X-Men: Eternal Flight (Book Three) ON HOLD

Battle Scars

"It's foggy out, isn't it?" I asked.

Ororo craned her neck around. "Even with your eyesight Warren?"

I nodded.

She smiled tightly. "Don't worry, this baby's instruments are finely tuned. I could fly this with my eyes closed."

"Very reassuring," I replied and leaned against the seat. The Blackbird descended a few feet against the rushing winds. "How far away are we?"

"About an hour."

"Anyone else notice the smoke?" I asked, squinting against the whiteness of the fog. In the distance, plumes of black smog were ascending from the ground.

"What smoke?" Logan asked.

"There, about thirty miles off."

Everyone stretched their necks forward to get a good glimpse at the smoke.

"I don't see anything." Logan's voice was laced with frustration.

"Just on the horizon. I'd be cautious Ororo."

She said nothing, and leaned back in her chair. Uneasy, I folded and unfolded my hands in my lap, a habit I had grown into. My thoughts drifted to Daniella. Could she even handle the children at the mansion? She of course had the older ones helping, but the thought of screaming mutant children running around her, chaos dominating the atmosphere was quite a funny picture. A smile played at the corner of my mouth as I stared out the window.

When black, dusty clouds drifted around the perimeter of the Blackbird, I sat up straighter in my chair.

"I think we're here," Ororo commented and throttled the engine, causing us to slow our pace. The machine smoothly glided downwards, the thickness of the smoke increasing. When we were nearing the ground, I could barely see anything within a ten foot radius.

"Alright, who get's to be the dummy?" Logan said.

I smirked. "I'll go. My lungs are more equipped for this."

He raised an eyebrow. "Well, so are mine kid."

"Yes, but you're not the one who's flown to extreme heights with hardly any atmosphere. I can handle this."

I unbuckled my seat belt and neared the back of the Blackbird. I heard Logan mutter something along the lines of, "Okay, good luck handling smoke inhalation."

I inhaled deeply as the door was released with a hiss from the hinges and swung downwards towards the ground. Black smoke filtrated inside the ship, and coughs followed suit. I quickly ducked my head and bolted outside. My eyes stung from the acrid chemicals in the air, the smoke billowing around me. Around the area, small fires were still aflame, sucking out any energy they could with their toxicity. The wind blew the puffs of blackness around, revealing small crumbling structures. My gut clenched as I walked on further.

"Do you see anything?"

Ororo's voice penetrated the small ear piece. I pressed the button and muttered a reply. "Yes. Nothing but charred buildings. I don't see anyone either."

"Be careful anyway," she spoke.

I lowered my hand to my side and glanced around. The ground was broken in small fissures, trees stood lifeless like black upon brown. The sky above couldn't bee seen from where I was standing. Coughing out bits of smokey flakes from my lungs, I trudged across the flame charred ground. The only promising thing I could see that suggested human life were the burned remains of structures against the earth. The only sounds that could be heard were the crackling fires dying away from the previous battle.