Chapter 13

Authors Note: Its been awhile, and I apologize, but I couldn't finish this story without there being hope of a third movie. Now that there definitely is, and I bought the book to prove it, I figure that I should finish this story before I start on the third one. Something for me to do during my long, boring, stupid summer classes at UCC. So… here goes.

We followed him down a long corridor, I tried not to notice how wet the walls had become, and the rumbling that went through the floor as the water pressure increased. Logan hardly noticed our presence, we were all desperately trying to find the others.

I lost track of how many rights and lefts we made. Chris and I were exhausted, but we had no choice now but to follow Logan. If we were to lose sight of him we'd be hopelessly lost, and the thought of drowning to death didn't appeal to either of us.

We ran up a flight of stairs into an open room with machinery and crackling electric wires. A flash of white caught my attention, only one person had hair like that. Chris and I watched as Scott and Storm supported the Professor, something must have happened to his wheelchair. The kids we'd seen on the screens were tentatively making their way across the room led by the Professor.

That answered all of my questions. The kids were okay, the Professor had been rescued, Scott was alive, Jean was fine. Logan's claws extended as he slashed at a metal box. Chris and I ducked as electricity sparked into the damp air.

"You don't want to go that way," Logan yelled to the group, shaking his head, "trust me."

Water flooded into the room from behind the doors that had just closed. Chris and I had been standing in front of those doors, the water was icy cold, and we were drenched. The electricity, thankfully, had stopped emitting from the box. Logan's body may have been able to repair itself against electrocution, he'd used his metal claws to diffuse the box, but I wasn't confident for me, definitely not Chris.

"Come on, there's another way out of here," Logan told us. There was a shift of power, Scott had relinquished the reins of control to Wolverine. The kids looked scared, Chris and I went behind them while the adults took the lead.

Logan opened a door to the outside, Chris used his fire trick to keep us warm. It would be more difficult this time around, our clothes were soaking wet There was nothing else to do but go forward.

The worst wasn't over yet, the dam had yet to flood, and we would all be underwater if that happened. We managed to make it to the top of a hill, the same hill that would lead us to Stryker's helicopter, and safety. One of the littler kids fell, but Logan picked him up before Chris could get over to him.

"The helicopter was right here," Logan growled in frustration.

Logan and Jean shared a look, both were tense, anxious, and scared. They both knew that options were running out. Chris and I acknowledged that too, we might have powers, but those abilities didn't include flying.

"Look over there," Chris shouted, we all turned in time to see the X-jet come into view. Who the hell was flying- as the jet came closer we saw Rogue in the cockpit. She looked terrified, but managed to get the jet onto the ground, regardless.

Everyone clambered into the warm confines of the X-jet. Apparently, we weren't waiting for Magneto and Mystique.

"It's okay, Rogue," Storm was talking to Marie, and Kurt was getting the Professor settled into one of the seats. Chris was helping one of the girls who had finally lost her nerve, she cried onto his shoulder as he glanced uncomfortably at me.

Everyone was here and accounted for—everyone except- where was Logan? One look out of the jet's window answered that question, I saw him disappear back over the hill.

"Don't even think about it," Chris warned me. "He'll come back, he still has the kid with him, right?"

Scott came into the room, Jean was nowhere to be seen. Maybe she had gone after Logan, I hoped so, she could convince him to return now better than anyone. The fortress might hold more answers, but what answers could he hope to find when it was filled with water?

"Scott, we have to get to Washington," Xavier said tersely, "I fear this has gone beyond Alkali Lake."

"Bobby?" Logan came into view still holding the boy, Bobby took him and helped him into one of the seats.

"You okay?" Jean asked coming into view.

"I am now," Logan's eyes met Jean Gray's. Something passed between the two of them, I averted my eyes to give them the privacy that warranted the situation. Scott missed their interaction completely, something was happening.

"What's wrong," Logan asked catching the aura of unease.

"Vertical thrusters are offline," Cyclops replied.

I had no idea what that meant, but 'offline' didn't sound like a good thing, not when it came to expensive machinery. Our capability of flying away from potential disaster after hearing 'offline' was improbable.

"Has anyone seen Jon," Rogue asked.

"Pyro?" Wolverine asked, "where the hell is he?"

We had no time to go searching for him now, but I knew that we couldn't leave him behind if he were, indeed, stranded somewhere. Jean's eyes became distant, it was the same look the Professor had when he was trying to realize why one of us had gotten into trouble.

"He's with Magneto," she said softly.

"They're functioning," Storm said uneasily, motioning toward the X-jet's screen."But I don't know how long they're going to last."

"Come on," Scott shouted dropping his fist onto the computer screen. It was the first time I had seen a break in his calm demeanor. What had happened now? The lights in the jet dimmed, everyone was silent, waiting with bated breath to hear how bad the news would be.

"Oh no," Storm sounded frantic, "we've lost the power."

"What do you think's going to happen?" Chris asked me quietly so none of the kids would overhear.

"I don't know." It was the most honest answer I could give. I was torn between wanting to cover my ears and close my eyes—crawling under a seat to wait for death- and then the more mature side of me, the side that had allowed me to fight well-trained, well-armed soldiers, wanted to fight this.

"It's not us I'm worried about," he glanced towards the girl he had comforted. "Its them.'

We couldn't hear what the adults were saying anymore. They had moderated their tone as to try not to scare us. Bobby had his arm around Rogue, she had her head on his shoulder, and I could tell that she was fighting not to cry.

Kurt was praying, Jubilee was staring vacantly out one of the windows, and Jean had disappeared again.

"What do you think our parents are doing?"

I glanced at him in confusion though I understood the meaning behind his question. While we were fighting for our lives, what were the other people of the world doing? Were they preparing dinner as they did every night, helping their kids with homework, sitting down to watch a movie?

He put his arm around my shoulder. I took some comfort from the gesture, we were together, at least I wasn't alone. If the jet didn't take off, what could we do? Chris and I both had the power of fire. Logan would be okay, he'd survive this, but what about the others?

Jubilee had her fireworks, the Professor could try to call for help. Everyone else was so far away, who would get here in time? Storm? She could control the weather, would she be able to do something to prevent the water from reaching us?

"Jean?" the Professor asked.

"Wait," Logan's eyes were feral. "Where is Jean?"

"She's outside," Xavier said, the same look on his face as Jean had when locating Jon.

Scott ran down the aisle, fear etched across his face. The power came back on as the ramp snapped into place.

"No!" Scott shouted, "We're not leaving! Lower the ramp!" The same desperation was in his tone as when I had asked Chris for help. I remembered being trapped in the escape hatchway with no way of knowing whether Logan was still alive. Whereas I had clawed the door trying to find the release mechanism, Scott would battle to get Jean back safely aboard the jet. "Storm! Lower it!"

Storm issued the command, "I can't," she said helplessly. "She's controlling the jet."

Out seatbelts snapped into place, and the engines roared as they prepared for takeoff. Logan, Scott, and Kurt raced toward the front of the jet trying to get a glimpse of Jean.

"You!" Logan barked at Kurt, on a thread of genius. "Get her now!"

Kurt closed his eyes preparing for teleportation, "She's not letting me," he said bewildered.

"I know what I'm doing," Xavier started to say. "This is the only way." It took a moment for us all to realize it was Jean speaking through the Professor. I gripped Chris' hand, we couldn't leave Jean behind!

"Jean, listen to me," Scott said, his voice breaking. "Don't do this."

"Goodbye," Xavier said, his eyes flooding with tears.

"No!" Logan cried, anguished, 'no!"

"Jean," one of the kids whispered.

"She's gone…" Logan said in shock, he repeated it as if he couldn't believe it.

"Don't you say that," Cyclops commanded, pounding at Logan as if that would bring her back. "No!"

I sat quietly trying to get past the numbing cold that had invaded my body. Jean had sacrificed herself for us. She had managed to hold back a flood. She got the engines back online and lifted the jet into the air at the same time. All for us. All because she believed in a cause that was worth dying for.

Kurt started praying aloud, the kids bowed their heads, Storm had tears flowing silently down her face. Logan was still in shock, Cyclops sobbed openly, and I struggled against the rising tide of rage. Chris put his arm around my shoulder and I saw past the red haze that had blanketed my mind. It was helping the others to hear his prayer, I wouldn't lash out at him blindly, not when they needed it.

I couldn't help thinking, despite the peaceful look on Kurt's face, when had He ever helped us? The world was trying to make a mutant petting zoo. They had drawn a line, mutants on one side, normal humans on the other. He, who was supposed to love everyone, what was He doing to make things better?

Nothing. It was up to those who had decided to fight. We controlled our fate, our destinies were all entwined. No other-world power was going to change the way the world worked. Power, might, determination and rebellion; that's what would cause results.

Jean had died. She was one of the nicest people I'd ever met. A doctor, too, she helped people in all ways. She had sacrificed herself for us, had allowed us to escape. No, I didn't believe in any god, I believed in the power that we possessed. One day we'd make the world pay for the sacrifices we had made.

"Storm," Xavier said, breaking the silence, "we have a stop to make."