The Vault - REVIEW THIS STORY

Written by NicoPony
Last updated: 08/15/2007 08:57:57 AM

Chapter 19

It was rather close quarters inside the Velocity’s cabin. Wolverine was manning the controls, Shadowcat at his side in the cockpit. Colossus stood just behind Shadowcat, his hand on the back of her chair. Jean was relieved to see the X-Men accompanied by her former Squad Three members, Guido and Joanna. To Jean’s surprise, the Scarlet Witch was also aboard. Toad leapt upon her joyously, must to her disgust. Surprisingly, she didn’t immediately shove him away. The Scarlet Witch was responsible for allowing the helicopter to fly despite the damage to the tail section. Guido and Joanna were no lightweights, and their bulk combined with Blob’s made remaining airborne a dodgy thing.

Besides the cramped accommodations, there was also the smell. Jean couldn’t fully put the blame on Toad. Not even he smelled that bad on his best day. Jean tried to ignore the other passengers’ thoughts and their wrinkled noses when they looked in her direction. She’d just been, for lack of a better word, crapped out of living, sentient island suffering from IBS. Did they expect her to smell like a bed of roses?

At least she wasn’t alone. She and Gambit were sitting back to back on the floor of the helicopter. Rogue was nearby, huddled in an emergency blanket. She looked a little ill, but it was hard to tell if it was the lights or her ruined makeup that gave her such a ghastly appearance. Jean suspected Rogue was suffering some sort of inner turmoil, but when she checked her teammate’s mind, Jean found nothing out of the ordinary. Well, nothing out of the ordinary for Rogue anyway. Jean wondered what result of coming in contact with that putty-colored goop would have on Rogue.

The radio in the cockpit squawked. Logan picked up the headset. “Cyclops,” he called. “You there?”

“Wolverine!” Cyclops responded immediately. “Thank god, where are you!?”

“On the south end of the island, about a mile offshore.”

“Good. Keep back from the island. Something is going on down there...whoa! Hey!”

“Cyke!?”

“The island’s sinking!” Cyclops cried.

The passengers rushed to the windows. Even from this distance, they could hear the roar of the island. The ocean frothed and roiled around the shore. For a moment, the island looked as if it had stood up. The earth rose to a peak at its center. The remains of anything man-made tumbled from the mountain, crashing down into the sea. There were several explosions, and debris flew out in all directions. The Velocity dove as a piece of metal, perhaps the remains of a wheelbarrow, flew in their direction. Then with a low moan, the island seemed to slowly fall forward. Huge waves crashed as the island sank. They all watched in silence as the island disappeared beneath the ocean waves. Huge bubbles broke the ocean’s surface, but then those disappeared as well.

“Holy crow,” Rogue said.

“Cyclops,” Wolverine said. “We’ve got the rest of the team here.”

Cyclops was silent for a long moment. Jean could imagine him staring dumbstruck at the place where the island had just been, his thoughts scattered. “Wh-what?” he finally managed.

“All the X-Men are accounted for,” Wolverine replied gruffly.

“And Jean?”

“And Jean,” Jean replied. “Hi Scott.”

She could feel Scott’s relief through their psychic link. It was like slipping into a warm bath after a harrowing escapade in the Danger Room.

“We’ve got some of the Brotherhood here, as well. Most of ’em, looks like.”

There was some squabbling over the controls to the radio after that. The Brotherhood members fought for control, shouting back and forth over the line. On the X-Jet side, Nightcrawler finally wrested the radio from Avalanche and Quicksilver. The two were still arguing about who was in charge.

Nightcrawler’s voice finally broke through the raucous sounds of the two fighting boys. “We’re heading straight for the nearest airport,” he said. “This flight is booked solid! Also, we’ve picked up some of the mutant guards and have them locked in the back compartment.”

“Is Moxie there?” Guido asked quietly. He nudged Joanna and gestured at Wolverine. “Ask him to ask if Moxie’s there.”

“You ask!”

“Moxie’s gone,” Jean replied flatly.

“Dead?” Guido squeaked.

“No,” Jean shook her head. “Moxie wasn’t who she claimed to be.”

“Who’s Moxie?” Rogue asked.

“That’s what I’d like to know,” Jean replied. “Though I have my suspicions.”

The other passengers looked at her, waiting for the redhead to continue. “When I tried to contact her telepathically, I couldn’t sense her mind. She certainly seemed to know a lot more about what was going on than the rest of us.”

“So, who do we know who can mask her thoughts?” Wolverine asked rhetorically.

Rogue straightened abruptly. “Not Mystique!”

“What was she doin’ there?” Gambit asked. “Why’d she stick her neck out?”

“She’s bound to have her reasons,” Jean replied.

Rogue crossed her arms protectively around herself and glowered. “Who knows why Mystique does anything.”