FicWad

Revolution

Chapter 07: A Gust Of Wind

"Wanda!" Todd cheerfully called out as he threw the door open and hopped full speed across the living room and up the stairs. "Wanda!" He didn't even notice that Kitty was over, sitting on the couch talking to Lance about what could be going on around the city.

Their conversation had gone on for a while and Kitty was just about to leave anyway. For all the theories they discussed, they couldn't really come up with anything solid, not even when Kitty went hunting for Pietro all over the house to question him.

A little while after Kitty left, laughter was heard and the voice was female. Pietro emerged from the kitchen after a much needed cold glass of water, all his running around in the heat made him feel dehydrated at times. He looked at Lance in the living room, then automatically looked at the stairs. "Is that Kitty?"

"No, she just left," Lance replied, also looking at the stairs automatically, though obviously they couldn't actually see what was happening in the second floor from their current location.

A few minutes passed and the laughter died down with Todd making his way down the stairs looking proud of himself and smiling from ear to ear. He straightened and made sure his tie was properly in place, still smiling as Pietro asked, "what in the world? Was that Wanda laughing just now?"

"Yes," Todd's chest swelled with pride as he confirmed Pietro's suspicion. "I went up to show her my new suit and she laughed. She's never happy to see me, but this time she actually laughed!"

Lance rolled his eyes at Todd's apparent stupidity. "That's because she was making fun of you. Where did you get that suit anyway?"

"It was my waiter uniform. I don't have the job anymore, but I kept the suit, yo!" And the bottle he gifted to Wanda. "And I know that my baby-cakes wasn't making fun of me, she was laughing with me, not at me." Todd stubbornly declared with conviction. The others knew that they wouldn't be able to argue with him.

xoxox xox xoxox

Meanwhile, Remy was free to walk around the institute with Rogue serving as his tour guide. Xavier had further examined his mind and found no bad intention, or any intentions at all for that matter. He tugged at the odd electronic cuffed gloves he was wearing. "Is this the latest fashion statement, cherie?" He inquired with obvious sarcasm.

"Not exactly..." Producing a key from her pocket as they reached the top of the stairs, Rogue unlocked the electronic cuffs, allowing the gloves to be removed.

"Much better," Remy took them off. "How can you wear gloves in this heat? Not to be ungrateful to the people who, apparently, helped me when I was brainwashed, but why doesn't this place have air conditioning."

"It does, it's just broken," Rogue revealed as they stood next to a window on the top of the stairs. "Logan went out to get parts to fix it and I think Ororo went with him." Upon thinking of the fact Rogue realized that they had been gone for a very long time. The part needed to fix the AC couldn't be that hard to find. If it were just Logan, she might think he ran off somewhere, as he was often coming and going, but why had not Ororo returned? Furthermore, Logan certainly wouldn't abandon them to the merciless heat no matter how much he felt like running off, that would be too cruel. Then where were they?

"Wolverine and Storm," Remy mused. He didn't remember them of course, but during her tour Rogue had told him about them. "Is everyone here a mutant? Even you? What's your power?" She was as of yet to reveal much about herself and he was curious about her most of all. He looked out the window as he asked, parting the curtains out of the way to see the vast land where the once well kept green grass was turning a dry brown color.

"I..." Rogue had begun her explanation, but stopped suddenly as the curtain Remy was touching began to glow. She was alarmed, but soon noticed the look of surprise and wonderment in his face and concluded that he wasn't going to attack; he didn't even know what he had done. "Be careful!" Rogue ripped the curtain away and threw it out the window. It exploded outside, giving the wall on the side some minor damage, but it was all superficial as it had not charged too much. "That," she breathed, "is your mutant power and mine is the ability to copy the powers of other mutants, sap people's energy and look into their memories."

Remy looked at the window at the mark on the wall and looked at his hands. "So that's what the gloves were for."

"You can control it." At least Rogue hoped he could. "You just need a little practice."

"And you?" He looked at her gloved hands.

"I can't turn my ability off..." Rogue admitted, then changed the subject. "C'mon, let's get some practice done to make sure you don't accidentally blow anything up."

xoxox xox xoxox

After his break-up with Amanda, Kurt had gone for a walk to clear his head. Soon after, he returned to the institute. The constant heat wasn't making him feel any better and his warm fur was especially annoying today. He arrived almost at the same time as Kitty. She saw him going slowly up the stairs as she went through the main gate and ran to catch up with him. Hearing his name being called, Kurt turned around and thought he saw kitty coming towards him, but he wasn't sure, she was so blurry.

Kurt blinked as the figure that he thought was Kitty stood in front of him. She was talking and her voice was melodious, but he couldn't understand what she was saying. The world was spinning, it was too hot, he couldn't breathe. Her expression changed to worry, but he couldn't see it, his senses were fading. The blur soon became darker, there was the distant echo of his name and then everything was gone.

"Kurt! Kurt!" Kitty caught him as he lost his balance and went limp in her arms. "Kurt!" He was breathing, though a little raggedly and his temperature was extremely warm, too warm. She concluded that the heat was to blame for making him pass out. She placed his arm around her shoulders, putting hers around his waist and took him inside to rest as quickly as she could.

xoxox xox xoxox

Xavier had been at Cerebro's room when he heard Logan mentally calling him to the infirmary. The professor made his way there to find Logan and Evan standing left and right of a bed that held an unconscious Ororo. Evan had seen Logan carry her in and quickly followed them, wondering if his aunt had passed out of heat exhaustion. Logan had only grumbled a begrudging, "Not that simple."

First and foremost, Ororo was given medical attention and when her condition was diagnosed as stable, she was allowed to continue resting with the hope that she would wake up soon. Then Xavier was ready to listen to Logan's explanation, along with a worried Evan who was determined to hear what happened too.

xoxox xox xoxox

Some time earlier, Logan had gone out to buy air conditioner parts. Ororo, who wanted a change of scene, any change, decided to go along. The errand didn't seem particularly interesting, but she wanted to busy herself with something. Naturally, Logan wanted to go on his motorcycle, to which Ororo shook her head as they stood out in the parking area at the institute. "How are we even going to carry the parts back?" She pointed out logically.

"It wouldn't matter anyway," Logan replied. "We can fit the AC parts into the trunk of a car, but not the generator, it's too big. The generator went with the AC, the whole structure overheated and we're running on auxiliary power. It's not good to go on like that when there could be an emergency. The generator will be sent on a rush delivery so they might as well carry the parts too," he explained.

Ororo saw the logic in that, but she still preferred the car. "Well, I'll follow you in my car where the sun can't scorch me."

Logan laughed. "You're worried about the sun? You have no idea how refreshed I'll be with the wind at top speed!" He wanted to jump on his motorcycle and accelerate just thinking about it.

Ororo stepped over to the motorcycle and touched the helmet that was left on top of it. She quickly retracted her finger as the material burned. She didn't have to say anything, as her argument was plainly proven by the action.

Logan however, remained unconvinced. "You know I don't actually need a helmet, my skull is much stronger than it," and it was true, both metaphorically and literally.

"Yes, but it would still be good to keep up appearances," Ororo insisted.

"It's too hot to worry about appearances," Logan argued, then laughed at himself. "Why am I even discussing this? I could be out on the open road, away from the busy main streets with the strong cool wind blowing through my hair right now."

"Strong cool wind..." Ororo looked down in longing. "The weather won't even respond to me with a breeze..." Oh how she wished she could feel a strong cool wind through her hair.

Logan paused, then with amusement all over his face, he offered. "Why don't you ride with me? And don't say anything about the helmet being too hot because I'm a good enough driver so you won't need it anyway."

Ororo paused and was surprised at herself. She bit her lip thinking that she would be setting a bad example if anyone saw her... if. Then again, Logan was right and the life of a mutant in itself was more dangerous than simply riding a motorcycle without a helmet. She didn't wear one when she fought. She looked back at the institute main building self-consciously before finally agreeing. "Alright, but try not to let anyone see us."

Logan tossed the helmet aside and sat on the motorcycle with Ororo sitting behind him. He started up the engine, pleased by the sound it made, grinning before he knew what expression he had on his face. "Hold on."

Ororo know that Logan's emphasis on his words was not without a reason and she certainly didn't want to fall off. She wrapped her arms firmly around his waist, "ready."

With the sound of screeching tires, Logan sped off towards the font gate of the institute, gradually increasing the speed. Ororo kept her eyes closed at first, but as she felt the twists and turns as Logan went through the less transited backstreets, she became somewhat accustomed to the wind enough to slightly open her eyes, though she was still somewhat squinting. The city was a speedy blur of gray that soon faded as they left the outskirts heading towards less a populated territory.

xoxox xox xoxox

Logan and Ororo traveled a considerable distance, though she didn't notice it much. She was smiling at having the wind on her face, so cool and strong. She didn't know how much she missed the feeling of the wind until she could no longer produce it at will. Finally, they arrived at an old shack in a lonely road and Ororo remembered just how secretive the source for the institute's equipment was. They could get the air conditioner parts at a normal store, but since they had to go out of their way for the generator, they might as well get everything here.

They got off the motorcycle as Ororo tried to smooth out her hair. Her white locks were wild with the caresses of the wind. Logan grinned at her knowing all too well that she had very much enjoyed the ride. The pair entered the small shack were a shabby old counter was place behind a row of simple stools. The real store was underground, but few knew of its existence. It was owned by Shield, with the organization occasionally cooperating with the X-Men now and then over the years, albeit they essentially operated as separate entities.

Logan and Ororo took seats on the stools. There was no one else there but them and the barkeep, who was secretly a Shield agent. Menus were slid over the counted towards them and Logan ordered a drink without even looking through it. Ororo looked through the menu searching for something she might like, while Logan explained the purpose of their visit and produced a note from his pocket with the things he needed delivered. "Fuel for my bike too," he added at the end.

At that point it seemed that their little errand would go by without any problems. Ororo ordered her drink and they remained at the little bar while the procedures were made for the delivery. Papers were brought over on a clipboard and signed. Ororo had frowned at Logan for signing without reading, but he only grinned in returned when he noticed her disapproving gaze. Who would dare to try to trick Wolverine anyway?

After their duty was accomplished and glasses were emptied, Logan and Ororo returned to the motorcycle, which had been fueled for the way back. They went back the same roads, though it would take a while to reach the outskirts of the city. That's when it happened. Lightning suddenly struck the road, aimed at them.

Logan's instincts and quick reflexes saved their lives, but it was at the cost of his motorcycle. He knew he couldn't move the vehicle out of the way on time and had to jump off, slightly turning and holding Ororo out of harm's way. She didn't even have time to blink, there was a bright light and the next thing she knew Logan was hitting the hard ground on his back, but she was kept safe from the fall and was now on top of him.

Then in another split second, Logan was on his feet, pulling her to stand up as well, momentarily looking her over for injuries then stepping forward and bearing his claws. By then Ororo managed to collect her bearings and was on full alert too. Someone was after them, someone was trying to kill them and with a power much like hers.

To be Continued

I had intended this chapter to focus on Logan and Ororo, but I wanted to have a bit of everything so that the Kurtty and Romy gets a little progress too, so this is how it turned out. Logan and Ororo's flashback will continued in the next chapter!