X-Men Fan Fiction ❯ Origins ❯ Chapter 25 ( Chapter 25 )

My apologies for the delay between the last chapter and this one.  My muse went on vacation, RL has been overwhelming and my interest in writing is beginning to wane.  But, I plan to finish all my WIPS if nothing happens, and perhaps even some stories that have been started but not yet posted. 

Should I even continue posting the story here on MM.org?  There doesn’t seem to be much interest.  *shrugs*

Here be action, or what I hope passes as some decent action.  Hope you enjoy!

See warnings, disclaimers, and notes in initial chapters

Words between / / are thoughts or mental speak
Words between * * are flashbacks
Words between ~ ~ are lyrics to any songs that may be used in the fic

When several days had passed without any sign of Magneto, Remy’s anxiety leveled out and he felt a small wave of relief.  He knew that eventually the man would do something – after all, Erik had threatened as much in their last conversation.  When he told the master of metal that he was close, it wasn’t exactly a lie.  Though he had only tried a couple of times to access the computer files, it hadn’t taken him long to get to the files he needed, even with the heavy encryption.  The fact that he had not copied those files or tried again to retrieve them was an action that Remy wasn’t ready to analyze.

There was a tension in the air regardless.  He and Logan came together at night and rode the waves of passion between them, each losing himself in the other until the early morning hours.  Always, Remy made sure their couplings took place in Logan’s room, so that he could flee in the mist of post coital bliss, leaving the feral confused with a steadily growing sense of hurt each time.  But, Logan didn’t question and simply let the boy go hoping the Cajun would figure out what he needed from their arrangement.  The feral had made it clear that he wanted to explore a relationship with the boy and Remy was, for the first time, at a complete loss on how to deal with a lover.  There was also the issue with the Mississippian.  She had yet to look him in the eyes whenever they happened in the same room together or over the dinner table among all the other team members.  Her discomfort in his presence sent twinges of guilt through him every time.  Given the fact that the girl was important to Logan, not to mention the need to ease his own remorse over the actions he had taken with her several nights earlier, Remy decided he needed to sit her down and actually talk about what happened.

Such a thing might take place sooner rather than later, he thought uneasily as he made his way to the Professor’s office after being mentally summoned.  A growing sense of dread filled him as he saw Rogue step out from Xavier’s office.  She glanced up at him, her eyes widening with surprise and wariness before she returned her downcast gaze to the rug beneath her feet.  Her emotions attacked him like a ravenous beast, sending wave upon wave of anger, hurt, shame, guilt, lust, confusion – a veritable gamut of feelings that had him seeking out the sturdy walls to his right to steady himself as his knees weakened.  It was will-power alone that kept him standing and staring at her as she quickly rushed past, her cheeks blazing a bright flame red and the heat of desire radiating from her.  He thought he heard her murmur an apology as she skirted around him, but the ringing in his ears as his head swam under the onslaught made all sound fuzzy.  Remy tried some of the techniques the Professor and Logan had been teaching him to help control his powers, but he had not yet shared knowledge of this particular power and could not expect their techniques to be as successful in controlling it.  As much as he wanted to blame them for failing to help him as they had promised, he knew it was unfair to do so.  After all, how could they expect to give him solutions to a problem they knew nothing about? 

With a great effort, he managed to bring his mind under control.  He could still feel the girl, as well as many of the other team members scattered through the building, but it was tolerable for the moment and wouldn’t distract him from the task at hand – to keep his shields at full force as he faced the telepath.  Remy gritted his teeth and knocked on the wooden door leading into the man’s office; waiting for verbal acknowledgement before entering.  He moved warily across the carpet, like a lithe cat stalking prey, before settling almost soundlessly in the leather chair facing the older man.  Xavier merely watched him through steepled hands, assessing the boy as he usually did whenever they met.  There was a tense silence between them, neither appearing ready to break the staring war in which their eyes seemed to be engaged.  Finally, the Professor sighed and lowered his eyes as he laid his forearms flat on the desk; arms crossing as he rested a palm on each bicep.

“I have been noticing Rogue’s odd behavior in regards to you as of late.”  He paused, brow furrowed as if he were attempting to solve a puzzle.  “I called her into my office to find out what was wrong and see if she needed help.”  Glancing up at the boy, he continued.  “The last thing I want is for any of my charges to spiral into a potential depression, particularly Rogue.”  The Professor turned an expectant gaze towards the young man, frowning in disappointment at the blank look he received.  He resisted the urge to sigh.  “Perhaps you can tell me what may have happened between you two?”

Absolutely nothing was revealed as Gambit continued to stare at the man.  As evenly as possible, he answered.  “Don’ know wha’chu talkin’ ‘bout.”

Xavier tried again.  “Surely something transpired to have her acting so strangely.  It’s almost as if she is afraid.”  The unspoken ‘of you’ hung in the air between them.

“Hn.” Came the Cajun’s reply.  “Say again, don’ know wha’chu talkin’ ‘bout, homme.” 

Remy could feel anger spike in the older man and he shifted in his chair uncomfortably under the intense scrutiny.  Suddenly, the emotions he felt from the telepath changed into a sense of calm, and it worried Remy even more as he watched the older man relax in his chair. 

“Rogue’s powers are such that she absorbs not only the mutant power of others, but also parts of their psyche – personality, memories, that sort of thing as I’m sure you are already very aware.”  The Professor was speaking as if talking about the weather instead of a student.  “Now, you would think that would cause her mind to be a melting pot of undecipherable chaos, and to some extent it is, but, you see, her mind is unique in that it can order the personalities she absorbs to keep her from losing her mind – yet another part of her mutant gift.” 

The Cajun frowned.  Why was the older man telling him this?  “Wait, Professeur.  You really t’ink you should be sharing dis wit’ me?  I t’ought you took some kinda hypocrite promise or somet’ing.”

Xavier smiled, an upturning of his lips that didn’t quite reach his eyes.  “A Hippocratic oath….yes, if I were a medical doctor, a practicing psychologist, or psychiatrist, then it would be a highly unethical breach of patient-doctor confidentiality.”  His smiled disappeared as he once again pinned the Cajun with his gaze.  “But, I’m not.”  After a brief pause in which Remy could hear himself swallow hard, the Professor continued on as if he hadn’t been interrupted.  “With all that capability her mind seems to have to sort and store, it should be virtually impossible to accurately read her mind.”  Xavier cocked his head to the side, resting it on his fist as the fingers of his other hand thrummed the desk beneath it.  “Now, the interesting thing about Rogue is that it is completely the opposite of what you expect.  Instead of shielding, her mind broadcasts many of her thoughts to any telepath in her immediate vicinity.  Very.  Loudly.  Even a low level telepath wouldn’t have to work too terribly hard to read her thoughts.  I suspect it has something to do with her age – her mutancy is still developing.  No matter how hard Jean, Betsy, or I have tried to help, it is something she has been unable to control.”  The telepath’s gaze had been wandering lazily around his office as he spoke, as if this highly unusual conversation were quite the norm.  So, Remy couldn’t help but flinch when those knowing eyes cut back to him sharply.  “Until now.”  The telepath finally concluded with a hardened tone.

Remy blinked.  Wait…what?  She was hiding her thoughts from the Professor?  But why?  Was she trying to protect him or herself?

“Why would she need to protect either of you?”  The Professor asked, his eyes narrowed in scrutiny of the boy across the desk from him.

Ruby eyes snapped up and flared brightly at the older man.  Remy hadn’t realized he had asked his questions aloud.  Or, was the telepath…..

“I’m not reading your mind, if that’s what you’re wondering.  As powerful and fluid as your shields are, you would feel my intrusion most painfully.”  Xavier leaned forward, making sure he had the Cajun’s full attention.  “I told you before; I will never go where I’m not welcome unless there is no other choice.  But, understand that I would not hesitate to probe if I thought for one minute that you were a threat to the children under the protection of this school.”

Remy shivered at the barely veiled threat.  “Professeur…” he began, licking suddenly dry lips “it ain’t wha’chu t’ink.  Well, not real sho’ wha y’ t’ink, mas de femme…an’ me….t’was ”  Remy paused for a moment as his southern accent became more pronounced, a sure sign of the stress he was feeling.  A couple of deep breaths were inhaled before he gave the older man a steady gaze.  “We can touch.” 

Xavier blinked, his mouth agape as the words struck him like a slap to the face.  He hadn’t been sure exactly what to discover, but this was certainly not it.  He leaned back in his chair, stunned into silence for several long minutes.  “Touch?  As in skin to skin?”

Remy couldn’t help but smirk.  “What ot’er kinda touch dere be?”

“Yes, well, of course.” Xavier cleared his throat and adjusted his body in the chair, his gaze directed at the desk in front of him.  “I just…wasn’t expecting….”  Indigo eyes narrowed as they cut back to capture ruby.  “How ‘exactly’ did you discover this?”

It was Remy’s turn to squirm under the intensity of the telepath’s gaze.  “Uh, it….and de couch was de only…y’know, to watch de TV…den she…but Remy didn’…”  Just as he felt sweat gathering at the base of his neck, trickling down his collar, he was startled from his stuttered reply by an alarm sounding through the office.  Focused so completely on the young man, Xavier too was caught unaware as he jumped slightly and frowned in the general direction of the ceiling.  “Qui C'est q'ca?”  Remy asked, but the Professor ignored the question, maneuvering his chair from around the desk and heading towards the door.

“Follow me.” Xavier commanded, and he left through the open doorway without a backwards glance.  Gambit trailed behind the telepath as he followed him down the hallway to the elevator that would take them to the lower levels.  There was silence in the elevator, Xavier deep in thought and Remy unwilling to have the man’s attention on him again.  When the doors opened on the same level as the Danger Room and Med Lab, the thief was slightly hesitant as the older man moved his chair straight ahead, taking the only hallway on this level that Remy had not yet traversed. 

Remy couldn’t help himself, he had to ask.  “Where we goin’?” 

The chair paused as the telepath glanced back at the boy.  “The War Room.”  No further explanations were forthcoming and Xavier continued forward, certain the Cajun was following. 

Remy stood there for a moment, watching the Professor’s back as he pulled away from him, and simply absorbed that piece of information with a grimace.  “Alohrs.  What else a peace lovin’ group gonna call it?” he muttered under his breath before putting his body in motion once more. 

The lights flared to life with each step, ebbing away after they passed.  There was a solid metal door that slid open, much as the glass one in the Med Lab, and Remy paused to take in the scene.  They had entered some kind of conference type room, with a bank of computers on the far wall, a large oval wooden table directly in the center surrounded by rolling executive chairs, and some type of interesting holographic projection device in the very center of the table.  Remy’s eyes immediately captured the azure blue of his lover across the room, breathing a small sigh of relief at the slight nod of greeting and reassurance from the feral.  Several other team members were already present and it appeared they were waiting on the Professor to begin.

“Professor,” Scott addressed him before the telepath had even come to a complete stop within the room.  “we seem to have a situation towards the outskirts of the city.  The area appears to be mostly abandoned buildings and warehouses, but there are civilians living in the area.”

“Show me.”  Xavier turned his chair to face the center of the table as a three dimensional hologram of the area in question appeared before their eyes.  There were several small, glowing dots concentrated in one section of the topographical map along with periodic flashes of light that Remy could only assume were explosions.  “Have we been able to identify the source?”

“Yes Sir.”  There was an uncomfortable pause as a satellite image displayed on a screen hanging from the wall behind Scott’s head.  “It’s Magneto.”

“Magnus..” Xavier gasped, as if in pain at what he was seeing.  All of the blood drained from Remy’s face as he watched the close-up image of his boss laying siege to the area.  In the back of his mind, a little voice chided him as a fool for believing the man had actually changed his mind about causing a distraction.

Scott gave his mentor a few moments to digest the information before continuing.  “It looks like he has at least two others with him.  Perhaps Alpha class.  They are focusing their attacks here,” Scott used some sort of laser pen to point at a large area of glowing lights on the hologram, then moved the light to a second smaller area further away “and here.  So far, we can’t tell what it is they’re after and why they have separated.  But, Magneto is clearly at the second area, based on our readings.”

The team leader waited to see if Xavier would comment.  When the older telepath simply looked at him expectantly, he continued.  “We will form two teams to deal with the areas.  Team One will be composed of Storm, Ice Man, and me.  We will take the larger area as it seems to be the biggest threat at the moment.  Team Two will be Wolverine…”

“I will go as well.” Xavier interrupted.  His eyes locked with Scott’s.  It was a statement, not a request.  “I should be there.  I can talk with him, reason with him.”

Scott sighed, running a hand through his hair before he nodded.  “Ok.  Team Two will be Wolverine, the Professor, and Gambit.  We’ll..”

“Hey!”  Jean broke in.  “Why aren’t I going?”  The incredulous look her husband gave her was enough to set her blood on fire.  “I am just as capable Scott Summers, despite my condition.  And you can’t treat me any differently than you would the others simply because I’m your wife.”

“As your doctor, Jean, I have to concur with Scott.”  Hank gave the barest of nods to the relief he saw in Cyclops’ face.  “You, young lady, must think of the twins.  No matter how strong you think you are, there is too much at stake to take the chance that something could happen.  It is your unborn children that would suffer.” 

Jean shrank back in chagrin, the words from her doctor bringing the reality of her status back to the forefront.  It wasn’t that she was selfish; she knew it was best for her to be on the inactive list.  But, her desire to be there for her team mates temporarily won over reasoning. 

“Eh, mebbe it be best dat I stay here.”  When those ruby eyes behind the visor turned sharply his way, Gambit shrugged.  “Ain’t been training dat long wit’ de team or gone on any missions ‘fore now.  Prob’ly better off here.”

Before Scott could unclench his jaw to bark the order at the Cajun, the Professor softly spoke to the boy beside him without looking at Remy.  “You are already a highly skilled fighter, Remy.  We have seen as much in your training.  Your powers are as strong as almost every team member present and may be needed to deal with the mutant we are facing.”  At this, he turned and pinned the younger man with his indigo gaze.  “Magneto is very powerful, Gambit.  It will take all three of us to handle him if I am unable to reach him with words.”

Remy stared at the man, knowing that he would not be able to get out of going, and gusted out a breathy “Weh”.  A disarming grin was turned on the rest of the team, focusing on the team leader as he said “Sounds like a bon plan.  When we leaving?”  He ignored the questioning look from his lover; it had become entirely too easy for the feral to see through his masks.  Remy all but tuned out the rest of the meeting, his mind spinning out of control.  What was he going to do when Magneto saw him?  How could he manipulate his way out of this situation?  No matter what line of thought he followed, he could see no escape and the butterflies in his stomach worked overtime as he walked with the rest of the team to the underground hangar. 

They boarded one of the smaller transports and strapped in for the short flight to the area of disturbance.  Remy had his eyes firmly fixed on the metal grating of the floor as he tried to figure out exactly what he was going to do.  He couldn’t very well fight his boss.  But to not fight would cause the X-men to be suspicious of him, which could endanger his mission and his life.  The stress was having an effect on his shields, and he could feel an array of emotions coming from the others ranging from anxiety to excitement coupled with fear and determination.  Overlaying it all was the warm presence of the feral, a gentle touch of concern and protectiveness rolling through his mind.  Though these feelings were being cast about from the older man to the team in general, they were projected most strongly on the Cajun.  Remy took that feeling and wrapped it around him like a blanket, using it to bolster his already strained shields and keep the sensory overload at bay.  

They landed on a roof in between the two areas that had shown on the holographic projection as the primary sources of disturbance.  On disembarking, the two teams split in opposite directions in preparation to confront the problems.  The air was thick with smoke and dust; dampness joining into the mix from the fog rolling off the nearby bay.  The cool evening breeze instantly chilled the light coating of mist and sweat on their skins as Team One made its way to the largest areas of destruction.  Burnt husks of buildings and warehouses smoldered from the flames.  In the distance, sirens could be heard as fire-engines raced to various locations to keep the fires from spreading out of control. 

“Storm!”  Scott commanded into the communicator on his uniform.  “See if you can do something about the fires.”  He watched as the weather goddess flew higher into the sky, her arms stretching out and her snow white hair waving around her like strands of ribbon in the wind.  A clap of thunder heralded the onslaught of purifying rain, the drops falling rapidly to douse the burning heat.  Steam hissed and crackled everywhere that the flames died away.  Cyclops continued to walk among the ruins as Ice Man skated beside him on his frozen slide. 

“Now that’s just a damn shame.”  The smooth baritone came from behind them and immediately Cyclops and Ice Man spun round to face the enemy.  “And after all of Burner’s hard work.”  The man seemed perfectly ordinary - his short, dark hair was a common cut and color, eyes brown and set within a normal face that would have looked like any other person on a crowded street.  Only this street wasn’t crowded and it was quite obvious this man was anything but normal. 

“Who are you?”  Scott demanded, eyeing the man standing several yards away from them.

With a mock bow, the other man introduced himself.  “My name is Madrox.  And you’re interrupting the party.  Why don’t you losers toddle on back to wherever you came from?”

One of Scott’s hands moved automatically to the side of his visor.  “Stop what you’re doing and come with us peacefully.  Don’t make us hurt you.”

The young man snorted.  “As if you have anything to stop me.”  He casually turned his eyes to the mutant flying high in the sky, staring back into those ivory orbs that observed him from above.  “Besides, you have other things to worry about than little old me.”  With those cryptic words, Madrox smiled as a sudden burst of fire arched upwards from behind a building, heading straight for Storm.  With her attention on the men below, she had no way of knowing that mortal danger was about to engulf her.

Bobby was suspicious of the casual atmosphere of the man in front of them.  As he watched the slow smile appear on the other mutant’s face, he whipped his head around in time to see the column of fire heading for Storm’s back.  “STORM!”  He screamed as he pushed his hands towards her and let loose a stream of ice.  The frosty torrent managed to intercept the firestorm just as it reached her, causing her to be thrown backwards by the concussive pressure of the two extreme elements.  Momentarily distracted by events unfolding in the sky, Cyclops failed to stop Madrox as he swung a pipe with all his power and hit Ice Man across the back of the head.  Bobby’s mouth opened in a silent cry as his hands fell to his side.  His body fell forward with a thud, sprawling along the pavement as a pool of blood began to grow under his head.

Shock was quickly replaced by anger as Scott growled and turned to the other mutant, his visor releasing a full optic blast.  The direct hit, however, did not take the man down as Cyclops had expected.  The X-Men leader took an involuntary step back as there were suddenly two men before him, identical twins standing where only one had previously stood.  Both Madrox’s smiled at him, a look that was pure evil.  “That tickles, man.  Do it again.”

Storm managed to stop her backward spiraling descent just before she hit the building toward which her body was fast approaching.  With a slight shake of her head, she summoned the wind to propel her forward towards her team-mates when she was halted by words coming from an alley below her.  “Tsk, tsk, tsk.  Now where you think you’re going sweetheart?”  A willowy man with long white hair to rival her own stepped from the shadows.  “And here I thought you wanted to play with ol’ Byron.”  The wink was the only warning she had as the wall of the building behind her exploded into flames.  She screamed as scorching pieces of brick and mortar slammed into her, burning through her protective uniform and searing the skin beneath.  It was an unconscious move on her part to bring forth the cooling purity of rain as she flew straight up into the sky to avoid the debris.  A moment she needed to gather herself, her breath coming in pained gasps before anger stole over her, making her ignore the wounds as she turned her fiery white eyes on the mutant below.  “You want to play?  Then play we shall.”  Her arms surged up and then down, channeling bolts of lightening at the man. 

Byron’s grin slipped for a moment as he threw his hands in front of him and formed a fire shield in front of his body.  It wouldn’t stop the bolts of electricity, but it would shield him from her sight enough that there was a chance the lightening would miss him.  “They always told me I had an electric personality.” He muttered as he dodged the strikes piercing his shield.

Logan, Xavier, and Remy made their way slowly down the side street, following a path of destruction and hoping to convince the source to cease and desist.  Logan took point, Xavier moving behind him in the chair while Remy reluctantly brought up the rear.  The Cajun recognized the handiwork of Calley, knowing the man was one of Magneto’s lackeys.  Remy was not looking forward to seeing his boss, knowing without a doubt that the man would be angered beyond reason that the distraction he was providing was wasted.  There was no guarantee that he would be able to explain his way out of this latest debacle.  He had to find a way to copy the information that the Master of Magnetism sought, and soon.  Suddenly, Xavier stopped and his hands flew to his temples.  “Wait, Logan.  Team One is under attack.  They need our help.”

“Then whata we waitin’ fer?” Logan growled as he turned to make his way to the other drop point.  He didn’t wait to see if the Professor or the kid were following.  Only a few steps were taken when Magneto lowered himself in front of them, a respectable distance between the opposing forces.

“Hello, Charles.”  Erik’s eyes narrowed as they flickered to the young thief standing partly in the shadows behind the telepath.  “I did not expect to see you here.”  It was hard for Remy to tell if the other man was talking to the Professor, or to him.

Logan’s body crouched defensively, all six blades sliding out in preparation to attack or defend whichever came first.  Charles placed a restraining hand on the feral’s arm as he slowly moved his chair forward, his other hand resting in a non-threatening posture on his lap.  “Erik, please.  Why are you doing this?  You, of all people, know that violence is never the answer.  Come back with me; listen to what I have to say.  Together, we can show the world that humans and mutants can…”

Xavier’s words were cut off as Magneto took hold of the metal in his chair.  “Don’t you ever grow tired of that worn out rhetoric, Charles?  You know it will never be as Utopian as you make it out to be.”  With a flick of his wrist, he sent the chair and the Professor flying across the street to crash into the concrete side of a building.  The chair fell sideways to the ground, dumping the dazed and slightly concussed Professor to the pavement.

The roar from Logan was purely primal as he charged the other mutant.  But before he could get within striking distance, his body was seized and slowly raised several feet into the air.  A choked sound came from his mouth as Magneto raised his hands.  “You think to attack me little man?  I can smell the sweet tang of the metal you carry within your very bones.”  He gave no attention to the Cajun that had scuttled backwards toward the mouth of an alley, all of his concentration on the deadly mutant he held in his magnetic grasp.  “The animal following the cripple, how quaint…and how perfectly ridiculous.”  Red gloved hands closed into tight fists as Erik called forth the adamantium infused within the feral’s body. 

Scott was taking a beating.  With every blast of his optic lens, or every strike of his fist, another clone would spring forth, lending more strength and hands as they pounded on the Commander.  Blood fell in copious amounts from various wounds on Cyclop’s face and torso.  His strength was fading fast and he began to stagger under the Multiple-Man’s assault.  It was with sheer will-power that he remained conscious on his feet.  The need to protect his fallen team-mate overrode his personal hurts.  Only a couple of times did he spare a quick worried glance towards Bobby, who remained motionless on the ground laying in a pool of his own blood from the head wound the first Madrox had inflicted. 

“What’s the matter, hotshot?” One of the clones taunted.  Another clone came forward and slammed a foot into Scott’s stomach, sending the team leader to his knees as another clone rushed from the side and backhanded the man.  “That all you got, tough guy?” Yet another clone sneered.

A groan fell from his mouth as Bobby slowly came to.  Everything was muddled and fuzzy, his eyesight a precarious thing.  It took him several moments before the world stopped spinning as he came up onto his elbows and forced his battered skull to focus on the scene.  He could see Scott kneeling while a great many men converged on him, fists or feet flying and kicking as they mobbed the team leader.  A quick, painful glance to the skies told him that Storm was involved in her own battle and would not get to Scott in time.  He could see through his blurry vision that Scott was failing and about to be down for the count.  Anger surged from deep within and he could feel something shifting in his powers.  The Professor had always told him that he had the potential to be one of the most powerful mutants to exist if he could simply learn to control and draw on his powers, a task he had never been able to master.  But now, as he watched his team mate fall completely to the ground under the assault of the mob of mutants, his blood boiled in direct contradiction to his mutant power.  Without conscious thought, his eyes froze over into pure sparkling pools of ice and he looked at the mob of men raining down punches on Scott.  As his ice gaze tracked over each man in the group, his vision was able to separate one from the group that was just a touch different.  One man in a mob of identical men had a slightly higher body temperature, a difference that even the most advanced thermometer would probably dismiss, but a difference that Bobby’s special sight could see with crystal clarity.  His hand reached out, teeth gritted against the thundering ache in his head, and he shot a blast of ice at the man’s head, encasing it instantly; freezing the very fluid in which the man’s brain sat.  Death was instantaneous as the mutant fell backwards. 

Suddenly all of the clones dropped to the ground, crying in pain as they grasped their heads.  One by one, they were absorbed until only one clone remained.  The clone was crouched over his knees, head tucked down to his chest for a moment before it snapped up and wild, fearful eyes darted all around.  Those eyes landed on the original host body and a pained howl burst forth before the clone jumped up and fled into the night.  Bobby sighed and then dropped his head, drained and shocked as the realization of what he’d just done started to filter into his thoughts.  Scott breathed shallow, his ribs protesting even that small amount of movement as he gathered his energy and crawled over to his fallen comrade.  He wasn’t sure exactly what happened, but he knew Bobby had saved him, and that he needed to get to the boy and offer comfort.  Hopefully, Storm would find them soon.

“C’mon baby, you can do better than that.” Byron grinned as he threw another blast of fire from his hands.  She had already failed to strike him with lightening, the water she showered on him simply turned to steam and the wind seemed to fuel his pyrotechnics. 

But Storm was done playing as an idea came to mind.  She glared heatedly at the other mutant and threw him her own smile.  “Yes, Burner.  I can.  Prepare to meet your end.  Winds!!”  She raised her hands and began to call forth a tempest of epic proportions.

Byron Calley laughed.  “Give me a break, sweetheart.  Didn’t you learn anything the last time you tried to blow me away?  Fire travels faster on the wind.”

But she ignored him, twirling her hands as the wind spiraled into a tunnel around her.  When the whirlwind swirled as fast as an F5 tornado, she directed the funnel over him, placing the mutant directly in the center.  She saw his smile fade as he nervously watched the columns of air spin around him and her own grin widened.  “Perhaps wind can fuel the flames, but the center of a vortex sucks the very oxygen out like a vacuum and we all know that fire can not exist without food.”  Byron’s hands flew to his throat as he began to choke, his body gasping for breath as all of the air within the spinning column disappeared.  Her white hair flew all around her as she watched the other mutant dispassionately.  He fell, then collapsed sideways, and still the tempest continued.  Only after his chest rose and fell one last time did she pull back and strive to calm the swirling winds.  It was a massive struggle on her part, to call back such power once it had been unleashed.  It took several long minutes for the winds to die down and she slowly lowered herself to the ground drained of almost all her energy.  A quick check of the fire-starter showed that the man was still alive, though his heart beat was faint.  She spared no more time for him as she made her way quickly to Scott and Bobby.  They needed to assess their wounds and get back to the ship to call for help.  She only hoped that the other team had fared better than they.    

Logan’s body arched backwards, his head flung and eyes wide and unseeing as a silent scream of agony hung in his throat.  The six deadly blades emanating from the knuckles of both hands began to turn malleable, slowly swaying in the breeze as the tips dripped silver onto the pavement below.  Metallic tears started to run from those blue eyes clouded with unfathomable pain, and Logan could feel the very pores of his skin beginning to sweat silver beads of perspiration. 

“Erik…” Xavier whimpered, his own battered body refusing to respond as he attempted to drag himself back across the street.  “Please, you’re killing him.”     

“I don’t care.” Magneto drawled as he clenched his fists tighter attempting to pull the metal from the other mutant’s body at a faster rate.  “He is just a dog serving a worthless master.  It is no less than he deserves.”

Remy had been standing wide-eyed in the shadows, too overwhelmed to comprehend what was happening.  The sheer amount of terror and pain pouring from his lover caused Remy’s mind to suddenly snap.  “NON!” Remy screamed as he flung his whole deck of cards in a discus throw at the unsuspecting mutant.  The glowing cards fanned out in an arch, soaring precisely at the man, slicing through the magnetic shield surrounding him like a paper cut and impacting in multiple points of his body.  The resulting explosions caused Magneto to fly full force into a car behind him.  The machine curled around him like a metallic lover as he grunted in pain of the impact, his protective helmet disconnecting from his head and flying backwards onto the sidewalk.  Remy fell to one knee panting, two fingers connecting with the concrete to steady himself as he stared in shock at the damage he caused, flinching slightly when the Master of Magnetism managed to focus his eyes with pure hatred towards him.

The Professor took immediate advantage of the situation and invaded Erik’s mind.  “Erik, please, you must stop this senseless fighting.  Join us in helping mankind to overcome their fear of mutants so we may all live together in peace.”

“Never Charles!”  Magneto spared no more attention for the Cajun as one hand grasped the side of his head while the other arm clutched at his wounded stomach.  He staggered to his feet and sent one last glare to Remy before using his remaining strength to gather enough forces to lift into the air and away from the carnage.

Remy turned his body slightly and placed one hand on Wolverine’s chest, the other moving up to caress the older man’s cheek and brush sweat soaked hair from his forehead.  “Logan, you a’right?  Logan, talk to me cher.”  The pain was excruciating, but slowly healing, and Logan could only stare in wonder at the man crouched beside him.  /Deadly beautiful/ was all he managed to think before welcoming the wonderful embrace of unconsciousness.

*******

Translations:

Alohrs – of course, sure

Qui C'est q'ca?—What or Who is that?

Bon - good

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