Gifted

  Yes. We did. And when you’re a leader, you’ll keep your people on a need-to-know basis too, so get the hell over it and prove you can focus when required. Or are you upset because you missed out on a second chance to spread his ashes?

  No…no, of course not. But you should have—

  Damnation.

  Kitty was irritated. Now what the hell did I do—?

  Not everything is about you, Miss Pryde. It’s Ord. He’s here. He just bashed in a wall, which isn’t so bad since the color scheme was simply ghastly.

  He kept Peter prisoner all this time. Tortured him.

  Then I think it only fair that Peter have an opportunity to repay him for his attentions.

  Let him know.

  I have, said Emma. I’m in his mind as well. I just informed him.

  Really? I can’t hear his thoughts. Usually when—

  That’s my doing, Emma told her. There’s irony in my saying this, I know, but trust me. The relentless string of profanities running through his mind right now is nothing you want to be exposed to. Might harm your perceptions of the big Russian teddy bear you’re nursing.

  “We need to get me up there. As quickly as possible.” It was Peter who had spoken, but it was Colossus who faced Kitty now. He had armored up, his body turned to solid metal. His pupils had vanished, as they always did when he took this form. It had never bothered her much before, but now he looked like a soulless thing eager for vengeance. She knew Peter Rasputin was buried somewhere inside that impenetrable shell. But until he managed to confront his tormentor, he would be nothing other than Colossus.

  The mental exchange between them and Emma, if spoken aloud, would have taken several minutes. As it was, it only took seconds. Speed is imperative, Emma informed them. This is about to escalate. Get up here immediately.

  I don’t even know where you are. It may take me a few minutes to find you—

  No point in wasting time. I can draw you right to us. But you’ll have to effectively turn your mind over to me. It will require a deeper access than I normally take. The woman you think I am would do it without your permission. Instead, I’m asking it.

  Because you know what I’m going to say.

  I’m telepathic, Katherine, not a seer. Tell me what you want.

  She looked at Colossus. “Why are we simply standing here,” he said, “when Ord is—”

  “Come here.” It wasn’t going to be easy; she was still exhausted from passing through the wall under the subbasement. At least the floors above them were made of nice, normal metal. Okay, Emma…I’m giving you an all-access backstage pass. But don’t you dare—

  And suddenly her mind was no longer her own. Her thoughts were still present, but her body was nothing more than a puppet on someone else’s string. She drifted upward and phased through the ceiling, without conscious volition. She had no idea where she was going, yet somehow she knew: Kitty was being drawn inevitably toward where the X-Men were about to square off with Ord.

  Then, deep in the recesses of her mind, she came to a horrible realization. Emma Frost held her life in her hands. Emma could easily, against Kitty’s will, turn off her phasing power at any time. She and Peter would die instantly, and no one would ever know why. When, or if, what was left of their bodies was found, it would be assumed that her powers had malfunctioned somehow. No one—certainly not Cyclops—would think to turn the spotlight of suspicion on Emma Frost.

  I would never do something like that, Emma said. Not as long as I consider you to be of use.

  Kitty didn’t find that particularly reassuring.

  She drifted upward so quickly that the trip was a blur. And then, just when she thought she might lose herself forever in her own head, she floated up into a room filled with evidence of recent carnage.

  “Man’s got eyeballs,” she heard Wolverine saying, and Emma said something in return about other soft body areas that could be assaulted. Guiding me while facing off against Ord. God, the woman can multitask, Kitty grudgingly admitted to herself.

  Slowly Emma extracted her mind from Kitty’s, and suddenly Kitty felt dizzy. The combination of all the phasing and Emma’s mental control had taken its toll. It was all Kitty could do to keep herself together long enough to finish materializing herself and Colossus, directly behind Ord.

  Beast, Wolverine and Emma stood facing him, and suddenly they saw who had just emerged from the floor. The Beast and Wolverine were gaping, stunned. Even Emma, who had learned of Peter’s existence moments earlier, looked amazed, as if his survival hadn’t seemed real until he was right in front of her.

  Ord completely misinterpreted their reactions. “Too scared for stratagems, X-Men? Then maybe it’s time we finished this.”

  Wolverine found his voice before the Beast and Emma did, which was impressive considering that of the three of them, he was the most out of the loop.

  “Okay,” he said. “Yeah. Why don’t we do that?”

  Ord was slowly beginning to figure out that something was wrong. “What are you all looking—?” His voice trailed off. He closed his eyes. “Oh no. Is that dragon thing behind me?”

  He received his answer a split second later as Colossus stepped forward and drove a steel-plated fist into the small of Ord’s back. A loud “clang” resounded throughout the room.

  Ord staggered, let out a startled cry of pain, and turned to face his assailant. There was utter incredulity on his face. “You!” he bellowed.

  Colossus advanced on Ord. Nothing else existed in the world right then.

  Ord’s armored fist whipped around and hit Colossus squarely in the face. Colossus staggered. Ord struck again and again, delivering a withering barrage of blows as Colossus fought to stay on his feet. “It matters nothing that you’ve escaped. Do you think because you are made of mere steel that you can stand against me?”

  He slashed forward with his lethal blade. Incredibly, considering his size, Colossus sidestepped it. Then he thrust forward and snagged Ord’s left hand, which was holding the blade, immobilizing it. Ord tried to drive a punch into Colossus’ gut, but Colossus caught his hand. Ord tried to pull away, but for a split-second he was off-balance.

  Colossus snarled, “I am not made of steel,” as he yanked Ord off his feet, twisted, and slammed the alien onto his back. The impact was so violent it created a crater beneath Ord, cracks ribboning across the floor like a spider’s web. “Rage,” continued Colossus, and he pivoted quickly, anchoring himself in place as Ord hit the floor again, groaning softly.

  “I…am made…” and Colossus sent Ord flying across the room. Beast and Wolverine dove to either side as Ord crashed into a table full of lab equipment that had somehow, miraculously—until then—managed to stay intact. Now it went down under Ord’s falling body and, before Ord could stand up, Colossus brought both his powerful fists down upon Ord. “… of rage!”

  When he struck, the blow reverberated throughout the building.

  And still Ord was trying to get back up. But Colossus kept pounding away, until his enemy stopped moving.

  He looked to his teammates then, expectantly.

  “Finish it, Pete,” was all Wolverine had to say.

  Colossus drew his fist back, and then Kitty said softly, “Peter…”

  He turned to her.

  Still on the ground, exhausted, she managed to hold his gaze as she said, barely above a whisper, “I’ve no right…to tell you not to…not after what he put you through. But…”

  She couldn’t finish the sentence. She didn’t have to.

  Colossus stared at her, and then at his fists, and at that moment Kitty couldn’t say what he was going to do.

  And then a familiar voice growled, “Sorry…you ain’t gonna win this day.”

  Nick Fury, the head of S.H.I.E.L.D., entered the room, stepping over the debris that had fallen everywhere. He was accompanied by two dozen S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, all of them armed with vicious-looking guns aimed squarely at the X-Men. They spread out, keeping the mutants firml
y in their sights. They weren’t even bothering to try to avoid Doctor Rao; she was directly in their line of fire and not a single one of them appeared to give a damn.

  Kitty saw that Fury was the only one in the lab who wasn’t holding a gun. No…not the only one. A woman standing next to him also had her hands empty. She had green hair, sunglasses even though it was nighttime, and was the only one not clad in a S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform.

  Emma, Kitty thought fiercely, wondering whether Frost would pick her up. Can you…?

  Try to take over Fury’s mind, make him issue orders that would send everyone home? No. He has one of those scramblers. They all do.

  Jesus. Are they buying them by the carload?

  It wouldn’t matter even if I could grab hold of his mind. Fury’s too sharp for that. His people would know the game plan, and if Fury said or did anything that deviated in the slightest from what they were supposed to do, his people would know and start opening fire.

  Kitty was confused. But if they start shooting, they’ll hit Rao…

  I don’t think they care about her.

  Okay, but then why—?

  “Back away from him, Tin Man,” said Nick Fury, interrupting the conversation between Emma and Kitty, all of which had transpired at the speed of thought.

  “Or—?” The humble, deferential tone that was Colossus’ hallmark was gone. Instead he stood there defiant, unafraid.

  Fury made a casual gesture toward the array of firepower directed at them. “These babies have the latest in armor-piercing technology. And if it just bounces off you, well, that’s a lot of friendly fire to gamble everyone’s lives on.”

  “Your people would be vulnerable to ‘friendly fire’ as well,” said Colossus.

  “Yeah, but they’re willing to take that risk. You willing to risk your pals? Your call, big man.”

  Time hung frozen for a moment, and then Colossus, with a snarl of frustration, stepped away from Ord. He walked over to Kitty and crouched next to her protectively, his armor retracting to be replaced by human skin. His glower, however, remained.

  A S.H.I.E.L.D. agent came forward and squatted next to Ord, who had just lapsed into unconsciousness. The agent started checking him over.

  “Cyclops nearly got Swiss-cheesed by this place’s goon squad,” said Wolverine, “but all you guys care about is making sure the bad guy is okay?”

  “We’re doing our job, Logan,” said Fury.

  “So were we. Saving people’s butts.”

  “No. This isn’t your job. This is your hobby. And it seems like the only butts you’re saving here are your own.”

  Cyclops had managed to bring himself upright. “There’s some truth to that,” he said, “but no one else was looking out for us, were they?”

  Fury didn’t respond.

  “You still ain’t told us why you’re busy patching this guy up,” Wolverine said, indicating Ord. “You worried he’s gonna bleed out while you’re bringing him to Gitmo or the Negative Zone or wherever you stash super-powered alien criminals?”

  “He ain’t a criminal, and he’s not going to the lockup.”

  “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “He’s not a criminal,” said Fury, “because our laws don’t apply to him. He’s an ambassador. He’s got diplomatic immunity.”

  EIGHTEEN

  EDDIE stared at his hands as if they belonged to someone else. The Stepford Cuckoos had departed the infirmary, declaring that they had done all they could and were now off to spread the word of Wing’s mishap. This, they contended, qualified as “gossip” and so they were socially obligated to inform others.

  Hisako had tried to argue them out of it, but the Cuckoos had said in unison, “This is the equivalent of a casualty./ Out of respect for the fallen, word should be spread and tributes prepared.” Hisako realized she had no answer for that, and the Cuckoos went on their way.

  Meanwhile the “fallen” hadn’t moved so much as a millimeter since he’d realized what had happened to him. Hisako, worried, gazed into his eyes. He didn’t look back at her; instead he looked right through her. She said softly, “Eddie? You in there?”

  “This isn’t my body,” he whispered. “My body can fly. This one can’t. This isn’t my body…”

  “Eddie,” and Hisako started to put her hand on his arm.

  But he shook her touch away. She supposed that on one level, that was a good thing. At least he hadn’t totally withdrawn into himself. Now they just had to—

  Edward turned to Elixir. “Put it back,” he said.

  Elixir’s golden face was puzzled. “Excuse me—?”

  “Put it back. My power. You’re a healer. Heal me.”

  “I can’t,” said Elixir. “I can only heal something that’s broken, something that’s…wrong.”

  “This is wrong,” Eddie said vehemently, his voice rising. The first signs of genuine panic were beginning to set in. “This isn’t who I am.”

  “Who you are is a normal person.”

  “Flying is normal for me! That’s my normal!”

  “This isn’t a negotiation, Edward,” said Elixir. “I’m not trying to be difficult or obstructionist. This isn’t something you can find a loophole for, and it’s not like I woke up this morning and said, ‘Who can I be a total jerk to today? Hmmm. I’ll pick Wing.’ The fact is, you’re not sick. I can’t heal someone who isn’t sick.”

  “An alien goon sticking me with some needles and taking away my power…that’s the sick thing!”

  “I don’t disagree, but—”

  “Then fix me! Fix me!”

  “Eddie.” Hisako didn’t try to touch him this time. But she stood between him and Elixir, trying to get his attention, speaking in soft, soothing tones.

  To her shock, Eddie shoved Hisako to one side so violently that it knocked her to the floor. Then he was on Elixir, grabbing him by the front of the shirt, shaking him. “Fix me, dammit! Fix me!”

  Elixir composed himself and grabbed Eddie by both wrists. “I know how bodies are put together,” he said calmly, “which means I can do things like this.” Keeping a firm grasp on Eddie’s wrists, he twisted down and around. The maneuver turned Eddie’s muscles against themselves, breaking his grip effortlessly. “Now I need you to—”

  Edward drove his foot into Elixir’s crotch.

  Elixir let out a pained shriek and collapsed. Eddie stepped over the boy, his body shaking. “I can’t live like this. I can’t live like this!” And with that pronouncement, he darted through the door and out of the room.

  Hisako jumped over Elixir to follow Eddie. Then she stopped and said in a hurried, flustered tone to Elixir, “Are you okay?”

  Elixir grunted, which was about as close as he was going to come to a coherent response.

  “Okay, well…good,” and she bolted down the hallway after Eddie.

  He was a short ways ahead of her, pounding down the hallway, and he kept shouting over and over, “I can’t live like this!” Hisako was terrified, because there was no doubt in her mind that he absolutely meant it. It was as literal a call for help as she’d ever heard, and she was certain that if she didn’t manage to get to him in time, he was going to act on his words. The old line flashed through her head: Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. But there was nothing temporary here. Eddie would never have his power again, and that problem was never going to go away. So he was going to make himself go away first.

  “Eddie, wait! Wait!”

  But he ignored her cries. Instead, before she could get near him, he made a sharp left turn and started running up the nearest stairs. “Get away from me, Hisako!” he howled. He disappeared up the stairs, running so fast that he was out of sight before she could even start climbing.

  Then she heard a loud thud followed immediately by an “oooof.” A series of repeated thumps quickly followed, as if a sack of potatoes—or perhaps a body—were tumbling down the stairs.

  She sprinted up the stairs, taking them two at a tim
e, and found Eddie stretched out on the landing halfway up. He was stunned, blinking, as if unsure where he was. Standing at the top of the stairs was an astounded Santo Vaccarro, otherwise known as Rockslide. The towering mutant had a body that, appropriately enough considering his code name, was covered with a rock-like hide. He stared down at the insensate Eddie in confusion.

  “What’s his problem?” Rockslide asked, his voice sounding like boulders crunching together.

  “He lost his powers,” she said as she knelt next to Eddie, looking down in concern.

  “Powers of what? Observation? Idiot ran right into me.”

  “No, Santo. His power of flight. He’s normal now.”

  “Normal?” Rockslide gave Eddie a contemptuous look. “Normal depends on your environment, doesn’t it? We’re in a school for mutants. I’m normal. You’re normal. He’s a freak.”

  “Shut up, Santo,” she said angrily.

  “Fine. Whatever.” Rockslide shrugged indifferently and walked away, leaving Hisako cradling the still-groggy Edward.

  “Eddie, are you okay?”

  “Huh?” was all he managed to say.

  She pulled him to his feet and, not knowing where else to go, brought him back to the infirmary. Elixir was right where she’d left him, on the floor, his hands covering his crotch. He was retching a bit and was still trying to pull himself together when he saw her enter with Eddie. Eddie offered no resistance as she laid him down on the table.

  Elixir said nothing, probably not trusting himself to speak. She turned to face him and said tentatively, “Are you okay, Josh? Are you, y’know…healing it?”

  “Nooo, I can’t heal myself. This is where a guy’s hand just automatically goes when he gets kicked in the nuts.”

  “Oh. Sorry.”

  Elixir nodded toward Eddie. “What happened to him?”

  “Ran headlong into Rockslide.”

  “Good.”

  “He may have concussed himself.”

  “Even better.”

  “Come on, Josh, give him a break.”

  “I’d love to,” Elixir said crankily, “but I’d probably just have to turn around and heal it again.” He had managed to stand and was now leaning against the wall, breathing steadily in order to compose himself.