X-Men: MAVERICK

• s e v e n •

"Yeah, we've got Dr. Grey and science in the morning." John said to Grace. "You want to be my partner....in class?"

"Wait, aren't I your partner, John?" Bobby dropped the conversation he was having with Rogue to join John and Grace's.

"So?" John shrugged his shoulders. "You can partner with Rogue." Rogue rolled her eyes.

"We can fight over partners tomorrow." Grace laughed, grabbing a hold of Rogue's gloved hand. She opened the dorm door and the two girls walked in. "Night, boys!" As the door closed, Grace laughed as she could hear Bobby and John arguing as they walked down the hall. "We can be partners if you don't want to be Bobby's."

"What?" Rogue turned to her. "No. I mean I want to be Bobby's partner, but I don't want to be too obvious."

"Rogue, I've been here a day, and I can already tell you that Bobby is crazy for you."

"Really?" Rogue blushed.

"Look, I'll partner with John and we can keep an eye on you two." Grace laughed as Rogue handed her a pair of pyjamas.

***

Xavier was seated in a huge, spherical chamber. He had his eyes closed, wearing a metal head piece. In the centre was a console in which Xavier's chair fit perfectly. He was in Cerebro. He opened his eyes, sighing as he took off the head piece.

He sensed someone behind him, pressed a button and turned his chair around to the door. The door opened to reveal Jean, who waited patiently. She walked into Cerebro towards him.

"Still no trace of them?" Jean asked as Xavier shook his head. He rubbed his eyes again. She stood beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You look tired, Charles."

"It's frustrating." Charles admitted to her. "..And I'm afraid." She looked at him, surprised. His eyes looked off into the expanse of the room. "Knowing Magneto is out there, somewhere. Waiting to strike." Charles sighed. "I had hoped we'd be more prepared, before it came to this." He pulled himself out of the thought and put a hand on the head piece again.

Jean stopped him, crouching down by his chair. "Let me try."

Xavier looked at her, smiling. "Not yet, Jean." He told her. "When you're ready."

"I am ready." She tried to convince him. "I know it. I can feel my power expanding all the time."

"And yet, at the Senate hearing-"

"I know." She interrupted him. "I lost control."

He took a moment, looking at her, kindly. "Jean, I just don't want to see you get hurt. I don't want to see any of you get hurt."

Xavier sighed deeply. "What is it?" Jean asked, worried.

"Sometimes, I wonder..." He was deep in thought. "..If I shouldn't have involved all of you in this...Let you live your lives."

Jean took a moment to look at Xavier with pride. "Well, I can't speak for the others, but it wouldn't have been much of a life without you." She stood up and kissed the top of his head. "Don't stay up too late."

Jean turned away. As she walked back down the catwalk, Xavier picked up the head-piece again.

Grace walked slowly down the Mansion hallway, trying not to wake anyone. Logan slept, talking in his sleep. The door opened slowly, a shaft of dim light sliced the darkness. Grace entered. "Logan?"

No response from him. She stood over him, just looking for a moment. A big round chair sat close to Logan's bed. She curled up in it, closing her eyes. She was comforted by his presence.

While Grace slept peacefully in the chair, Logan was sweating, his hands twitching. A loud, piercing scream came from Logan as Grace was startled awake, running towards Logan's bed. Logan was screaming as his eyes flashed opened. He saw a figure looming over him.

In a flash, he reacted. There was a noise, and then complete silence.

The bedroom door swung open. Scott stood there, frozen in shock. Jean and Storm followed. They could only stare. Rogue, Bobby and John ran up the hall behind them.

Logan sat upright in the bed. The claws were extended through Grace's shoulder and out through her back. Blood had started to come out of her mouth. Grace was frozen on the end of his fist.

Scott broke the silence and moved to grab Grace. Horrified, Logan retracted his claws. Grace collapsed on the bed. Scott checked her pulse. It was weak, but still there.

Rogue pushed through Jean and Storm to reach the bed. She held onto Grace's arm and placed her other hand on Logan's cheek. Grace and Logan were galvanised as if by electric shock. The two of them go rigid.

Grace snapped back, her mouth opened in a gaping, silent scream. Her wounds slowly vanished. Before long, Grace transformed back into a healthy young girl with no sign of injury. Scott pulled her into his arms.

Logan, however, trashed on the bed as if Grace's pain had transferred to him. He fell to the floor. Jean rushed to his side.

Grace began to gasp in panic, looking at Logan. "I just-He was-"

"It's okay, it's okay." Scott reassured her. "He'll be okay."

"I didn't mean for him to do that." Rogue cried out. She looked between Scott, Grace and Jean. She ran out of the room, and down the hall. Storm followed her as Bobby and John entered the bedroom to see if Grace was okay.

After everyone had gone back to their own bedrooms, Xavier sat in the corner of Logan's room as Logan laid on his bed. "Logan, can you understand me now?" Xavier asked through his telepathy.

"What happened?" Logan asked. "Is Grace okay?"

"Grace is fine." Xavier reassured him. "She's with Scott and Jean."

"What- what did the other girl do to me?"

"Rogue is like a conductor- for human energy." Xavier told him. "In the case of mutants, she absorbs their gifts for a short while. In your case - the ability to heal. She passed it on to Grace."

"I felt like she almost killed me." Logan sighed.

"If she held on any longer, she could have killed you and Grace." Logan leaned his head back, exhausted. "Get some sleep, Logan."

Down the hall, in Scott and Jean's room, beside the bed was a glass display case containing five of Scott's replacement visors. Scott sat with his arms folded on a chair beside the bed, watching as Grace slept in the bed. Jean stood on the other side of the room, watching Scott for a moment. She noticed the lenses of his glasses glowed softly.

"What are you thinking?" Jean asked as she walked over to him, putting her arms around his shoulders.

"We should never have brought him here." Scott shook his head.

"Charles felt it was our only choice." She looked over at Grace, who seemed to be at peace.

"Maybe he was wrong." Scott admitted. "I just... Grace, she's a kid. I could have killed him."

"But you didn't." She reassured him. "And you have a soft spot for her, don't you."

Scott let out a small laugh. "She just reminds me of Alex, that's all."