wolverine pinned the older man to the wall, claws an inch from his jugular vein. He gulped nervously; this was not going the way he had thought it would.
"Sure, and I'm the Tooth Fairy," Logan snarled, using one of his favorite sarcastic phrases. Lance, who'd walked up when he saw Wolverine heading Magneto's way snorted, knowing that the phrase was Logan's way of saying hello. Logan was just preparing to push his claws into Erik's neck when he felt the hair on the back of his neck rise.
"Shit," he muttered, swinging his head around just in time to see the pure white eyes of Storm. "Ro, calm down –" Logan never got to finish as a streak of electricity was sent into his body, his adamantium skeleton acting as a closed circuit and allowing it to travel at the speed of sound from one body part to another. If not for his healing factor, Logan would have died the moment the electricity impacted his body.
As this took place, the rest of the gathered mutants watched in shock, mouths open. Evan could only stare on in wonder, never imagining that his aunt would willingly do that to someone whom he knew she cared about a good bit.
After a few minutes, Ororo stopped the attack and stepped back a step, her eyes returning to their normal shade of blue. She crossed her arms and waited for Logan to turn around and face her, which he did as expected, the movement allowing for Erik to drop to the ground in a heap, face gradually regaining color as he was saved from almost certain death.
"Why did ya do that for, 'Ro?! I had him pinned; I had him where I've always wanted him! Damn it, why?" Logan snarled, retracting his claws as he turned to face Ororo, the words almost sounding like a... well, a whine. The rest of the mutants were watching the scene with baited interest, having never seen them fight like this. Usually fights broke out between Scott and Logan, Hank and Forge, Logan and Hank, Logan and Forge, Logan and Scott, or Scott and Jean; in other words, between every other adult except for Xavier, and certainly not Logan and Ororo. It'd never been conceivable enough to imagine the two adults fighting but here, in plain sight, was evidence that the two most certainly had their own views on things.
Ororo, eyebrow arched replied, "I trust him, Logan. If Rogue trusted him enough to bring him with her then he is on our side. If you try to harm him again, I will not be so lenient again. Is that understood?" Logan crossed his arms and, turning away jerked his head in the affirmative. Satisfied, Ororo turned to Erik, who had been watching the exchange with curious eyes. "Magneto, is it true that Apocalypse is back?"
Erik started at being spoken to and, straightening up to his full height replied, "My dear Storm, I am afraid that it is true. He is back and has his Horsemen, all of them ready to do his bidding. However, beyond that knowledge I know nothing." Erik frowned at this; he had been sure that he knew more than what he had just identified, considering that he had been forced to work closely with the ancient Egyptian mutant for years now. 'I am one hundred percent positive that I knew the identities of the four Horsemen, yet when I attempted to think about them I receive nothing but blackness and bright lights. Could it be that my memories have been deliberately tampered with in order to prevent my revealing anything? It is certainly possible, but how? When?'
Ororo turned back to Logan and, arching an eyebrow once more signaled that she expected him to apologize for his abrupt and unfounded attack on the Master of Magnetism. In reply, Logan growled, telling Ororo that he wouldn't do it. However, when he caught her eyes beginning to go white once more he sighed and grudgingly said, "Didn' almost mean to gut ya. Just stay away from me and we'll be fine." Logan then marched back to his place on the wall, Erik watching him go with a raised eyebrow with Ororo sighing in acceptance. That was probably as good of an apology as Magneto was going to get.
"Did Logan just apologize to Magneto?" Scott whispered to Hank, who nodded, shocked also at the display. Hank then smiled, revealing a small fang when he realized the reason that Logan had even backed down at all while Scott remained flabbergasted, the younger mutant not seeing the connections that Hank had seen for years now.
Ororo nodded at Erik in welcoming and, looking behind him, finally saw the rest of the rescued mutants from Rogue's group, amongst them the rest of the Brotherhood and Acolytes.
"It is good to see that all of you are alright; I was afraid that something had happened to you all." She inclined her head to show the Brotherhood and former Acolytes that she included them in her welcome and, smiling at them proceeded to walk towards where Logan was stationed. The clawed-mutant was currently muttering strings of curses, profanities and threats of varying natures while examining his claws, which were gleaming brightly in the hallway's dim lighting.
Alex, meanwhile, had taken it upon himself to search through Rogue's group for his girlfriend, whom he desperately missed. As he ducked underneath Lucid's arm (he was reaching towards Torpid, who had taken off running for Evan upon glimpsing him) he caught the barest edge of bright green hair. Standing up on his toes, he yelled, "Lorna!" He then ran towards her, excited that she was safe and sound.
Lorna, who had been talking to Pietro and Wanda about any item that caught her interest in an effort to get to know them, started on hearing her name yelled. Turning around, she saw Alex running towards her and, gasping, did the same. She reached him first and tackled him so hard that he fell to the ground, she landing on top of him. Erik glared at this but didn't do anything, knowing that it was not his place to do so. Later, however, he'd be talking with the younger Summers' brother about his intentions for Lorna… yes. Later was best.
Alex hugged Lorna to him, afraid that if he let go she'd vanish. As Lorna helped him to his feet, he crushed her to him again in yet another hug, sighing in relief. His girlfriend was safe and sound in his arms, his brother was fine and all of his team was together again… wait a minute. He pulled back from Lorna and asked, "Did you guys find Roberto?"
Lorna started, having not thought of the Brazilian mutant. She shook her head and replied, "No, I assumed that you'd all found him. You mean that he isn't with you?" When Alex shook his head in the negative, she groaned and slapped a hand to her head, muttering, "Just great. We so needed this like we needed a kick in the ass."
Alex chuckled and dryly replied, "We already got the last part, Lor." His smile then faded from his face and he continued, "We need to go and tell Bobby that Roberto's still missing. He needs to know." Lorna nodded and with Alex's arm on her shoulder, they walked over to where the rest of their team was standing, talking among themselves, the X-Sword team next to them, reveling in having found each other once more. The squeals from the rest of the X-Factor women told the story of the excitement running through their ranks now that they had another member back with them, safe and sound.
The Morlocks were by themselves, Lucid having dragged the rest of his small group of misfits over to Evan and Callisto to talk strategy. Meanwhile, Torpid was quickly relating to them how she had helped free Fred, how she'd convinced Lucid and Caliban to help Rogue (who was now one of her new best friends) battle Apocalypse. Dorian and Artie were ecstatic that their best friend Torpid was fine and were itching to tell her all about Jaime and his help and some useful pranking tips, all of which they were planning to play on Caliban and blame Evan... again. Leon had stealthily maneuvered his way over to where Todd was, scaring the amphibian mutant with a tap on the shoulder and, as a result, had been grabbed up in a group hug by the Brotherhood as a welcome back; Opal merely waved in greeting.
Wanda saw a flash of midnight blue hair out of the corner of her eye and, grinning, nudged Pietro, who looked at her angrily, having been focusing on his father, wary that he had an ulterior motive for joining "the good guys". "There's Lexie, Pie. Better go and see her before Wolverine sees you." Giving him a wink (something she never did and, if he was honest with himself freaked him out something fierce), she moved over to where Lance, Kitty, Rogue, and Remy were. The orange-haired pyro St. John followed her, the sound of a clicking lighter bringing a familiarity to the two mutants. Pietro glared at John's back as he followed Wanda, incensed when he saw the man's arm drape itself across Wanda's shoulder and shocked when she moved closer to him in reply.
Pietro continued to glare at the couple for a moment before remembering Lexie. Muttering curses against himself and his stupidity he sped through the large gathering of mutants to where Lexie was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, seemingly listening to her team's discussion on battle tactics. He stopped next to her and laid a hand on her shoulder, causing her to jump in surprise and unsheathe her claws.
"Pietro," she whispered in shock as she took in the image of her boyfriend in front of her. Quickly retracting her claws, she jumped at him, catching him off guard. Pietro wrapped his arms around her, not caring who saw them. Lexie just stayed in his arms, feeling safe in Pietro's strong arms, the smell of his cologne calming her somewhat frazzled nerves. Yes, she got nervous, but not so much that she'd have a panic attack like Jubilee had had once when Bobby hadn't checked in during a mission in the Argentinean Jungle for a few days. She didn't notice her team watching them with open mouths, the Brotherhood doing the same. Those who knew (aka, the six gods and goddesses) grinned at each other, smirked a mile wide on each of their faces. They'd known all along about their friends being an item, but had kept the secret for not only Pietro and Lexie's sakes, but theirs as well. Being alive was better than being dead.
Jean, who had been sulking in a corner, upset that she had been usurped in her role as leader by mutants less experienced then her and their ill-mannered significant others saw Pietro and Lexie together and gasped. Running over to Scott, who was talking to Moira and Sean about just why they had been captured and thrown into cells on the asteroid, she exclaimed, "Quicksilver and Lexie are together!" Scott turned to her and stared, facial expression clearly communicating that he wasn't overly concerned with what his wife was telling him. He then turned back to Sean to finish his conversation but Jean didn't like this.
When Jean tried yet again to prove her point, Scott turned to her and responded, "I don't care right now, Jean! We have a battle to get through first and until that's done, nothing else matters!" He then went back to his conversation with Sean again, hoping that he'd made his point clear enough. In doing so, he left a shocked Jean in the wake of his words, and, hopefully, a thoughtful Jean who'd think through her options before opening her mouth again to badmouth another mutant.
Pietro and Lexie pulled out of their hug and Lexie was surprised when Pietro suddenly draped an arm over her, in public, where both their fathers could see (and boy, she knew that her father had seen the movement, as growling could be heard emanating from the burly mutant). He proceeded to pull her away from her shocked teammates to an unoccupied section of the steel wall, still within the boundaries of Lucas' dome. As he did so, he leant down and whispered, "I was worried about ya, Lex. I was afraid I'd lost my girl." Lexie didn't reply, too shocked to say anything to Pietro's words, the first she had ever heard from him that related to a commitment to a long-term relationship; then again, she was the same, having never really had one before. She merely placed a kiss on his cheek in thanks, deciding that if he could showcase their relationship in public she could do the same. In doing so, he looked at her, beyond shocked at her actions. Lexie merely smirked at him, her eyes telling him what she couldn't place in words.
Meanwhile, Rahne had also broken off from her team and had started to look for Roberto; therefore, it was understandable that she was surprised when she caught sight of Sean and Moira talking to Scott. Running over, she pushed the X-Men's leader aside roughly and pounced on her adoptive mother, hugging her tightly. "Moira! Ay didnae know tha' ye were here. If Ay had, Ay would have rescued ye!"
Moira hugged Rahne back, tears falling down her face as she replied, "Ay thought tha' ye were seriously hurt, Rahne. Ay wasn't sure if ye were even alive, and now tha' Ay know tha' ye're safe and sound Ay feel a heavy burden comin' off my shoulders." They stayed that way for a few moments, reveling in the physical contact that set their frazzled consciences at rest. Rahne then broke her hug with Moira to give Sean his own, which he warmly returned. Sean knew that the happiness he felt at being reunited with Moira was intensified because he could now say that his soon-to-be stepdaughter was safe and sound. If honest with himself, he thought of Rahne as his own flesh and blood, despite the facts that he and Moira weren't even wed yet and Rahne was, legally, Moira's adopted daughter.
Rahne pulled away and, wiping the stray tears from her eyes looked around the gathered mutants, eyes narrowed. She looked at Moira and asked, "Have ye seen Roberto? Ay cannae find him anywhere!"
Erik, who'd been walking around the gathered mutants (and, as a result, further away from an incensed Wolverine) just happened to hear her request and stopped, his mind churning. Something was returning to him. He moved over to Rahne and placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to wheel around in surprise. She barred her teeth, shifting into her werewolf form quickly; she hadn't seen or heard the interaction between Erik, Logan, and Ororo earlier and her instincts were telling her that this man was dangerous and powerful, meaning that he was a threat that had to be negated.
"Do not fear me, Wolfsbane. I think I know what happened to your Roberto," Erik said softly, hoping to instill a small amount of trust in the were-mutant. However, his voice ended up being loud enough to catch the attention of Lance and Kitty. The two looked at each other and, nodding, pushed their way towards the gathering of mutants; the movement caused the rest of those present to turn their attention to Lance and Kitty. On their heels, John, Wanda, Remy, and Rogue followed, garnering even more attention. Lance, having decided to once more take charge of the Brotherhood and, in the process, show Magneto that he now outranked him crossed his arms, his claws threatening to grow longer without his express permission did so. He stared at Erik, his wings folded in front of him, eyes holding coldness to them that Erik never knew Lance had in him.
"So, you have more information that you didn't give us earlier, is that right?" Lance asked, his tail moving behind him in an angry rhythm, outmatched only by the furious expression in Lance's eyes. Erik gulped; never had he imagined that Lance would be alive and staring him down... and actually winning. However, never one to back down, Erik steeled his expression and defended himself.
"Earlier, Avalanche, my memory banks were unresponsive and, in many cases, inaccessible. I had no clear recollection of whom Apocalypse had chosen to be his Horsemen. However, when Wolfsbane mentioned her "Roberto" my memories began to clear up until I saw the four of them in a line, all with wicked looks on their faces." Here Erik paused, wondering if he should tell them who the Horsemen were, or if it was wise to do so. However, when Wanda stepped up beside Lance and glared at her father he relented, noting how weak he was now when it came to his children, something he would not have accepted years ago. Now, oddly enough, he welcomed it.
Erik opened his mouth to reply to his daughter's nonverbal suggestion that he stop "beating around the bush" and tell what he knew when Kitty stepped in front of him, eyes alert. Erik watched, fascinated, as she moved her now pointed ears around, picking up on the auditory waves from approaching footsteps.
"We need to go inside the Professor's cell, and quickly. Someone's coming our way." Lance did his own surveillance and agreed with Kitty's words, his look telling Erik that they'd finish the conversation about Apocalypse's Horsemen later.
Looking at each other, then at Remy and Rogue, Kitty said, "Listen: we need to split into three groups so that no one is left out here as a scapegoat. After we dismantle the shield on the door, I'll take in the first group of mutants; Remy will take the second and Rogue the third. We need to move quickly before our unexpected guests arrive. Lucas, if you would be so kind?"
Lucas nodded and, motioning everyone to be quiet, he dismantled his soundproof dome so he'd have full access to his powers and moved towards the door. However, just as he was about to fire one of his energy beams; Erik laid a hand on his shoulder and shook his head no. Lucas stared at him, eyes flashing until Erik tersely explained, "This cell is only accessible by myself or anyone whom I have commanded to allow inside with me. Anyone else who tries to get inside will be burned to a crisp. Allow me." Erik then moved towards the door, his hands at his sides. Just when he was a mere inch away from the shield that guarded it he brought up a hand and, putting it on the shield said, "I am Magneto, Master of Magnetism, and I hereby give you a portion of my power so that you may allow myself and all of my compatriots access to this hallway." Erik narrowed his eyes and sent a blast of magnetic energy at the shield, which caused it to sputter and fade until it was nonexistent.
Everyone watched him with shock, not having expected this kind of challenge for the last hallway. When Erik turned to them and nodded at Kitty, signifying that it was safe to continue, she shot him a small smile before turning to the mutants. Mentally, she told the large gathering to quickly arrange themselves into three groups to be led into the hallway.
When done, Kitty noticed with amusement that the mutants had spilt into their teams or stayed with those they knew best. Her group contained Lance, Lucas, Warren, Betsy, and the X-Sword team, the latter of which was looking nervous, not at all sure if they could take on Apocalypse and live to tell the tale. Remy had Wanda, John, the Brotherhood, Acolytes, Amanda, and the rest of the elder X-Men, with Jean still pondering just what her husband had meant, exactly, while Logan and Ororo were once more at the end of the group, talking quietly with each other. From her viewpoint, it seemed that Ororo had a light blush on her cheeks, with Logan grinning. It was obvious to the phaser that her clawed instructor had placed the blush on Ororo's face and was damn proud of his accomplishment; the grin told the tale
Finally, Rogue had all of the X-Factor team, Sean, Moira, Forge, and the Morlocks, the latter with Rogue because of Torpid's insistence and Evan's silent plan to give his aunt and Wolverine more time together. Forge was glaring at Logan's back, not at all happy to see that Ororo was slowly but surely falling for Wolverine, knowing that she should be falling for him.
Kitty then motioned everyone to be quiet and as she explained the process mentally, she took Lance's hand. Tugging on it, she took a deep breath and dove into the door, sending her power down the line of mutants. She phased her group through the door successfully, communicating her excitement mentally to the other two group leaders. Remy and his group followed, with most of his group in shock at the fact that Remy could phase. Rogue's group was last and though everyone made it safely, Evan later confided that he had had to threaten Callisto and the rest of the Morlocks (read: Lucid and Caliban) to touch X-Factor's outstretched hands. Only the threat of death spurred the Morlocks into action, something which Evan wasn't pleased to have experienced.
Once everyone was inside of the hallway, Erik stepped up to the door and reversed the process from earlier. A hum of power was soon heard, stronger than before with the order that only Erik was allowed to enter the hallway; no one else was allowed, especially not Apocalypse. The extra power was shielded by the use of a power level monitor, which Erik set at the same level as previously to stave off suspicions. The gathered mutants then turned their attention to one of the most important tasks left to complete: rescue Professor Charles Xavier.