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[kanedax]

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Title: The New Mutants II, Volume XXI: The Build-Up
Author: kanedax
Fandom: X-Men Movieverse, plus other Marvel ‘Verses
Spoilers: X3; The New Mutants I & II (see above)
Rating: PG-13 for language
Summary: Jono explained, Rogue & Reed, and the next mission
Notes: In my mind, Jono sounds like Spike, while Reed’s becoming a less creepy version of Jack Coleman. Links added for those who don't leave this fandom.  As usual, I don’t own the X-Men, 20th Century Fox, Marvel Comics, or… um… stuff.

Previous Chapter (Taking Sides) / Next Chapter (Prison Break)

“Un-fucking-believable.”

I don’t think I’ve ever heard you swear before.

Moira MacTaggert looked up into Jono Starsmore’s eyes and shook her head. “Not much more I can think of to say at the moment.”

Ororo Munroe pushed herself off from the wall and walked over to Jono, who was sitting on a table in what used to be the Brotherhood’s medical laboratory. His torn shirt was tossed aside, and Moira was examining the green light that was now pulsing in the caved-in area between his upper jaw and the base of where his ribcage used to be. “So,” she said, “Theories? Suggestions? Safety tips?”

“Theories at this point,” said Moira. “I don’t have a lot of time to research it, what with the taking care of Sean and Forge.”

“Give me what you have,” said Ororo, looking out the door into the main hallway of the cave. “Unless things turn out differently in the next hour, we’re moving tonight. I don’t want to leave the non-fighters alone with a time bomb.”

“I don’t think we’ll have to worry about that,” said Moira. “I think Jono’s going to be contained for a while.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because he’s changed.”

Stop with the cryptic, Doc.

“Sorry,” she said, leaning back. “I can be a little melodramatic. Okay, I have a theory, but I have one question to ask Mr. Starsmore here first to cement it. What do you remember after Banner stomped you?”

Jono’s eyes closed as he thought back. Nothing for a while, he said. Then… I remember floating over the ground. Over New York. And flying.

“Were you in control?”

I don’t know, he said, his words echoing in their minds. I don’t remember a lot of it, but I knew I had to catch up with the helicopters. I saw them, I saw the door open, I remember flying in. Then I was back.

“Lovely,” Moira said, smiling.

Does that help?

“Perfectly well, dearie,” she said, patting his knee. “Here’s my theory. This,” she pointed at the green energy, “is Jono.”

Come again?

“We always thought that the energy that was contained in his chest had, for lack of a better term, parasitic nature to it,” she explained. “It lived of Jono, Jono lived off it. Again, bad phrasing, because it always was Jono. After Banner stomped him, the energy was released. And it was hungry.”

“It ate Banner…” Ororo said slowly.

“No, it didn’t,” Moira said. “Jono doesn’t eat anything. He hasn’t taken a bite of food, not a sip of water, since his mutation manifested itself. He’s simply absorbed the energy from the air around him. Unfortunately, we’ve done him a great disservice by keeping him weak, by technical standards. By keeping the containment suit on him, we limited the intake to what was coming in and out of his nose. It hasn’t been very good for the energy inside him.”

But I feel fine, said Jono. I’ve always felt fine.

“Of course you have, because the energy wanted it that way. It kept your body alive at the expense of its own maturity. It was a Catch 22, really. As long as it was immature, we had to keep your containment unit on to make sure it didn’t fly all over the place. But as long as the containment unit was on, it could do nothing but fly all over the place.

“Then along comes a giant, superhuman behemoth with vast amounts of power, and your energy core suddenly reacted like a contestant on Survivor if he was suddenly tossed into a buffet line.”

But… but I didn’t want to kill him.

“As much as it pains me to say it, Jono, in the great scheme of evolution, it didn’t matter at the time. Your energy core recognized a snack.”

Then why hasn’t this happened before? he asked. If my energy was so weak for so long…

“Because it also recognized a threat,” said Moira. “A threat not to itself, but a threat to its host. Your body. That’s why you remember everything that happened, because your energy core reacted on instinct, and took your consciousness with it, and attacked Banner before he could do any more harm to you.”

You say this is me, said Jono quietly. But you keep talking like it’s something else. Another creature.

“Can’t it be both?” Moira shrugged. “Talk to any college student with a degree in psychology, and he’ll tell you about all about the psychological construct. The Id, the Ego, the Superego. Your brain is separated into different parts, different personalities that work independently of each other, while still living off each other. Why would you think your body is any different?”

But what do you mean it took my consciousness? Jono asked.

“It’s matured,” she said, pointing to a nearby monitor. “And so have you.”

The three of them turned to the monitor, on which three flat lines glided smoothly across the screen.

“That’s your brain right now.”

“That’s impossible,” said Ororo. “He’s not brain dead.”

“He is,” Moira said. “Believe me, I didn’t believe it at first, either. I checked three different monitors, checked three different sets of wires, and they all came out the same.”

Then why can I still move? Jono said, his thoughts rising into a slow panic. Why am I still seeing, why am I still breathing? Screw the sodding brain speak, why am I still thinking at all?

“Because you’re more powerful than you’ve ever been, Jono,” said Moira calmly. “Because Bruce Banner helped you evolve. Your bodily functions, your mind, your senses, are no longer controlled by the piece of gray matter in your skull. They’re controlled by the energy core. It’s matured to the point where it doesn’t need a containment field anymore.”

Then why am I still here? he asked. What’s the point of even having this body?

“Your body is just a shell, Jono.”

“That’s kind of a harsh way of putting it, Moira,” Ororo said from behind her.

“Not at all,” Moira interjected. “After all, what are our bodies but shells that are controlled by our brains? Our eyes don’t see. They just send signals to our brain, and our brain transforms the signals into sight. In Jono’s case, it’s the energy doing it, not the brain.”

Then what is it?

“That’s something I can’t say,” Moira said. “It might be psychic energy, it might be plasma energy. It might be a kind of energy we’ve never encountered before. In a way, it’s very similar to Brian’s mutation. When he turned into Phoenix, his essence was transmitted to the sword.

“Think of this as your essence, Jono. And now it’s yours to control as you will. No more containment suits. No more keyboards. You might have to cover up when you’re in public, but that’s not anything new to you. And there’s probably a lot more training to be done to see your full potential. In the meantime, your energy core is keeping your body alive. There’s no way that Banner couldn’t have stepped on you without breaking your back, or breaking at least one of your inverted ribs. But here you sit, because the energy healed you.”

Wicked, Jono said quietly, and Moira smiled as the skin around his cheekbone twitched in a smile.

“Do you want to eat me, Jono?” Moira asked.

His eyes bugged. What?

“Are you hungry?” she asked. “Do you want to eat me?”
No, of course not, I…

Before he could say anything more, Moira reached her hand into the glowing energy of his chest. Ororo leaped forward, yelling for her to stop, but Moira pulled it out seconds later and wiggled her fingers.

“And you don’t have to worry about hurting anyone you don’t want to hurt,” she concluded.

Please don’t do that again, said Jono tensely. It kinda tickled.

“Sounds safe to me,” Ororo said. “I think it’s time we go get the group meet going. Decide what’s next now that we have the Project Defender Brain Trust in our midst.”

“Wait just a minute,” Moira said, her face still grinning wide. “There’s one more thing I want to try with Jono here.”

“You’re Rogue, correct?”

Rogue was sitting on the stairs leading up to the mouth of the cave. One step above her, Peter Rasputin sat, massaging her shoulders as she tried very hard to not nod off from the activities that night. She looked up to the voice to see Reed Richards standing over her, his hands tucked into his pockets.

Wait, does he even have pockets? she thought as she stared at his waist.

“Oh, sorry!” Reed said quickly, pulling his hands out of his hips, where he had created his own pockets. “It’s a force of habit. These jumpsuits flex along with me, but it doesn’t fix my bad posture.”

“That’s kinda gross,” she said quietly, but chuckled. “And, yeah, I’m Rogue.”

Reed looked behind her. “And I’ve met you a few times, but I don’t think we’ve ever been properly introduced.”

“Peter,” he said quietly, his hands still kneading Rogue’s neck. “Peter Rasputin.”

“Pleasure to finally make your acquaintance, Peter,” Reed replied, holding out his hand.

Peter looked down at it unemotionally. After a few seconds of awkward silence, Reed pulled it back again.

“I’m not shaking the hand of the man who locked up our friends,” Peter explained. “I hope you understand.”

Reed nodded, his face turning slightly red. “Of course,” he said. “I just hope one day I can earn your trust enough…”

“It’ll take a lot,” Peter said, then turned his head back down to Rogue.

“Of course,” Reed repeated, more softly than before. “Do you mind if I speak to Miss Rogue for a moment?”

“That’s up to her,” said Peter.

“Alone?”

“That’s also up to her.”

Rogue looked back up into Reed Richards’ eyes, then turned her head around. She took Peter’s hand in hers. “It’s alright, Peter,” she said quietly.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

Peter turned to Reed, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“Go check on Mr. Forge,” she said.

“Call if you need anything,” he said, taking her gloved hand in his and kissing it gently. With one last glance toward Reed, he walked away.

“He really cares about you,” Reed said to Rogue as Peter sat down across the room with Cecelia and Shiro.

“He really does,” she sighed.

“Are you two…?” he motioned back and forth between them with a finger.

“Dating? A couple?” Rogue said, and shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s complicated.”

“Love always is,” Reed said. “Do you mind if I sit down?”

Rogue hesitantly pushed herself to the wall, giving enough space on the stair for Reed to sit down comfortably.

“That’s not your real name, is it?” he asked her. “Rogue? Is it a code name?”

“Not exactly,” she replied. “I gave it to myself after I ran away from home.”

“After your powers manifested?”

Rogue nodded.

“That must have been difficult.”

“Difficult doesn’t begin to describe it.”

“I could understand,” Reed said. “Franklin’s told me a lot about you. He mentioned a girl who couldn’t touch anyone, but was still running around in battle wearing a Spider-Man mask, doing everything she could.”

“That would be me,” she said. “Little Miss Spider-Girl.”

“And your powers won’t allow you to touch anyone?”

“If I do, they get hurt.”

“Like John.”

“A few different ‘Johns’, actually.”

“And what happens to you?”

“Depends on when you’re asking,” said Rogue. “When my powers first manifested, I temporarily gained their powers, and some of their personality traits. After I got the Cure, and after the Cure failed, my secondary mutation activated. My absorptions became permanent. Every power I’ve ever had came back. But so did every personality. And every time I touch someone else, even for a moment, they become a part of me.”

“I could see why you wanted the mask,” said Reed. “So you tried the Cure, huh?”

“Yeah,” she said. “Fat lot of good it did me.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Reed said, leaning back. “You kicked Bruce’s heiny pretty good out there.”

“I suppose,” she said, looking over to Peter. “But I still can’t touch anyone. Can’t kiss anyone. And forget about the white picket fence and two point three kids.”

“Would you give it all back?” Reed asked. “Would you take back the ability to touch someone again if it meant giving up all the powers you’ve received?”

“I ask myself that all the time,” she said. “Before, it was easy. I was no good to anyone on the X-Men unless they needed someone to get knocked out. I had a boyfriend, too, so that made the choice easier. I thought.”

“Another story?”

“Another story, don’t want to get into it, I’m over him and you arrested him.”

“Oh…”

“We’re going to get him out, right?” Rogue asked. “Bobby and the others?”

“I hope so,” Reed said. “But I’m not in charge. Professor Munroe is. I wait for her, follow behind, and offer my services whenever she asks.”

“Good answer,” Rogue said simply.

“So you didn’t answer my question,” Reed said. “Would you give it all back?”

Rogue’s brow furrowed in thought, and then she sighed and shook her head. “I don’t know,” she said. “I’m too young to decide what I want right now. If the option comes where I can choose between the X-Men life and the family life, then I’ll think about it. In the meantime, I take the cards I’m dealt.”

Reed nodded, then smiled. “You seem to be putting up with me better than a lot of the others here.”

“Well, your son’s been in my head,” said Rogue. “Plus I kinda know what it’s like to get the distrust eye from a lot of people. I’ve been on both ends of it since I came here.”

“When this is all over,” Reed said, patting her knee. “I’d like to talk to you. Me and Susan both. Would that be okay?”

“We’ll see what happens,” she said as he stood up.

“It was nice meeting you, Rogue.”

“Marie,” she said, holding out her gloved hand. He took it and shook it.

“I have to ask, though,” he said quietly. “Where’d you get the mask?”

She pointed over to the corner, where Peter and MJ were currently in a tickle fight with May. “That guy over there? He’s Spider-Man.”

Reed’s eyes opened wide. Rogue flinched and laughed when she realized that his power made them more buggy and cartoonish than usual. “You’re kidding…”

“Nope, in the flesh.”

“Wow,” he said, clearing his throat. “And me without my autograph book.”

Minutes later, Ororo stepped into the main room of the cave previously occupied by Magneto and his Brotherhood. She heard sharp gasps around her, and Paige and Shiro both pushed themselves back on the floor. She turned around to see that Moira and Jono had entered the room.

“Don’t worry,” Moira said. “Jono’s not going boom.” She turned to Jono. “You’d better say ‘hi’ to everyone and let them get used to it.”

Wotcher, Jono said onto their heads, his hand rising uncomfortably to his tense audience.

“Holy shit,” Jones said, chuckling. “We got another psychic.”

Not really, Jono said. I can only talk through my mind, like I were talking with my mouth. I’m not reading your minds. Plus, I wager that I can only be heard by people close by since no one in the other helicopter heard me when I woke up.

“Just so long as you’re not stealing my bit, Jabberjaw,” Franklin said, sitting between his parents.

Sod off.

“Is everyone here?” Ororo asked. “No one’s outside on patrol?”

“I called them all in like you asked, Prof,” said Alison. She sat on the floor next to Rick Jones, who was sitting in a chair with his splinted leg out in front of him. To her other side, Theresa and Remy sat on the floor, leaning against each other’s backs for support. Across the other side, Paige Guthrie joined Peter Rasputin, Shiro Yoshida, and Cecelia Reyes. Logan and Kurt Wagner both leaned against the wall near the cave’s entrance, with Rogue still sitting in the stairwell.

“Sean’s resting comfortably?”

“He is,” Moira said. “He’s doped up and singing Enrique Iglesias.”

“Good.” She turned to the Richards family. “Why are you here?”

“Excuse me?” Susan asked.

“You two did a hell of a thing by breaking off from Project Defender and pounding your boss in the chest. Why did you do it?”

“Because we want to make things right,” Reed said. “We want to rectify our mistakes.”

“And how would you like to go about it?”

“By making sure that the truth about Radio City is exposed, and by making sure that our Cure doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.”

“Do you think it can be done?”

“I have a few ideas in my mind,” Reed said, “but you’re the one in charge of this operation, and I’ll only give my two cents when you ask.”

Ororo nodded, and turned to the Parkers. “Why are you here?”

“To protect my family,” said Peter Parker.

“I don’t believe that,” said Ororo. “Logan told me about your sixth sense. Your Spider Sense, I guess. Was it going off when you were researching Weapon X? Was it alerting you when you started realizing that you may have dug further than you should?”

“All the time,” Parker said soberly.

“If you’re all about protecting your family, you would have backed out when the heat came on you, just like you did when you gave up your crime-fighting life,” Ororo said. “So why are you here?”

Peter looked down at Mary Jane and May. “To protect my family,” he said quietly. “And to expose some truth. About Weapon X, about Stark Industries, about whoever. I want to make sure the work that Harry, Norman, and Dr. Octavius lost their lives for isn’t used for evil. Too many good people have died for good intentions. No more.”

“Good,” Ororo said, turning back to the group and sitting up Magneto’s desk. “I just wanted to make sure that everyone’s on the same page. Because we have a lot of work to do, and there’s no better time to do it. Jones, how are the news feeds looking?”

“Like Christmas,” said Connor. “The networks are crammed with news about Project Defender screwing up by losing their grip on Banner. Stark’s bound to make a media comeback, maybe in the next few hours, but right now I think he’s still reeling.”

Ororo nodded. “So we have objectives. Get the kids. Clear our names. Release the truth about Radio City. And deal with the Cure. We might have to spread ourselves thin, but I think it can be done.”

“Not as thin as you think, Munroe,” Susan said. “All we have to do is go to the Baxter Building.”

You’re kidding me, Forge typed. He had given up on trying to talk with his broken jaw, and had pulled a laptop from one of Magneto’s old rooms. I thought they would have been at the Raft.

“All of the research is at Baxter,” said Reed. “Tony convinced S.H.I.E.L.D. to keep the mutants in-house. If it was decided to try our Cure, we wouldn’t have to worry about transport.”

“You were planning on Curing them?” Alison snarled. “Bastard.”

“I wasn’t planning on anything,” Reed said sharply. “I don’t know if you noticed, Miss, but despite the fact that Susan, Bruce, and I were the brains behind this project, it’s been out of our hands for a long time. The government’s half of Project Defender’s money. Stark’s the other half. They’re the ones running the show.”

“Forget it,” said Ororo. “If things work out the way you described, Reed, then your Cure isn’t as permanent as you would have us believe.”

“If it happens that a mutant is Cured genetically,” Reed explained, “we can reverse the process if they wish. It’s permanent in that it won’t wear off like Worthington’s Cure, and if we switch it back and forth too much we might run the risk of causing some genetic damage. But if one considers it worth the risk, then, yes, it can be done.”

“Then there are more important things to talk about,” Ororo said to Alison. Turning back to Reed and Susan: “What kind of security are we talking about for our kids? If they’re being held in the building, I can’t believe that it’s too heavily fortified.”

“It’s not,” Susan replied. “There are guards. Armed guards. But the rooms themselves are fairly regular rooms, the windows bulletproof but not barred.”

“Yet they stay there?” Moira asked. “They don’t try to escape?”

“Not with these, they don’t,” Reed said, holding up the equipment that had been strapped to his belt since their rebellion. “It’s called a neural inhibitor.”

“I know what it is,” Peter Rasputin said, turning to Ororo. “Those are the things that we used on Magneto’s kids, isn’t it? Back in Moscow?”

“It’s the same,” said Reed. “It does a few different things, but the main jist is that it keeps the wearer from breaking out. Dampens their mutant powers, keeps them from wanting to take it off of their head or to try to escape. Screws with their heads a little, as well, but there’s no brain damage.”

“And they’re wearing them?”

“All seven of them, yes.”

“Seven?” Ororo asked. “We’re only missing five.”

“The seven mutants that we arrested at Radio City,” Susan said. “All of the humans that were involved were placed in regular jail, but it was decided that this would be the best thing for the mutants.”

“The other two must not be involved with your group,” said Reed.

Ororo nodded. “Another thing to deal with when we get there.”

“So where are we going when we get there?” Logan asked.

“The kids are upstairs, and my research is downstairs,” said Reed. “As is our Radio City evidence.”

“Johnny’s upstairs, too,” said Susan. “Bad or good, I’m not leaving without him.”

“What’s the evidence?” asked Logan. “And what’s the research?”

“A couple hard drives, a couple notes,” Reed said. “The government knows that we have the Cure. We’ve shown it to them. We’ve also given them some of the general principles. However, when it comes to the fine-tuning, the final details, those haven’t been handed over yet. We weren’t ready to give it over until we knew we had a final product, and they agreed. Those final notes are in the basement.”

“And you’re sure they won’t be able to figure it out on their own?” asked Rogue.

Reed smirked. “Miss Marie,” he said. “Not to sound cocky, but I have one of the highest IQ’s on the planet. Between Susan, Bruce, and I, we had more PhD’s than God. It’ll take the government ten years to figure out how to get our Cure right, even without the bureaucratic red tape. If things go according to plan, we’ll beat them to it by nine and a half easy.”

“And the evidence?” Logan asked.

“Stark’s a perfectionist,” Susan explained. “He has a little video camera in his helmet that he uses to record every mission that Project Defender has been on. He keeps them in encrypted files in the lab area so he can watch them to see where things went wrong, and how he can make them better next time.”

“Hasn’t made him much better, has it?” said Rasputin. “He’s been sloppy every time I’ve seen him.”

“Well, he’s not as smart as he thinks he is,” said Reed. “Plus the man loves him some scotch. Anyway, he’s used them to his advantage. The reason none of the video equipment worked at Radio City was because he sent an EMP pulse in before we showed up.”

“Son of a bitch,” Remy said, slapping Alison on the leg. “That’s why your audio wasn’t working.”

“We were still rough,” Reed explained. “And Tony wanted to make sure that we came out smelling like roses. With the reliability of people caught in a riot called into question, we were the eyes and ears of America, and could let them see what we wanted them to see, believe what we wanted them to believe.”

“But you still have the rough cut,” said Logan.

“In my own files,” said Reed. “I made a copy onto my hard drive, in case Tony ever decided to get rid of his own. It’s buried in my research notes, so if he destroys my drive he’d destroy everything. Which would be the last thing he’d want to do.”

Parker chuckled. “Something tells me that you’ve been planning this little coup for a while now.”

“Okay, so we have our objectives,” said Ororo. “Upstairs and downstairs. May I make the assumption that the basement won’t be as heavily guarded?”

“You assume correct, Professor,” said Reed. “We’re still running on a budget, and after we captured the mutants we had to shift our priorities. Stark thought that the encryption on the files, along with a few locks and a few charges inside the hard drives that would burn them up if they left the building, would be more than enough security.”

“And you can deactivate those?”

“I can.”

“Good,” Ororo said, standing up. “We move tonight. Two teams. We go in together, and we split. Team One hits the labs, team two hits the cells.”

“I’m in,” Paige said quickly.

“No, you’re not.”

“What?” Paige yelped.

“You’re not going,” said Ororo. “I know it sounds harsh…”

“Damn right it sounds harsh,” Paige yelled. “They have my brother!”

“But you’re not ready yet. Neither is Cecelia, Shiro, or Franklin.”

“Hey!” Franklin protested. “What do you mean, I’m not ready? I can help, and you know it!”

“You can help,” said Ororo. “Down the line. Right now, you’re too young. I’m not ready to risk any of you before you’re ready.”

“But my brain…”

Reed shook his head. “I have to agree with Ororo,” he said. “This isn’t your place.”

“But…”

“When you were at Rockefeller,” said Susan, “did you try reading Tony?”

Franklin paused in mid-rant. “Yeah, I did.”

“And?”

“Nothing,” he said. “Static. I thought it was stress, or something.”

“Your powers were working fine,” said Reed, “but so was his equipment. It’s part of the deal he made when he signed on with his project. The military gave him a tasty little tidbit from Stryker’s files. Something he had been able to take from Lehnsherr when he was interrogating him.”

“The helmet,” Ororo said. “The design schematics for Magneto’s helmet.”

Susan nodded. “He incorporated the wiring into his helmet. It blocks out any psychic energy into the mind of the wearer.”

“And he made it less dorky in the process,” said Rogue, John Allerdyce slipping out. “Well… a little less.”

“He also designed enough helmets for the guards at the Baxter Building,” Susan continued. “Telepathic powers are worthless in this attack.”

Franklin’s lip curled, but he relented.

“Don’t worry, Franklin,” said Ororo. “I know what you’re capable. You’ll get your chance down the line.” Turning to the other new mutants: “All of you will. Just not now.”

“Besides,” said Parker to the group of youths. “I’m counting on you to protect May and MJ.”

Mary Jane turned, her face filled with resigned acceptance. “You’re going, aren’t you?”

“It’s something I have to do,” he said, putting his hand on her shoulder. “You know how it goes.”

“’With Great Power’ blah blah blah,” she said, sighing. “You know, your noble streak’s one of the reasons I fell for you in the first place, Tiger, but it can sure be a pain sometimes.”

“If only Uncle Ben could see me now,” Parker said.

Mary Jane turned to Ororo. “Promise you’ll bring him back in one piece, okay?”

“If they’ll take me along, I guess,” interjected Parker.

“It’s a tall building,” said Ororo, smiling. “We might need a climber.”

“Sweet.”

“Basement team is Mr. Richards,” she continued, “Logan, Remy, and Jono with Rogue as an escape hatch. Prison team is Mrs. Richards, myself, Mr. Parker, Theresa, Rasputin, and Jones.”

Jones sat up. “Wait, woah, what?”

“We’ll need you to deactivate the neural inhibitors,” explained Ororo. “And to possibly unlock any prison doors or elevators.”

“Do I get a gun?”

Ororo and Forge exchanged an uncomfortable glance. We can give him one of the tranq guns, I guess, Forge typed.

“Kick ass!” Jones cheered. “I’m on a mission!”

“He’s the key for our group,” said Ororo to Susan. “Could you keep up a small force field on him if you need to?”

“Absolutely,” said Susan. “Personal bubbles aren’t a big thing for me.”

“What about our escape hatch?” Jones said. “They get Rogue as their escape hatch. What’s ours?”

“If things go bad,” said Ororo, “We’re the ones that can survive a jump from a fifty-story window without killing ourselves.”

Jones’ eyes bugged. “You’ve known me for years, Storm. What part of my power makes you think that I won’t go splat on the pavement?”

“If it comes to it, one of us can carry you and Susan out.”

Parker and Jones exchanged a strange look.

“Weeeelllll, okay,” said Parker slowly. “But no canoodling. I’m a married man.”

“Kurt, Alison, you all are staying here. No complaints, I hope?”

“Nein,” said Kurt, sighing. “I am our escape hatch, as usual.”

“No offense taken, Ro,” said Alison. “I wouldn’t be much use for you guys anyway. ‘Oooh, shiny lights’ don’t have much of an effect in battle.”

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