Undercloak: Part Eight

by queenB

As Betsy tells him about her visit with Gomurr the Ancient and the ceremony she will have to undergo in a day and a half, Warren wishes for the thirtieth time in as many minutes that he had decided to fly to Westchester with her instead of driving his Mercedes. Leaning forward, he tugs in annoyance at the shoulder straps of his harness, trying to loosen the tight bindings and give his cramped wings a little more room.

Oblivious that he has drifted toward the median of the road, he grimaces and attempts to scratch an itch that has suddenly manifested itself between his shoulder blades. Grabbing the steering wheel and swerving the car back on course, Betsy shouts, "Warren, watch the road!"

Gripping the steering wheel tightly, he turns his attention back to his driving and apologizes to Betsy, "I'm sorry... it's just that this harness is so distracting and uncomfortable. I've barely worn it since I got my wings back." He sighs audibly before he continues, "If we were flying to Salem Center, I wouldn't have this problem."

Betsy turns to glare at him as she says, "I told you why I wanted to take the car. You get so distracted when you fly. And we both agreed that if we took a car it'd be easier for us to talk along the way. Now I'm starting to think it would have been better if we had flown. At least you would be in a better mood..."

Warren returns her glare and says sharply, "I am not in a bad mood!"

"Whatever you say."

The two sit for a moment without speaking. Suddenly irritated by the music playing over the car's stereo, Betsy turns the dial to off, interrupting Pavarotti mid-crescendo. "I did offer to drive, you know? It would have been easy for you to sit over here in the passenger seat with the chair reclined. You wouldn't have to wear that bloody harness. And another thing, I don't even know why you've got that image-inducer on. The windows are tinted for Christ's sake!"

They both stare out at the road ahead of them angrily before Warren finally ventures, "Maybe I just wanted to be a little normal for once. Just be out for a drive on a nice afternoon. Is that so much to ask?" He turns to look at Betsy and demands, "Well is it!?"

Betsy says softly, "We're not normal, Warren."

"Well maybe I just wanted to pretend for a while. Maybe I wanted to forget about mystical elixirs from other dimensions, ceremonial challenges from the nether-world and all the baggage that comes along with being us."

Raising her eye-brows in astonishment, Betsy retorts, "But that's what you wanted to talk about. That's what we need to finish talking about. Now."

Warren grasps the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles begin to turn white as he says, "I don't see what there is to talk about. You've got this thing in less than forty-eight hours that you know very little about, but are convinced might alter you again... change you into a servant of the Crimson Dawn."

"Gomurr didn't say that. But after discussing it, Logan and I think that Tar wants me to join his legion of Undercloaks."

Warren rolls down the window to let some fresh air into the car as he says, "But that's not necessarily what's going to happen? So why plan for it?"

Turning in her seat to face him, she says, "And what do you think Tar's going to do... give me a slap on the wrist and send me on my way?! Warren this is serious!"

Drawing a deep, calming breath before he speaks, Warren ventures, "But you'll fight every step of the way, won't you? You're not just going to let him change you into one of those shadow creatures or something, right?"

Betsy reaches out and touches his arm, trying her best to reassure him as she says, "Maybe a few days ago I would have just given myself over to him. But that's why Gomurr intervened. He wanted me to be myself as I prepared for this and eventually faced it. You know me, Warren. I wouldn't let them turn me into some horrid, faceless zombie." She withdraws her hand and sinks into the leather seat as she says, "I'd rather die first."

Warren stiffens and stares blankly at the road as Betsy searches his face for some sort of reaction. The anger which was pouring through their psychic rapport only moments before has shifted, and Betsy feels a wave of grief wash over her from his end of the link, though outwardly Warren shows no reaction to her words.

As the emotion grows in intensity, Betsy receives some distinct memories and thoughts as they spill uncontrollably through their rapport. First she sees images of Candy Southern, dying not once, but twice. Next there is a memory of herself, lying on the floor after being eviscerated by Sabretooth. Then another image of herself: not as she is now, but as Warren imagines her in several years. He's there with her and two more people. She realizes the others are children, their children... one of them has wings and he is teaching her to fly... with her purple hair she looks just like... Unable to cope with the images, Betsy partially blocks the rapport and thinks to herself, 'My God, I had no idea.'

Rubbing her temples to soothe the headache caused by the psychic back-lash of his grief, she says calmly to him, "Warren you've got to talk about this. You've got to let it out. It's giving me a migraine and if you don't work yourself through this, it'll be terrible for the both of us."

Warren clenches his jaw tightly and stares straight ahead. Patiently, Betsy waits for him to open up to her as they speed down the highway. Several minutes pass and he still has not spoken. Tentatively, she reopens their psychic link and finds that Warren is transmitting no thoughts or emotions through the rapport. She pushes just a little at his mind but discerns that he has erected all of the psychic shielding Xavier ever taught him. Psylocke could force his end of the link open yet she decides against it, realizing that would not only compromise his trust in her, but might even cause him injury.

She reaches out to touch his hand and he flinches as if he is startled. Retreating to her side of the car, she says, "Warren don't shut me out. Not now."

Ignoring her, he once again tugs on his harness, cursing under his breath. Suddenly he pulls over to the shoulder of the road and slams on the breaks. The tires squeal in protest and Betsy is thrown forward by the sudden stop.

She stares at Warren in disbelief as he rips off his shirt and unbuckles his harness. As he opens the car door he is oblivious to the oncoming traffic. Betsy stares in horror at the large truck that honks loudly and swerves to miss him as he steps out of the car. For a moment, she wishes she had the power to seize his mind and make him get back in. With his shields fully in place she knows she could never do it. Even without them, she could only plant a suggestion in his mind. So instead, as he spreads his large white wings, she yells at him, "Get back in the car, Warren! You're scaring me!"

Unbuckling her seat-belt, she scrambles across to the open door and takes hold of his hand, tugging fiercely at it. Warren turns to look at her as she pleads, "Please don't go... don't act as if you don't care."

He shuts his eyes and says, "That's the problem. I care too much."

Freeing his hand from her grip, he flaps his wings and flies into the mid-afternoon sky. Betsy watches him until she can't see him anymore and finally shuts the door, tears welling in the corners of her eyes as she clutches Warren's discarded shirt in her hands. She sits a moment, crying into the cotton fabric and hating it for smelling like him, before she shifts the car's gears into drive and resumes her journey to the Xavier Institute.

Jean Grey-Summers sits uneasily in the living room of the remodeled boat-house, listening to Logan explain their teammate's difficulties. While her friend does not go into detail about Psylocke's situation, he does explain what Jean's role should be in this afternoon's Danger Room session as he paces the floor in front of her.

"I don't know the exact mechanics of it, darlin', but I just want ya to make sure that she's fine. That she ain't being influenced by any outside forces. And when she uses her new powers we need to know what effects they have on her. Don't want her goin' all delusional. I think ya should stay linked with her during the whole exercise if ya can."

"How long a session were you planning?"

He stops pacing and stands in the middle of the room, looking at Jean. "An hour if things go well."

Making eye-contact with him, she says, "I can do that. The only thing is she has to be willing to maintain the link. She does know what you're planning doesn't she?"

Nodding slowly, he says, "She knows that I wanted ya in on this. Obviously she's prepared for something like that."

"I'm sure she is... why else would you want me in there with you?" Logan resumes his pacing and she sighs deeply before continuing, "So, we'll both be in the observation booth and run a standard simulation, tailoring it to Psylocke's skills?"

She watches him plod along the same path he's been walking for the past twenty minutes as he answers, "Yep. I want to see her to use her teleportin' powers and find if there's anything else unusual about her since the last time she used the Danger Room. Think we can find records of her last run?"

"I'm sure we can. Scott should..."

Wolverine stops pacing again and turns to face her, "Nope. I don't want to get Scott involved in this. No offense, Jeannie, but Psylocke wanted this to be as unofficial as possible. Ya know Scott, ya ask him to help ya find one thing and he turns it all into something bigger than it is."

"I understand. Scott is taking his new role here pretty seriously. Still, I don't want to be all mysterious about this. He likes to be informed about things."

Continuing his pacing, Logan says, "Sent Hank to talk to him 'bout it. I knew he'd be more patient with him."

Jean tries to relax and takes a sip of her iced tea then places it back on the coffee table, but Logan's anxiety is so palpable that she's having trouble blocking it out. "But it's standard policy that Scott be present for an evaluation of one of the X-Men. I think it's especially important he be present if she's going to be rejoining us soon, considering how her powers have changed so much."

"Normally, I'd agree with ya on this one. But..." Logan stops in the middle of his path across the floor and looks out the window as he says, "Aw, Hell. Mind if we finish this outside? I need a smoke in a bad way. Hank wouldn't let me smoke in the car, and Wings don't allow it at his place."

She follows him to the door and says, "By all means, you've been driving me insane with your pacing. Plus it's a beautiful day. I could use some sunshine." Watching him as he retrieves a cigar from his pocket and fumbles with his trench lighter, she adds, "Something tells me this nervousness isn't about needing a smoke."

Logan smiles at her as he holds the cigar between his teeth and lights it. He puts the lighter back in his pocket and says, "Nope. Just helps take the edge off."

She watches him puff happily on his cigar for a few moments before his mood returns. She then asks, "What were you saying in there? What was going to come after the 'but'?"

"Oh, that." Logan looks around a minute before he continues, "She ain't coming back to the X-Men, Jean."

Looking out over Spuyten Dyvil Cove, she offers, "But last I talked to Warren, he hoped they'd be back to the team within half a year."

"So did she." He exhales a cloud of smoke, letting it billow around the two of them before he remembers his manners and fans it away with his hand. "I'm only telling ya this, 'cause I can't tell anyone else, 'specially her."

"I understand. Mum's the word."

"I knew I could count on ya, Red." He takes a moment and another puff from his cigar before he continues, "I'm not sure if she's gonna make it through this one. I messed up, Jean. I got her into something I don't think she can get out of."

Jean turns and looks down at him, studying him intently and is convinced that he truly believes what he's saying. She then smiles at him as she says, "Well, I know you say you're the best at what you do, but last I checked that wasn't predicting the future. Don't give up yet."

"Ya know what they say... hope for the best but expect the worst."

"Oh, don't give me any of that glass half-empty crap. It'll work out. She's an X-Man after all."

Logan snorts as he says, "Yeah, right."

"That's enough of that." Grabbing the cigar out of Logan's mouth, she laughs hysterically at the shocked expression on his face. She considers taking a puff, thinking that might break his sour mood, but Logan starts laughing with her and she extinguishes it on the gravel driveway outside the boat house.

"Don't tell me ya gonna start buggin' me about smoking, too. Ya know I won't ever get cancer from 'em."

Jean flashes him a wry grin and says, "Come on, I just sensed Betsy close by. Let's go to the mansion, we have enough time to walk." They begin the walk to the main part of the estate as she stops for a moment and asks Logan, "Was Warren coming with her?"

He raises an eye-brow and says, "Yeah. Why?"

"Because he's not with her."

Growling quietly, he seethes, "Great, just great."

Remy LeBeau sits in his usual position on top of the mansion's roof. It's the place he normally does most of his deep thinking or to be truthful, brooding. Today is different, however. Today, he's just getting some fresh air. After three days of rain the sky is clear and beautiful, and for the first time in weeks he's found himself thinking about Rogue only four out of every five minutes. The fact that her and Joseph are out of the mansion today, and on separate errands from one another helps the matter greatly. He thinks to himself, 'Mebbe dey stay separate and quit annoyin' me fo' once.'

His thoughts are interrupted by a silver, E-class Mercedes pulling into the gates and approaching the main house. He recognizes the car as Warren's and watches Logan walk to greet the driver. Out of the corner of his eye he catches a glimpse of red hair, and then turns to see Jean standing far off from the car. 'Now dat's funny. Why Jean not wit' him?'

His mental question is answered as he sees Betsy step from the car alone and take Logan's hand. He watches them talk, avoiding the temptation to read their lips. Though curious, he decides not to step over the line. He's sure that Jean is aware of his presence and the only reason she hasn't graced him with a telepathic message is that she trusts him enough not to eavesdrop. Logan probably knows he's near as well because of his heightened senses, and for that matter Betsy might too because of her abilities. So Gambit keeps to himself, content that they have allowed him to silently watch the soap-opera unfold beneath him. After a few minutes, Wolverine motions for Jean to join them and Remy watches as her and Betsy exchange greetings. While he was secretly hoping for a cat-fight between the two, he's sure this outcome is much better in the long run. He then turns his attention away from the trio for a moment and looks up at the sky. Off in the distance he sees a rather large bird. Squinting his eyes, he looks closer and finds that it is a rather man-shaped bird at that.

'Uh-huh. Dis be gettin' interestin' after all,' he thinks as he watches Warren dive and swoop far away. To Gambit it appears that he is coming toward the mansion, but is taking his time about it.

Below him he hears the car's trunk slam shut and watches as the three walk toward the house. Jean lingers a few paces behind them and just as she is about to disappear from Gambit's view, she looks up at him very knowingly. Too knowingly for his tastes. He looks out again at Warren's silhouette and understands that Jean has just asked him check up on the errant X-Man once he arrives. He shakes his head and says to himself, "Oui. Real interestin'."

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