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Chapters
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
 
 
 

The Companion Picture - REVIEW THIS STORY

Written by Dandelion
Last updated: 12/03/2009 06:26:08 PM

Chapter 34

The Shadow of Change

Dawn was an important time for Ororo Munroe. Whenever she was able she preferred to greet the sun as it rose in the morning. This dawn, however, found her seated several feet below the surface of the earth inside a lab that hummed with technology both earthly and alien faced with a situation that chilled her to the bone.

Someone had broken into the mansion and had been monitoring their systems.

Ororo knew that the mansion was not a foolproof haven. Or rather, her mind recognized that fact. Her heart had long since viewed the Xavier School as a place of safety despite numerous attacks and rebuilds. It was simply a matter of having a place where, perhaps, one did not have to be so diligent.

Since the discovery of the bug Ororo had felt completely exposed. Only by strength of her will did she manage to keep from looking over her shoulder every ten minutes. As it was she could not resist changing her position periodically. She had migrated slowly around the lab almost three times now. The paranoia was something she had a grip on, at any rate.

It was her frustration that she was truly struggling with. She cast a glance over to Bishop and Hank who had been studiously going over every minute detail of the bug they’d found in their circuitry and strangled an anxious sigh. All she could do was wait for them to finish and Ororo had never been so foolish as to claim she was particularly patient. If something needed to be done, she preferred getting it done. What made things worse was that she felt completely helpless, a feeling she despised, in regards to assisting Bishop or Hank. Paperwork, electronics, laboratories, she huffed silently. I don’t think I could feel more out of place if I tried.

Hank glanced up as Ororo leaned over the table to peer at his notes. She caught his looked of vague annoyance and shrugged wearily. He raised an eyebrow at her and she turned on her heel and retreated to where Hank’s hydroponics experiments were.

Hank looked back to his own notes with a sigh of his own. He would have suggested that Ororo go upstairs and try to rest if he thought for a moment that she would have. Despite the fact that Ororo wasn’t much help in uncovering the mystery behind the bug she was going to be a part of its research from beginning to end. He knew, however, that their lack of answers was killing her.

He looked at Bobby, who was flagging sections in Forge’s notebooks, and nudged him.

Bobby looked up and Hank nodded significantly towards Ororo. Bobby followed his friend’s eyes to their leader who was forlornly caressing the leaf of a tomato plant. He nodded at Hank with an I’ll-take-care-of-it gesture and picked his way through the lab to Ororo’s side.

"How you doin’?"

Ororo’s head snapped up as she first looked at Bobby, then to Hank - who very carefully did not meet her eyes - then back to Bobby. "I’m fine."

"Right," Bobby nodded solemnly. "That’s why you’re getting so cozy with the cherry tomatoes." He cocked his head at her.

She frowned at him.

Bobby decided to switch gears. "Look, I don’t know about you, but this whole thing freaks me out." He shrugged his shoulders. "I mean, someone got in here without tripping any of our alarms? I’d have pegged maybe three or four people capable of that. Logan, Remy maybe Betts and maybe Kitty."

"Yes," Ororo nodded, "it is disconcerting." She sighed. "I think what truly troubles me about this is, if whoever set this bug in our systems knows how to get to us, do they know how to find those that aren’t here?"

Aha, Bobby thought. She’s gone into super-worry mode. It made sense, though, that Ororo would focus on absent members of the team. Particularly those she was close to. "You mean Rogue and Gambit?"

She nodded.

"Hey, they’re both tough, and smart, and resourceful. Plus, they’re with Magneto and we all know how hard it is to get the drop on that guy."

Ororo smiled slightly. About as hard to get the drop on... her eyes strayed to the cylinder where Logan’s body healed and she felt her smile fade.

That is more than enough, Ororo, she chastised herself. If there is anything about this situation that gives you reason to hope it is Logan. Hank’s mood had been on the upswing over the last several days. He was now very optimistic about Logan’s recovery.

Three days ago his body scarcely resembled the strong sturdy frame that Ororo was so used to. Shriveled muscles and barely functioning organs were all that made up the man that the X-men had always been able to count on to go the extra mile. Now, it was evident that his condition was improving. His limbs, though they still appeared to be very weak, had lost that gruesome skeletal aspect. His chest, which had been sunken in before, now seemed to be able to function again.

While it was still difficult to look at Logan in his current condition, Ororo found that she had focused all of her hopes onto the inert figure. Hank has told us that while Logan’s healing factor worked on the head wound the rest of his body would suffer. And once that wound had been repaired the rest of his body would begin to improve. She turned away from Logan and looked to Bobby again.

"Robert-"

"Bobby."

"-thank you." She touched his arm softly and smiled.

Bishop cleared his throat loudly. Ororo and Bobby returned to the workstation where he had been intently studying the small electronic component that he and Bobby had removed from the security grid in the basement’s sewer levels. They sat down at the table as Hank put his glasses on and reviewed their information.

"Here’s what we know. The grid’s backup console was in the immediate area where Logan had been found."

Ororo’s fingers fell lightly to the anonymous note she had received in the mail the previous day. Beware of bugs in your basement.

"Once we figured out the trick," Bobby recalled, "flushing that thing out was easy. It just wasn’t designed to withstand the powers we toss around. I just dropped the temperature in the security grid and waited for the frost to give away the location. Bishop’s the one who pulled it out."

Everyone nodded, knowing of Bishop’s having familiarized himself with Forge’s work.

"Our security has definitely been compromised," Bishop said, his expression even more dour than usual. "I don’t like anything this component is telling me."

"What is it telling you?" Ororo questioned softly.

"There aren’t any identification codes on this. No serial number, no labels, nothing."

Hank’s face turned pensive. "Scratched off? Covered up?"

Bishop shook his head curtly. "No. There isn’t anything there. Whoever made this did not want it to be traced. Period."

"Illegal make?" Bobby asked. "Maybe it’s pirated?"

Bishop cleared his throat. "That’s a possibility, but I doubt it. The reason being that this is based on Forge designs."

Hank stood up and moved to the microscope. "May I?" He peered through the lenses for several minutes. "It is based on Forge designs, you’re right, Bishop. But it deviates..." He looked up. "Bobby did you flag those plans that Forge had submitted to the government before he met up with the X-men?"

"Yeah," Bobby pulled a large notebook into his lap, flipping through the pages quickly.

"I don’t think you’re going to find what you’re looking for in anything Forge submitted that long ago," Bishop remarked. "Forge has a tendency to drastically outdistance his own work. Anything that he put in here would be able to defend itself against his previous creations."

"You’re right," Hank agreed. "You’re right. In that case it would have been something very recent."

"Forge completely redid the systems down here after Sabretooth escaped," Ororo offered. "So it’s a few months I’d think."

Bobby brandished another notebook. "No worries. Forge sends us documentation on everything he does."

"Someone else has access to it," Bishop reminded them. "Forge’s affiliation recently has been closer to the United States government than with us so they would be the most likely place to start."

"Which doesn’t particularly make things easy," Hank sighed. "Even breaking things down to the most likely departments leaves us with monstrosities like the Pentagon and the Department of Justice, not to mention the FBI, the CIA, and the N.S.A."

"This is bringing up more questions than answers," Bobby grumbled. "We can pretty much guess that whoever did is the same person who shot Logan. But why’d they plant it?"

An uneasy silence settled over the foursome as they considered the possible answers.

"In my time," Bishop began, his discomfort apparent, "there were specific factions of the XSE that operated on a purely unofficial basis. They went deep undercover and were geared mainly towards guerilla and intelligence work. We called them Ghosts because they didn’t officially exist as people much less as organizations. Their equipment couldn’t be traced, either. It was designed that way. I believe it was an incarnation of the N.S.A."

"The government will deny any knowledge of your existence?" Bobby shook his head. "Why did things seem so much simpler when Hank and I were members of X-Factor?"

"How do you know about it?" Hank queried, focusing his attention on Bishop.

Bishop cleared his throat looking uncomfortable. "My father had ties to them when he was young. He was able to use those ties advantageously in his later years."

"Your father?" Bobby’s brows knit together tightly.

"The Witness?" Hank mused.

"Remy?" Ororo’s eyes looked stunned. "Surely you don’t think Remy is involved with this?"

Bishop’s expression was troubled. "I can’t say for certain."

"Well I most certainly can!" Ororo stood up. "Remy would never come in here, bug our security grids and shoot Logan!"

"Of course he wouldn’t, Ororo," Hank held his hands up in a placating manner. "But... maybe he knows something?"

"Guy’s got a lot of secrets," Bobby agreed.

"This is preposterous," Ororo drew herself up and glared imperiously at each man in turn. "What do you suggest we do, track him down and interrogate him?"

"It’s an option we have to seriously consider," Hank replied gently. "You know that."

Ororo felt her hands ball up into tight fists. Hank’s gaze clearly said You are our leader and you know what is expected of you. She understood. She closed her eyes for a moment and imagined the morning sun shining on her face.

"Right now, we need to focus on our immediate surroundings. A complete sweep of all of our systems is the first step," she said quietly. "We need to act as if everything has been compromised until we are certain otherwise. I expect the Professor, Scott and Jean to return from their meeting in Boston soon. At that point we can discuss our next move."

Tap... tap...

It was such a scant noise that it could barely be heard over the hums of the machinery in the lab. But for some reason it seemed to soar over everything else and connect to the four X-men who were present.

As one, they moved cautiously to the stasis tank, scarcely daring to hope.

Tap... tap...

Logan’s eyes were open. He was watching them all and tapping slowly and weakly against the tank’s side.

Ororo clasped her hands to her breast. "Bright Lady..." she felt her throat constrict with emotion.

Hank flipped a few switches. "We’ll see what we’ve got here. This receiver is built into the chamber." He looked at everyone sternly. "He may not be able to communicate yet so be warned." He turned back to his friend and patient. "Logan? Can you hear me?"

Logan’s eyes moved slowly across the foursome and settled on Hank. His mouth worked slowly and seemed to be carefully forming the words. "Hank..." his voice was a harsh whisper. His eyes moved across each person in turn. "Bish... Drake... ’Ro..."

Hank removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "That’s right, Logan. We’re all here. We’ve been worried about you."

Logan’s mouth started to move again, practicing his next thoughts. "W-we... guht... got... We got... trub-bul... trouble... We got trouble."

Three days of rain is more than enough, Lorna told herself as she hovered cross-legged over some ruins on the northern side of island. Careful there, Lorna. You sound like an honest to God desert dweller.

The archaeologist in her had been interested in the island the moment she’d had a chance to look around and see what was actually there. Lorna had heard of the base on the island before. It was a pretty well documented piece of X-men history. She had known that Magnus had a base there and she had known that the X-men stationed themselves there for a while, too. She had also heard that the bizarre circumstances surrounding the arrival of Magik, Piotr Rasputin’s sister, had taken place on the island.

There was a knee-jerk skeptic in Lorna that had snorted derisively after reading the journal about a trip to Limbo, battling alternate versions of the X-men and then pulling out a thirteen year old girl when a six year old had been what they were after. But having run around with aliens, deceived by robots and been controlled on more than one occasion by psychic entities Lorna really couldn’t allow herself to be a skeptic about anything fantastic.

Besides, the X-men would never have made up anything so tragic as a little girl growing up in Limbo, a place that, when described, seemed to perfectly fit her idea of hell. Looking around the remains Lorna found that the evidence certainly backed what the X-men said. Some of the reliefs she had found intact had depicted some of the darker aspects of primitive religions. And a gateway to Limbo, fantastic though it was, wasn’t completely out of the realm of possibility. It was intriguing at the very least.

Further study was interrupted by Brett’s familiar electro-magnetic signature approaching. Lorna decided to wait for Brett to initiate contact.

She didn’t have to wait long. "Lorna?"

Lorna did not look up. "Hey, Brett."

"Whatcha doin’?" Brett lifted herself off the ground as well. She was uncertain as to why Lorna was doing it but decided it was better to be safe than sorry.

Lorna looked up. "Indulging. I’m studying all the stuff here, you see." She nodded her chin towards the rubble that she hovered over. "It’s been a while since I practiced anything like archaeology, but… this place seems to inspire it."

Brett studied the antiquated rock. "Go fig. Find anything interesting?"

Lorna grinned. "Well, I think all of it is interesting. But that’s me. A lot of people wouldn’t be too interested in how these buildings were crafted or anything. I’m enjoying myself mostly, but I may come up with a theory about who lived here and what purpose the buildings were used for. It’s not going to be easy, though," she sighed somewhat wistfully. "The site is in a dubious state due to the mucking about by other parties. I’m not sure what Magnus added when he stationed himself here. I don’t know what the X-men added or altered while they were here. It’s a challenge."

"You could always ask. Magnus is right here on the island and all. Ah don’t know about the X-men, Ah wasn’t a member at the time."

"It’s more fun for me if I do the finding out myself. That’s the challenge."

Brett smiled and nodded slowly, surveying the scene.

"Was there something you wanted?"

"Actually, yes," Brett knelt down in the air next to Lorna. "Ah was hoping Ah could ask you a favor."

"Sure."

"Ah need you to tell me everything you know about Sinister."

Lorna raised one hand and shielded her eyes from the sun in order to give Brett a long hard look. "This isn’t the ’can you do the dishes for me tonight’ sort of favor I was expecting."

Brett made no reply. She only met Lorna’s gaze with certainty.

"You’re serious."

"Ah wouldn’t have asked otherwise," Brett said quietly.

"No," Lorna sized Brett up carefully. "No, I guess not." She stood up and drifted over to the shade, Brett in tow. "All right, what do you want to know?"

"Everything."

"That’s pretty general," Lorna smiled. "Can you give me a place to start?"

"Did he…" Brett hesitated, her throat suddenly, inexplicably, dry, "ever do anything to you?"

Lorna felt her smile become strained. "You mean other than the Malice thing?" She shook her head. "No, unless you count the gene sample but that’s no surprise, and it was the least troublesome thing I went through during that time."

"Doesn’t it bother you? Knowing he’s got your DNA?" Brett suddenly looked very uncomfortable with the discussion.

"Well, it’s a concern," Lorna said thoughtfully, looking off into space. "But I’m not overly affected by it. Especially considering what a success it was with Madelyne."

"Uh," Brett raised an eyebrow. "Ah would have considered Madelyne something of a smashing success. After all, she walked, talked, fell in love, had a baby and almost destroyed the world."

"Brett, Madelyne was such an amazing fluke I can scarcely believe it happened," Lorna’s disdain was evident in her voice. "She was a fluke in so many ways I still can’t believe everyone fell for it. She never would have come to life if it hadn’t been for the fact that Phoenix replaced Jean. She never would have come to life if Phoenix hadn’t killed ’herself’ on the moon. She never would have come to life if Jean hadn’t rejected the memories Phoenix was returning to her. Because of that highly improbable chain of events the memories found a home in Madelyne - who was an exact genetic match. Tell me that happens everyday."

"Ah suppose you do have a point." Brett furrowed her brow. Madelyne had been a friend for a long time. To this day Brett wondered if there had been any way that they could have saved her. She had been so hurt and so angry, Brett truly related to Madelyne’s anger.

"As far as my genetic matrix goes I half-wonder why Sinister would even bother. I got into the mutant club by accident when an outside source activated my powers. It wasn’t a natural progression. My power was latent and was always meant to be latent. I just happened to be jump-started. And it’s damn unstable, too, if you take into consideration what happened to me after Zaladane."

"So Sinister didn’t experiment on you?" Brett quickly got off the subject of Madelyne and clones. "He didn’t augment or you anything?"

Lorna shook her head. "I guess Malice was augmentation enough. Our bond was extremely tight. Actually it was unbreakable at the time, the only thing that changed it was Zaladane…" Lorna trailed off.

Brett looked at Lorna uncertainly. "So, why’d he pick you if he wasn’t going to experiment on you? Ah mean, isn’t that what he does?"

"Well, he chose me because my matrix fit so perfectly with Malice’s," Lorna replied. "That and it took the heart right out of you guys. Having to fight one of your own made it rough on you. Add to that how ruthless I was with Malice." Lorna sighed. "I was a tool and a most effective one." She floated down to the shore and set her feet on the sand.

"Ah understand this is hard for you," Brett said, following her.

"Thanks for not saying you understand how I feel," Lorna replied, a bitter tone creeping into her voice.

Brett remained silent for several moments. "Well, Ah don’t know how you feel, sugah."

"What’s this all about, Brett?" Lorna turned to face her friend. "Why bring all this up?"

"Remy."

Lorna blinked.

"Ah understand that you must hate for people even to talk about that time," Brett’s voice was low. "Ah know Ah don’t like people drudging up my miserable past, but, hell, sometimes you’ve just got to. If you’re ever gonna get past it you’ve got to pull it out every now and again."

"It changed everything," Lorna said tersely. "Everything. I lost the life that Alex and I had built for ourselves. I never got to finish my doctorate. I almost killed you, Brett, and I tore into the rest of the team plenty. Everything snowballed from there. Zaladane took my powers and I ended up a prisoner of the Shadow King." Lorna ran her fingers through her hair and walked several feet away. "Those things," she turned back to face Brett, "are scars I am going to carry with me forever. I got stronger and I got tougher. I even got more powerful. But those scars are still there. And they always will be."

Brett was silent but she looked hard at Lorna and seemed to be mulling several thoughts over in her mind. "Ah understand the concept of scars. Ah’ve got a few of my own."

Lorna sighed and shook her head. "You’ll have to forgive me if I get a little carried away..."

"There ain’t nothin’ to forgive," Brett replied. "The way you talked the other day it sounded to me like you didn’t rant as much as you should’ve about the hand you got dealt."

"It’s still not nice to take it out on friends."

"Ah’m pretty tough," Brett’s eyes crinkled with good humor. "But Sinister didn’t do any experiments on you, right?"

"Not on me," Lorna replied. "And I don’t recall him doing much with the rest of the Marauders either. But..."

Brett inclined her head slightly to encourage Lorna in her last thought.

Lorna’s eyes were distant. "We were his point team. We were the muscle." Her eyes focused on Brett again. "Sinister has his fingers in several pies, Brett. Just because he didn’t experiment on the Marauders doesn’t mean he didn’t have other specimens to work on. He’s got a lot of bases and a lot of things going on that we were never privy to. The thing was, the Marauders served a specific purpose. We didn’t need to be anything more than we were."

Brett’s brow furrowed. "Anything more than you were?" I have made you more than you were. I have made you complete. "Oh God..."

"Brett?" Lorna approached her friend cautiously. Brett’s face had gone ashen and Lorna was worried.

"He did something to Remy," Brett’s voice was a hoarse whisper.

"What?!" Lorna grabbed Brett’s arm. "Are you sure?"

Brett nodded. "About as sure as Ah can be. Ah mean it all makes sense. Remy has these nightmares... and Ah’ve been remembering things... it adds up. Oh God, Remy..." The anguished expression on Brett’s face was tempered by an angry and determined look in her eye. "Ah don’t know what Sinister did to him just yet," her gaze settled firmly on Lorna’s. "But Ah will find out. So help me Ah’ll find out what that son of a bitch did to my Remy."

Lorna looked into Brett’s resolute face and nodded. "Let me help."

"Put your back into it!"

"Bite me!"

"What was that?"

"Bite me, Captain Forrester!"

"That’s more like it!" Lee turned to Magnus and grinned. They were both sitting in lounge chairs on the deck of the Arcadia, watching Remy scrub away with a ragged mop.

Magnus look at his friend thoughtfully then glanced at Lee. "What lesson are you trying to teach him again?"

"Never let me be the last to know anything," Lee took a long drink of her soda. "I should make you help. You didn’t tell me he was back either."

"I wanted to," Magnus said promptly. "The first thing I told Remy and Brett was ’We should really tell Lee that Remy’s back in the house.’ But they didn’t listen to me."

"You are so full of shit."

Magnus shrugged good-naturedly. "But this is good for Remy. Swabbing the deck builds character."

"Then you’re in desperate need, Lehnsherr," Remy tossed over his shoulder.

"Hurry up there, LeBeau," Lee ordered, her voice full of humor. "It doesn’t look like the weather’s going to hold out for very long." She gestured to a darkened smudge along the horizon.

"Man, what I do for a beautiful woman," Remy grumbled.

"Pandering to me won’t get you off the hook," Lee shot back.

"You’re a heartless wench, aren’t you?"

"Aye aye, matey," Lee stretched her legs out in front of her and looked at Magnus again. "Was it me or did Lorna rocket out of the house this morning?"

Magnus leaned his head against the back of the chair he occupied and nodded slightly. "She’s been grumbling for the last two days about the rain and cabin fever, it didn’t surprise me at all."

Lee glanced sideways at Magnus and smiled slightly. "She did perk up when you mentioned your wish for a chess set."

Magnus laughed lightly. "It remains to be seen if she’s any good it. I’ve played against opponents so bad I wished the game had never been invented."

"Listen to you!" Lee accused with a grin. " You’re still a snob! Change my eye!"

"Did I just blow my cover?" Magnus asked with an expression of mock chagrin. "I suppose this means I won’t be able to turn you all into my mindless minions. Curses."

Remy turned around as Lee dissolved into giggles. "Says the man casually watching as I bust my ass."

"That’s her doing," Magnus replied innocently, pointing a finger at Lee. "I think she’s the corrupter. I bow to her evil genius."

"That’ll be the day," Remy snorted, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand. "Anyway, I’m done."

Lee stopped laughing long enough to get up and inspect Remy’s work. "You can tell right off that you are unaccustomed to scrubbing floors."

"I ain’t no Cinderella," Remy joked, then pointed a stern finger at Magnus. "Don’t you say a word!"

Magnus looked up at the sky innocently.

"Well, it’s a start," Lee laughed. She glanced at the horizon again. "But I’ll give you a break. We’re going to get rained on good. I’ll give you some time to enjoy the sun while it’s still out."

"You’re far too lenient with him," Magnus admonished.

"You’re channeling your old Headmaster self," Lee shot back. "How charming."

Magnus grinned and cast his eyes back to Remy.

Remy was still; his gaze focused on the horizon and the oncoming storm.

"Remy?"

"Henh?" Remy didn’t look away from the skyline.

"What’s wrong?"

Remy turned quickly to look at his friend. "Oh," he glanced back and then shook his head. "Nothing."

"Nice try," Lee said. "But you’re not fooling anyone."

"I dunno," Remy shrugged. "Jus’ a funny feeling."

"About what?" Lee looked at the clouds on the horizon herself.

Remy studied the skyline again. He had a strange feeling in his gut. There was something stirring within him that had been uncoiling for months. He swallowed audibly, trying to quell the strangeness he felt. "There’s more than a storm headed this way."

What an unbelievable mess, Lorna thought pulling her arms tightly around herself. Brett had gone in search of Remy and Lorna was glad of the solitude. She looked at the sky and sighed deeply. What a completely unbelievable mess.

Brett’s suspicions as to what Remy may have suffered at Sinister’s hands made Lorna’s blood boil. She tended to get hot under the collar when Sinister was brought up anyway but the very idea that Sinister had experimented on a friend made her furious. And her emotions muddled together until it was just rage and frustration and bitterness wrapped up into a frothing mess settled into the pit of her stomach.

Lorna really did like Remy a lot. He was funny and charming; he was also the most calming influence on her after her harried arrival to the island. When he spent time with her during her mourning period and recovery he never tried to get her to talk, like the others had. He just hung out, playing cards usually, and seemed to know what she needed before she asked for it.

And he didn’t remind her of Alex a bit.

In any case, Lorna had felt a connection with Remy before the revelation of his relationship with Sinister. As far as she was concerned, it had only strengthened the connection. She looked at him as something like a brother, a relationship she had never had as a child. She liked feeling that way about Remy because it didn’t confuse any issues.

It was times like these, when her thoughts and emotions were a mass of confusion, that Lorna wistfully thought back to the days in the desert. Things were so much simpler then; she sighed as she flipped through her notebook. When it was just Alex and me and we were so certain of who we were and where we were going.

It was so easy to go back. Lorna’s gaze wavered on the notebook she held. The crash of the ocean waves gave way to the wind across the desert and the dry hiss of sand scraping across the sun hardened dirt.

"Three strings walk down the street."

"Strings, huh?"

"Bear with me. Three strings walk down the street and they come to a bar."

"Oh God, a bar? Where’s the naked woman with the sausage under her arm?"

"Do you mind? I’m telling a joke here."

"Are you?"

"Three strings, street, bar. Okay, one goes in and the bartender says ’We don’t serve strings here.’"

"Sound business practice. Strings are notorious for their bad credit."

"Ahem. So the string says ’Fine’ and leaves. Then he tells his friends that the bar doesn’t serve strings."

"And the other two start screaming ’Fascists!’ and make a pipe bomb…"

"So the second one says ’I’ll get in’ and goes in to receive the same treatment."

"What made him think he’d get served when his other string friend didn’t? How do we know he was a he anyway?"

"The third string says ’I’ve got an idea.’"

"The third string makes the pipe bomb, right?"

"No. He ties himself up and messes his hair and goes inside."

"Because God knows if you look enough like a derelict any bar will serve you."

"The bartender looks at him and says ’Are you a string? You don’t look like… we don’t serve strings here. Are you a string?"

"What a moron!"

"And the string says ’No. I’m afraid not. Get it? ’Frayed knot’ you know?"

"Oh Lord. Don’t quit your day job, baby."

And give up all this?" Alex winked at her. "Never."

Lorna covered her face with her hands. She scrubbed her eyes with her fingertips in vain hopes of relieving the burning sensation of unshed tears, then stood and walked away from the site.

What’s the problem, Lorna? She asked herself sternly. Alex left and you told yourself that that was the end. No more. Right? Why are you dwelling? Is it because you miss him? Yes. He was a great guy. Is it because he’s dead? Yes, he shouldn’t have died. He had a lot of life to live still. Is it because you’re finding yourself attracted to someone else?

She stopped. Where the hell did that come from? She shook her head fiercely. Really now Lorna, don’t you have enough to deal with? Aren’t things complicated enough with this Sinister, Black Pyramid thing? Do you really want to tempt fate by allowing yourself to be charmed by the likes of Magneto?

Magnus, she mentally corrected herself. She kicked at the sand savagely. This is utterly ridiculous. Just because he’s an intelligent, clever, witty, handsome man and looks at you the way you always imagined a man looking at you... Oh God, what the hell am I doing? Alex just died, for crying out loud! I was in love with him, truly, madly, and deeply! I...

Her eyes settled on the temple that she knew Magnus frequented. Her curiosity soared and she was secretly grateful to be able to shove aside thoughts of Sinister and Alex. She took a step towards it then stopped.

In a moment of clarity Lorna knew that her next decision would have serious repercussions. The expression on Magnus’ face the last time she had seen him come out of the temple had been telling. Whatever he was seeing or doing there was affecting him greatly. Something inside Lorna knew that if she went into the temple things were going to change between her and Magnus and they would not be able to be changed back.

It’s not too late, she told herself, feeling breathless. You can turn around and ignore that place and you can just keep tiptoeing around whatever is going on between you and Magnus. If anything is going on. You were just complaining about complications not too long ago.

She let her eyes roam over the temple and she heard her heart pounding in her ears. If you’re not moving forward you’re moving backwards, she steadied herself. Besides, simpler isn’t always better. She jogged up the incline and entered the temple.

"Ah told you, Remy LeBeau, Ah’m not sitting out in the sun in the middle of the afternoon. Ah’m frecklin’ up enough as it is."

"I t’ink it’s cute."

"Shut up," she snapped. "Freckles aren’t cute, they’re... freckles."

Remy sighed and cast a helpless glance at Magnus who stared at the couple with an expression of schooled patience.

"I suppose I asked for this when I asked why you two were sitting in the shade," Magnus said.

Remy nodded silently. "Though I ’spect you just asked us that to make polite conversation ’til you could talk about what’s really botherin’ you."

Brett looked up from her careful inspection of her shoulders and studied Magnus instead.

Magnus gave a minute nod. "I’ve been feeling a bit restless lately."

"Any ideas on why?" Remy asked.

Magnus shrugged. "Not certain."

"Maybe Ah can help answer the question," Brett spoke up. At Remy and Magnus’ silent urging she continued. "We’ve been on the island for quite a while now. And we’re just waiting for the other shoe to drop, as the saying goes. At first we were just taking a break from all the other demands and concentrating on getting our feathers smooth. You were looking for some answers about yourself," at this she gestured to Magnus. "But after Lorna gave us that note and we figured out what it meant we’ve just been waiting for something to happen. And Ah don’t think any of us are real good at the whole waiting thing."

"I’d say that about covers it," Magnus sat back in his chair. "Don’t you think that if someone is targeting mutants, especially this Sinister person, we should be doing something about it?"

Remy pursed his lips together. "It’s not as simple as that," he said. "We’re not just ignoring everyt’ing, we’re just waiting for more information. Ain’t nothin’ wrong wit’ dat. Lorna seems to be under the impression dat Forge has got himself a plan."

"And Forge is worth trusting when it comes to this sort of thing," Brett finished.

Magnus folded his arms across his chest. "Maybe."

"If you don’t mind my sayin’ so, sugah," Brett’s voice turned serious. "Ah’d enjoy the quiet as much as Ah could. It ain’t gonna be that way for long."

Remy looked at his lover, a vague expression of surprise on his face. She met his gaze silently but Magnus could see that they were both saying a great deal without words.

Magnus was about to excuse himself when he looked out over the water. Something brushed up against his magnetic shields and it wasn’t an accident. He stood up and walked down to the shore.

Remy and Brett followed him. "Something wrong, sugah?"

"There’s something out there."

Remy didn’t even bother looking out over the water, knowing he would not be able to see anything. "Somethin’ like what?"

"It’s," Magnus frowned trying to explain what he was feeling. "It’s like something is knocking against my shields."

"How far is it?" Brett asked, scanning the horizon.

"About twenty miles out."

"Ah’ll check it out," she hopped into the air and accelerated quickly cutting a v-shaped swath into the surface of the water before anyone had time to raise protest.

Remy sighed as Brett turned into a dot in the distance. "Guess she was feelin’ a little restless too."

Brett went on instinct. Magnus had been focused on one direction and so she concentrated the same way. She let her own awareness guide her in her search. She took to the sky shortly after departing the beach and studied the water from above looking for anomalies.

It was a bit shorter than Magnus’ projected twenty-mile distance but a tiny white streak in the ocean’s surface betrayed the presence of an intruder.

Brett jack-knifed in the air and dove towards her target.

Halfway through her descent the figure on the vehicle started waving frantically at her. Brett narrowed her eyes and increased her speed. The figure seemed to be waving something at her.

It was a flag bearing the X sign. Brett turned upward and floated closer, her apprehension changing to curiosity. The vehicle looked like some kind of souped up jet ski. Brett felt a smile spread over her face. It looked like something Forge would have crafted. As she neared the vehicle the rider removed a helmet and goggles to reveal a familiar handsome moustached face.

Brett hovered a couple of feet above him and grinned at his bemused expression. "Well howdy, sugah! What brings you into this neck of the woods?"

Forge looked up. "Rogue. Fancy meeting you here."

Magnus’ presence was all over the temple. Lorna felt it the moment she stepped through the doorway. His energy surrounded her like a caress and a soft sigh escaped her as she felt it move around her. Her vision had shifted immediately after she entered so that all she saw was the electro-magnetic energy running rampant throughout the temple.

Magnus has been spending a lot of time here by the look of it, Lorna figured. And spending a lot of energy in the process. Magnus’ energy was tinged with green now the same way Lorna’s was tinged with blue and it seemed attracted to her.

The tendrils of energy swirled around her again and Lorna closed her eyes as she felt the gentle touches of Magnus’ power against her. They were feather soft kisses as the nape of her neck and gentle fingers sliding down her arms. She felt as though she could fall backwards and she would be caught in strong arms.

Lorna shook herself out of her reverie. This is weird, she thought. What’s more you have no reason to be acting like a cat in heat around the magnetic residue of a friend. The very idea... Lorna snorted and actively ignored the touches that continued, though somewhat abated.

A large polished mirror on the far side of the temple suddenly flared to life.

"Teach?"

The voice seemed to echo both within and around Lorna and she gasped in surprise.

"Teach, is that you?"

Lorna felt the tendrils of energy leading her towards the mirror and she felt almost hypnotized by the way the tiny blue-green threads swirled around it like a kaleidoscope.

Viewing things solely as electro-magnetic energy, Lorna could see a figure within the mirror. It was a feminine form pressed up against the other side of the mirror as if trying to peer through it. The figure seemed to make Lorna out at the same time.

"You aren’t Teach." The voice hardened and Lorna felt it thud against her chest. "You feel like him, though. Who are you? What are you doing here?"

The energy swirling around Lorna increased in intensity. Lorna worked feverishly to wrap her mind around what was happening but it seemed to constantly slip her grasp.

"Where is he?"

Lorna jerked away from the mirror and could scarcely get her voice to work. "Who are you?"

A heavy silence greeted the question as Lorna propelled herself away from the mirror and towards the entrance again. She didn’t turn her back to the mirror, for some reason she didn’t dare. But she knew without a doubt that she wanted to get out of the temple as fast as she was able. The energy didn’t want to let her go, grasping at her almost desperately.

"Who are you!" Lorna’s cry echoed painfully against the walls and clattered against itself up towards the ceiling.

The answer was scarcely a whisper. "I can’t tell you." There was another long silence. "Tell him, tell Teach, that I’m running out of time."

Lorna felt a chill sink to her bones at that last statement. She turned on her heel and fled, stumbling out of the temple and skinning her knees on the rough stone. She clawed her way down to the beach and gasped for breath. Her hands shook and she clenched them into fists and pressed them against the sand. "Magnus..." she hissed through clenched teeth. "What the hell is going on in there?"

 

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